Ryan,

There are teachers who talk about “kids these days” and then there are passionate teachers like you and your colleagues (and my best friend) who call them “my students”. Teaching is one of the noblest, most difficult and heart-wrenching professions, particularly today. But we need teachers like you now more than ever. Teachers who want to teach and love the whole student. Bless you and your colleagues. You have no idea which students’ lives you will forever change by just being the person who saw through everything and loved them for who they were.

Because of the above, I so appreciate your take on President Trump’s tweet. Being an outsider (from Indiana), I was so angry with his tweet and watched the video of CNN news anchor Victor Blackwell with tears in my eyes. I applaud both of you and the many others who stood up to President Trump after his Twitter attacks on Baltimore. But you are right, when a person has a history of hateful, divisive rhetoric, it’s easy to dismiss everything that’s said without stopping for a minute to see if there’s something there. You live there, your students live there. You, not us outsiders, know what conditions face you, your students and the majority of people from Baltimore. By shedding light on these issues, even when doing so might be unpopular with Trump opponents, you’re doing a great service to your community. Though we don’t at all condone the language that’s often chosen, perhaps spotlighting some real issues might be the catalyst for some true changes for Baltimore — changes that hopefully could really help the majority of residents there.

Your closing paragraphs, though, are what touched me the most. Your love for your students and the people of Baltimore is so apparent. Thank you so much for sharing this story.

(And I promise, this is my last long response to one of your articles)

Best wishes,

Kari