ABSTRACT
I begin this concluding chapter with a teacher narrative that captures the kind of deficit thinking and middle-class assumptions that I have experienced as a scholar/advocate for culturally and linguistically diverse populations. This narrative is typical of the kind of thinking and the assumptive world which mark
orthodox interactions between school professionals and caregivers as well as local community members who are working, with the best intentions on all sides, to construct productive settings for the children in their care. This is not to suggest that teachers are maliciously motivated. Just like this teacher who was “respected” by the community, they can be well meaning with good intentions. But they are often lulled to acting and believing that their implicit theories are natural, correct, and universally understood and accepted.
