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It was like being a Black boy was something that was not good, and you have to feel good within yourself to succeed . . . And you'd be surprised how you trust your kid with a teacher, and the teacher's with him more than you are. They're with him the majority of the day, and for someone to just really lower your child's self-esteem was horrible.
-A former public school mother with a son now enrolled in private school
In this era, where policymakers demand "accountability," education reforms increasingly require teachers to demonstrate subject matter competency, implement curriculum standards, and prepare students to excel on standardized tests (CCTC, 2001; Darling-Hammond & Post, 2000). Most practitioners and scholars agree that a teacher's ability to help students succeed is linked to his or her own knowledge and use of pedagogical practices that promote student achievement. Yet, teacher effectiveness is further connected to educators' deep-seated beliefs about their students' intelligence, character, and potential (Bartolome, 1994; Cochran-Smith, 1997; Fueyo & Bechtol, 1999; Oakes & Lipton, 1999). Thus, helping students meet standards and pass tests are just two of many things teachers must accomplish in preparing their students to adequately function in a competitive, multicultural society. Teachers' willingness to reject deficit thinking and stereotypes, while embracing a belief that students from all backgrounds can learn and flourish is also essential (Bartolome, 1994; Solorzano, 1997; Valencia, 1997).
The growth of culturally diverse student populations in public schools over the past decade has coincided with decreased student achievement rates and a disturbing decline in the amount of qualified and certified teachers who wish to teach in urban schools (Darling-Hammond & Post, 2000; Fueyo & Bechtol, 1999). Consequently, students who already lack important socioeconomic resources are more likely to receive inadequate instruction. These children are also susceptible to being harmed by teachers who hold strong biases against them, given their racial, class, gender, and family backgrounds (Cooper, 2001).
In this article, I discuss African American mothers' beliefs about the negative impact that teacher bias can have on students' self-esteem and academic achievement. I draw from in-depth interview data to highlight mothers' opinions of, and experiences with, teachers they characterize as "unqualified" and "uncaring." The data stem from a qualitative study of...