must be empowered to facilitate change, as well as recognize the barriers to change.
Teachers possess the ability to change the bureaucratic processes of the institutions where they teach. For example, fighting is often grounds for suspension or even expulsion, particulary for minority males. Teachers can help prevent these outcomes by creating a climate of civility in the classroom: "At a minimum, the social climate we envision is one in which everyone, teachers and students alike, treats others with consideration and respect and in which mannerly behavior and small courtesies are the norm" (Kauffman and Burbach, 1998, p. 15). Teachers themselves must think beyond aggressive responses to problems, such as the hypersensitivity that demands student suspension, even for the slightest provocation. Teachers must be aware that student behavior often reflects the norms of society, which condones the use of aggression. Creating a classroom environment that counteracts these norms is critical.
The subject of whether or not teachers discriminate in th
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