More compassion, less judgement

My classmate is about to retire from teaching in the public school system.  She asked me to look at her classroom computers.  As I worked on her computers, we chatted about Tuskegee, our jobs and stuff.  She told me that she had taken a young man into her home, the same young man who she brings to church.  This is the second time she has assumed that responsibility, that I know of personally.  She said she was glad the boy was not present at the proceedings to see how quickly his mother surrendered her parental rights.(looking at her watch and asking how much longer is this going to take)..My Classmate also visited a child's home to see why she had an angry outburst in class ...(My classmate teaches English to high school seniors)...the child had a child.(with obvious special needs), by her father...My classmate told me about a young man who comes to her class and sleeps the whole period...sometimes the next period too.  When she questioned him to see if he was getting enough sleep at home, she found out he is the sole support of his family...both  parents laid off and this young man working all night at a hospital in a neighboring city.

My classmate said you never know what kids are going through until you see how they are living.  It made me almost ashamed of my comfortable life, definitely more compassionate and less judgemental.