ABSTRACT
Caring for students of color must go beyond being "nice" to them. It is not enough to be kind and sympathetic when kindness and sympathy are located within systems of inequality and oppression. Sometimes going beyond being nice means just the opposite of what one might define as "nice". That is, it means having rigorous standards and high expectations, pushing students further than they might believe they can go, and supporting them as they try to accomplish their goals. Going beyond niceness also means creating classroom and school environments that are defined by deep confidence in students, acknowledgment that they have talents and strengths, and respect for their identities and their communities. To ensure that their institutions are caring for students, educators can begin to ask one another, in so many words, what it means to "care" for their student body.
