First off, thank you for a great semester. This was honestly my favorite class this semester and one of my favorite classes I’ve had thus far … I truly appreciate the real talks you had with us and the open conversations that took place.

—Student 1 (2020)

When we love, we can let our hearts speak

—bell hooks, All about Love: New Visions (2000)

I open this essay with unsolicited praise in the spring of 2020 from a student from the first History of the English Language course I ever taught. Some who know me say they are not surprised by it because I feel my responsibility goes beyond teaching the material. I do my best and then I try again. However, this time was different for many reasons. The professor who had taught this course for many years, including nearly fifteen years prior when I...

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