"Perhaps the best lesson I can pass along to my upper- and middle-class students is to merely point them in the direction of their foreign-born classmates, who can remind us all that education in America is still more a privilege than a right."

Even though I don't have any upper- and middle-class students, this teacher raises a very interesting point...

Some kids really are just lazy and they are that way for a lot of reasons. It's obviously not always their fault. Honestly, some kids haven't been given a reason to be more proactive, or even just plain ole' active. They are waaaaayyy to consumed with their own day-to-day today business to see that far ahead. At 12-years old, it is difficult to see the true value of education. It is equally as difficult for us teachers to impose that value on them. OBVIOUSLY I care about education.. I am a teacher. Any suggestions on how to genuinely communicate this importance to our students...?