Teacher candidates need to have a passion for teaching and a drive to do whatever is necessary even when it is uncomfortable, uncommon, or hard. Such efforts should not be considered extra, but essential. A purposeful, focused enthusiasm for one's students, a belief in their potential, along with heartfelt compassion and the perseverance to work until students succeed are not "extras" that make a good teacher great. They are the essential qualities necessary for students to thrive and teachers to survive in challenging, high-need districts. We cannot expect the ordinary to do the extraordinary.