ABSTRACT
Before we discuss approaches that teachers can take to deal constructively with race, class, gender, and disability, it is important to describe what often occurs in many classrooms and schools. School, it has been observed, reflects society. Just as a few improvements in society may give an incomplete or inaccurate view of progress in reducing racism, sexism, class bias, and bias against disabilities, a few improvements in our schools are similarly misleading. In many schools, one can readily observe students of color and White students socializing; girls in classes such as wood shop and auto shop, once considered the exclusive domain of the boys; boys in home economics classes, once considered no-man’s-land; Spanish spoken in mathematics classes; and students in wheelchairs attending proms and participating in many other school events. Also, in some schools the cheering squad, band, and sports teams often reflect the diversity of the student body. Moreover, it is not unusual in integrated schools for a person of color to be the president of the student council, a class officer, or a member of the queen’s court.
