Bette Wilson: Text 1

Bette Wilson, director of multicultural education at Oak Park School District 97, Oak Park, Ill., discusses why teachers need to develop cultural self-knowledge:

"I think it's very important for teachers to know their own cultures very well and study their own cultures, because then they begin to become more reflective listeners. They look at other people's cultures in a different light, and they begin to see the similarities and differences in their cultures. It becomes a journey in a classroom of learning, because by the teacher sharing their own culture, then the students are more open to that."