Hi Theodore, You have painted a very clear picture of your students. Your are fortunate that you have the diversity that you have in your classes. Experience has shown that with age, cultural, geographic, and ethnic diversity students have the opportunity to see themselves in others that have achieved. In addition, the students can see that no matter what background they bring to the classroom they can learn, grow and make a life for themselves. Your comments about learning styles are right on the mark as well. I have worked for many years in the area of multiple intelligence assessment (how we process information) as it relates to learning styles. By being aware of the various learning styles of your students you have an edge on getting them through the material with maximum success. Congratulations on getting a handle on this most important area. I have a question, what methods do you use to identify the learning styles of your students? Gary