I don’t know what happened to that student of mine. I worked my butt off to make sure he learned how to read—I still remember the first time he got an “A” on a grade-level reading comprehension quiz. I’d like to think that he went on to take long showers or enjoy the dizzying array of food choices in his college cafeteria—or that he became a Rhodes Scholar like Booker. I am hopeful, but I also remember just how much that child had to overcome to simply get to school every day.