I have to admit, I had no idea that this class would have such an impact on me.  I feel that I have been so ignorant to a lot of issues that right here in my face.  From Privilege to Stereotypes, Religion to Intelligence, I have gained so much information and I have began to develop the way I want to view the world, not the way I was taught.  Starting out with a class such as this is a great experience.  The issues that we talked about are kept so quiet in the real world, that a lot of people don’t acknowledge or even recognize the many injustices that are prevalent in the US.  Why is it so hard to have a quality education for children living in low poverty? Why is there such an achievement gap between white students and black students.  Why is it weird if some of my students have 2 moms or 2 dads.  The answer to all these questions is: because we are living in American Culture, which I interpret as White Middle Class Christian Culture.  America is so eager to be proud of its diversity, but groups who do not fall into the category above, which is what makes this country diverse, are not treated the same.  Everything that happens to me or even to people I know, I always think about this class and the concepts and ideas that were brought up.  For example, I was in the Office Depot store and noticed that a man (who was black) left a nickle on the counter.  His appearance wasn’t the best as far as his clothes being neat and his hair being combed, but nothing too major.  There was another man in line behind him (who was the man infront of me) and once he got up to the counter picked the nickle up and chased the man down to give it to him.  Now, this is considered an act of kindness, but it made me mad.  I wondered if it was a white man who looked neat and clean ( according to American Standards) would he have done the same thing.  His assumption (and I’m assuming here myself) was that this man is probably poor and needs all his change.  I could be exaggerating, but that’s exactly how I felt.  Situations like this are magnified for me now, I notice everything and I tend to critique it in a manner that reflects the ideas brought up in this class.  I am also inspired to read up on a lot of the ideas that were brought up (I have a list but can’t really recall a particular reading).  I hope that I can continue to think and reflect on these very important issues brought up in this class and that I can form a view for myself.  Right now, that view is still forming.  But for now, I can say that it was so worth the 8 hour days and endless readings, and I have truly been enlightened.