Note: I have removed the original excerpt I posted here in 2015. In retrospect, I realize that the book’s prologue —and other parts of the book— reinforced racial stereotypes about young people of color, particularly my Black and Latinx students. In my attempt to write honestly about my experience, I now know from conversations with some readers and through self-reflection that I caused harm with those descriptions and for that I sincerely apologize. My thinking on race, particularly how it impacts our schools, has changed since my teaching experience in 2006. Going forward, I resolve to be a more thoughtful in the way I portray others, particularly BIPOC, in both written and spoken word. (1/28/21)