These students surprised me when I thought I could no longer be surprised

‌Bangor daily news

By Sandra Lynn Hutchison, Special to the BDN

With a quarter-century of experience as a university professor behind me, I thought I could no longer be surprised by my students. I have been inspired by students in India who walked three miles in the midday sun to attend a class, moved to tears by Chinese students who demonstrated to voice their demands for greater freedom and filled with hope by American students who have wanted nothing more than to devote their lives to working for climate justice. But as for courage, I have not encountered any that surpasses what I saw in the Iranian students to whom I taught writing this past year.

My Iranian students were enrolled in a course I offered through the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education, or the BIHE, an unofficial online university staffed by a global faculty who volunteer their time to give Baha’i students in Iran the chance to pursue the post-secondary education denied them by their government.

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