I know that in the past I have been quick to judge someone on the basis of social class but I did not really realize it till watching this movie and reading the article A Question of Class. I know that the poverity I see in my town has a lot to do with drug use. I have had the opnion that it is their own faught and that they could help themselves if they really wanted to. While I still feel that if you are poor and uneducated because you would rather do drugs then it is your own faught, I have recently been considering how this effects their children. Most of the time the children follow in the footsteps of their parents and it creates a cycle. The use drugs, sell then, drop out of school and have children, that they cannot afford to suppot, way to young.
As I said in class that personally seeing my friends and classmates grow up this way gave me the motivation to go to college but I also did come from a good home and my parents did not use drugs. So what can we do to those who live day to day in these conditions?

I think it is really important to ask why people use drugs and also to remember how addictive certain drugs are. I am certain that most of the people in your town did not intend to get addicted to drugs and spend the rest of their lives using them.
I think the only thing we can do is give our future students hope and encouragement. We need to make sure that they realize that they can come to us as teachers for advice and help in both academic and non academic senses. We have to let them know that we care as teachers and as people about them and what happens in their lives. Many teachers get to the point where they start excusing their not caring by asking "what can I do about it? it's not my problem". Too many teachers give up on their students and don't realize that they could have been the change in the life of that student. There are plenty of people whose lives have been changed by teachers and I only hope that I can affect one student in that way.

Nikki,

I must admit that in the past, I have been guilty of judging other sometimes too. Oftentimes it is easy to look at someone that appears to be poor and say "Oh that's their own fault. They can help themselves if they really want to." However, like you said, these people, especially the ones who do drugs, often have negative effects on their children. Their children don't know how to get out of their situation and therefore accept that they are going to follow in their parents' footsteps, which is really sad. I feel that if a teacher sees this going on with a student in their classroom, we need not assume it's "not our problem"; we need to show our students that we do care and that we are ready and willing to help them and be there for them. Many teachers don't realize what an impact they have on their students, and in cases like this, we can make a very positive impact.

I agree. I think teachers have an enormous amount of potential to affect kids' lives, be it for the better or for the worse. It is very easy to look at a situation from the outside and make assumptions and judgements. But we don't know everyone's situation. We don't know what kids and parents are going through. I worked on a bus route at my church back home and we would have dozens of kids come through every week. To just look at them, you might think they were poor, mean, trouble makers, or shy. But once you visit their homes, talk to their families, and get to know their situations, you realize there is much more to them than what meets the eye. These children, as well as all children, are faced with lots of things that can affect them in the classroom. Instead of making judgements and ignoring the situation, we should realize that they are human just like us, going through lots of things and that we should be open and willing to help them. A teacher can have a great impact on a child if that student trusts them and knows they are there to help!

I agree I have judged people to quick sometimes as well and not tried to get to know them or see where they are coming from. Which is definately not the way to be. As teachers we are going to have those children in our classrooms that are living in homes that have drugs going on and who knows what else. But we also have to make sure we dont cross the line either. We walk fine lines being teachers sometimes. But I think we can still make differences in our students lives by listening to them and showing them we care about them and their well being. I think one of the most important things a teacher can do is be a friend sometimes. I really admire and look up to the teachers I had that took the time to be there for me.