i teach a felon?

so i found out that one of my "baby thugs" is actuall a full on THUG. a product of a middle class household this young man is prone to gang related violence. and of course to err on the side of things that make life more interesting, he is classified as "exceptional" but smart and polite in my class.

i have yet to determine how i feel about having kids with extensive police records in my class. especially given that i am 4'11" female and generally outsized by every person in my class. there is a part of me that doesn't want to know about what they have done in their past so that i can teach them without bias, and another part that feels that i deserve to be told what sort of background these kids have so that i can maintain my personal safety...

one has to wonder about the other students in my classroom, and in all the other classes this young man takes, if it is appropriate for him to be with other students? is their safety in jeopardy? did he give up his right to be in a standard school when he started committing and being convicted of crimes?

such wonderful bits of deep thought. especially as there is a police conference on gang activity in my city, and i had a girl in my class break down because a boy in her life had to go into hiding because he has a gang hit after him....

anyone else freaked out that these are just kids?