status noun

Your status is your position in society, or in a

particular group.
Your status is based on how important other people
think you are.
It is your position compared with other people.

Example
The Dalit people group of India have the lowest
social status in their country & they are known as the
untouchables.
Until recently, they were not allowed to eat with other groups,
they were not allowed to hold up umbrellas in front of other
groups, & they had to use different plates.

to pigeon hole someone expression

A pigeon hole is a small box usually located in an
office, where letters & messages are left for each
individual worker.
Each box has each workers name written on it, so it
is easy for them to pick up their mail.
If you pigeon-hole someone this means you try to
describe someones character (or personality) by
using just a few words or just one idea.
It is like you put a label on them.

 For example, if you think someone is dangerous then you

may label them as someone who is a criminal.
This means that you will always see them in a bad way & will
not trust them.

It is unwise to pigeon hole someone because:

i) People are complicated.
ii) We may not know everything about them.

Example 1
I really hate work at the moment. Since I fixed Toms
computer Ive become known as the computer guy.
Now, all I ever do is fix other peoples computer
problems!!
I can do so many other things but no one cares. I hate
being pigeon-holed.

Example 2
U.S. president-elect, Donald Trump,
believes the American media tried to
pigeon-hole him as dangerous person
who was unfit to be the President of America.
And it seems that many Americans agree with him.
A nationwide poll revealed that 65% Republican voters & 52%
of Democrat voters believed the media was biased against
Trump during the campaign.

Discussion
Try & pigeon hole (or label) the following people?
Can you describe them?

minister noun/verb
We use the word minister (as a noun) in
several ways, including:
i)

A person who performs religious duties

eg/ a minister of religion, or priest.

ii)

A person who is the head of a government

department.

As a verb the word minister means to serve other people.

It means to serve the needs of people under your care.

Example
Ms Kelly Shaffer has been ministering to the needs
of the homeless in the American city of
Elizabethtown for many years.
Each Sunday she serves up her homemade ham & green
bean soup, & offers fresh vegetables, potato salad, warm
clothes & bars of soap to over 100 homeless people.

Discussion
Which of the following people are servants?
1)
2)
3)

A Pastor
Police
The Prime Minister of Australia