One instructor's "dead zone" (her windowless classroom in the depths of the Humanities building) was the place where little exchange between teacher and students took place. When one day she overheard the students talking about how little money they had left on their meal cards, she took a few dozen bagels to that afternoon's writing lab. The experience made her realize that some changes were necessary to begin recognizing and acknowledging the reality of students' lives inside and outside the classroom. Since that "dead zone" semester, the instructor has tried to rethink, reposture, and reposition herself and her attitude toward the classroom environment, the students, their writing, and what they have to offer. These urban students do not come from anything remotely resembling a traditional family--they come from unstable environments where drugs, crime, and violence are daily occurrences. They cannot buy textbooks because their financial aid has not come through; they have learning disabilities that they desperately try to conceal from their peers. Writing teachers need to examine how the discourse of the discipline constructs students as others; they need to question how to understand the students' reality; and, they should apply a humanistic attitude to their pedagogy. Such a reevaluation would allow instructors to see that there is no "ideal" assignment, ideal setting, or ideal student. Existing practices and theories must be questioned for literacy to have any meaning in students' education and in their futures. (NKA)