We hear so much about teacher shortages, burnout, and the messy transition from pandemic Zoom learning back to the classroom. Ask fifty teachers and you’ll likely get fifty answers but Jennifer Nelson brings perspective as someone who lived in Morocco (where she learned French as a child – the subject she teaches), served in the Peace Corp in Niger, and as the daughter of an international diplomat experienced more than American schools. Her tenure as a teacher also encompasses private, parochial, and public schools. Nelson brings a broader-than-usual view of what works and what doesn’t in the classroom. She is a highschool French teacher and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley and Vermont College of Fine Arts.