Lessons From Lost Souls.

The author describes her experience of leaving a doctoral program in the 1970s in order to teach at a community college. She explains her confusion over the meaning and purpose of open-door admissions policies. The fact that she was happily surprised to realize that her community college students were like most other college students is balanced with an exploration of her work with less skilled students. Though she encounters a few students each year who are unlikely to complete the program, she asserts that she does not regret their presence, so long as they are impacted in some way. She highlights rewarding experiences with such students in order to support her thoughts about teaching people who never expected they could make something of themselves.