Esme’s class is composed of thirty-one students of color and she is acutely aware of the disadvantages they have faced because of systemic racism. Some of this racism is on full display when her boss, Mr. Turner, tells Esme that she should expect bad behavior from them simply “because they’re black” (150). Esme pushes back against this idea, arguing that “children rise to the expectations you set for them” (151), but it’s clear that society has written these children off as failures, both because of their race and their economic background.

Many of Esme’s students experience violence at home. Child abuse is so common that it is discussed nonchalantly at parent-teacher conferences. Guns are commonplace in her students’ homes. Students witness domestic abuse between their parents. They are aware of gang violence and some of their lives are touched by it. The result of all this exposure to violence and stress is students acting out, sometimes violently, at school.