Countering Classroom Discrimination.

Teachers make a difference in the lives of most students. Some of the differences are negative; most are positive. I remember well my eighth grade English teacher who made me write a letter to the school newspaper 10 times before submission. The fact that my father was an unemployed coal miner, that my parents had seven years of schooling between them, and that English was spoken minimally in our home did not impede her from making a positive difference in my life. Not only did I learn to write a letter well, but I learned the importance of discipline, perseverance, and mentorship, all very important outcomes of schooling. This article is about racial, ethnic, sexual, and social class prejudices and biases. These social forces, when allowed to operate unchallenged, penetrate the walls of schools and debilitate the positive differences teachers make in the lives of students.