While watching Half Nelson, I kept asking myself, “If this teacher was not in a public school, i.e. a private school, or a public school in a more advantageous socioeconomic neighborhood, would people still love this movie? Would he still be considered a good teacher?” I think that the answer would be no. I’ve seen quite a few films with adults and children as friends even when it isn’t strictly kosher and sorry, there were two things that snapped me out of objective moviegoer & into concerned citizen: the dancing scene & the dead cat. I felt like the student was being just as used by her teacher as the local drug teacher-she should be taken care of, not watching over him. I read Ebert’s review: the point was that someone could be good in one area & bad in another-nuance, but was he good in any area just because he liked underprivileged kids? Sorry, no objectivity here. They deserve better. Using revolutionary references does not make one a revolutionary, but may make you a poseur.