For all my grumbling about the bureaucracy and apathetic students plaguing education, I do love teaching, and this year’s group of Dual Enrollment students at Pigeon Forge High School was a joy to teach.  They made this semester bearable and pushed me to elevate my skills to match theirs.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been their teacher and hope they learned enough to help them through their academic careers.  To me, they represent everything that’s good about this country: hard-work, adaptability, loyalty, fellowship, compassion, and intelligence.  One day, most of these kids will be in leadership positions, and that gives me hope for our future.