Bette Wilson: Text 3

Bette Wilson, director of multicultural education at Oak Park School District 97, Oak Park, Ill., discusses the importance of teachers demonstrating acceptance and understanding of their culturally and linguistically diverse students:

"A lot of children of color, especially, are more concerned about the teacher accepting them. They work for a grade for the teacher. And when the teacher says, "You've done well," the children believe they've done well. So the acceptance of diverse learning styles, the acceptance of diverse cultures enhances learning for all children. But especially in a diverse classroom, it's very important that the teacher show that they accept the child and their culture. So in order to motivate and keep the self-esteem up and make sure that children are connected to the learning, it is very very important that the person in the front of the room accepts those students and accepts their culture and their way of doing things."