First post

So here is my first post. I'm a high school literature teacher. I teach in what my students call "da hood." My classroom is constantly defaced with gang graffiti, kids wait outside my door to jump students, there are food fights and brawls often, kids show up with weapons, and kids disappear for days at a time. Yet through all of this there are kids that always make me smile, that make the room brighter, who are always there to tell me that I'm doing a great job and that they're learning, and who continually remind themselves and the others around them that school should be a safe place for learning and forming bonds that could last a life time.