I have seen a light go on for a child and their whole outlook on school and themselves change. That is what excites me about teaching. I have spent the last 20 years working with kids who have fallen between the cracks in our educational system. Hearing some of them described in a way that was totally foreign to my experience of them was puzzling, to say the least. I love learning, and it baffled me that kids who squealed with delight when they took their first steps had somehow lost that joy. Then I met Angel, a tough cookie, in an alternative high school where I was subbing. She walked in the door and announced she was "not working for no ...