The only part of your comment I find confusing is your comment about shoes and phones. I hear colleagues of all races, genders, politics express that sentiment when students never have their school supplies because it’s sad how undervalued education is. We all see families not investing in school but trying to keep up with the Joneses. It’s frustrating as a teacher to see mixed priorities.

I know that poverty isn’t as simples as that, like avocado toast isn’t keeping millennials from paying off student loans.

Still, as a teacher I both always provide pencils no matter what even to students wearing Yeezys and coming to school with iPhones, but I also find it my responsibility to point out priorities. I think I can’t let students give themselves excuses, as someone who grew up without much money myself. That’s what’s great about public education. We will do our best to meet needs, but if students and families don’t have the interest in learning we can only do so much. It’s sad to see the demonstration of that lack of interest with not even having the cheapest most basic school supplies like paper and pencil. Again, I’ll always provide a pencil to a child without. They’re a child. But it doesn’t stop there. A student “can’t get a ride” for tutoring but can for clubs/sports? It’s sad no matter the political affiliation.