“I really want to show it,” he says back. So I tell him to send it to me because, y’know, them’s the rules. There are enough horror stories out there of teachers accidentally showing their kids porn for me to be very careful what I show my class.

So this morning, Harry comes up to me and says, “I have a video I want to play.” Kids can send in a short YouTube video for me to show to the class, I preview it, and if it’s appropriate, I play it. Now that it’s so close to the end of the year, I do a “YouTube of the Day” with them every morning. He hangs out with another tough kid (let’s call him Mark), who is loud and boisterous and often rude. He’s a bit tough to get close to, and seems like the type to be resistant to new ideas and different people. There is one boy in this group (he will be known here as Harry) who is a little quieter than the others, but very popular. Never keep their hands to themselves, always talk out of turn, have gotten in fights, etc. In particular, I have one group of boys that can be a bit of a pain in the neck.

I am in my first year of teaching, and I teach something of a 'tough' class. I am gay, and my students have known this for about a month or so. Context: I teach Grade 8 (13-14 years old) in Ontario, Canada.