A little broken.
I got into education---and literature in particular--- partly because I love them both.  Mostly though, I got into the field I am in because I want to improve the world around me.  I think the best way to improve our world is to reduce bigotry and prejudice and ignorance through exposing our young to other people, cultures, and ways of life. 

This makes it especially hard when I have a day like today, where students openly display such negative feelings towards gay and black students.  I won't get into the two incidents, but there was no question that these students see these people as some sort of scary other.

It is both my job/not my job to give students a character education.  Schools and parents will insist that we do . . . .until they disagree with what we're saying.  Then suddenly they cry it's not our job.  I myself am torn on the issue---I want them to get it at home, but public education is often the only place where a child may be exposed to an important other point of view.

I'm blathering on with all this to say that when I see a student who has had me in class for months, who has seen my example every day, and who still holds such bigoted ideas . . . . my heart breaks a little.