This article is a commentary on "Unwrapping the Suburban "Package Deal": Race, Class, and School Access," by Anna Rhodes and Siri Warkentien. Although guided by powerful ideals of equal opportunity, American schools are deeply unequal. As historians of education have taught, children of different racial, ethnic, and class…

Better strategies for teaching multicultural education and lessons about non-Anglo cultures are not what is needed in teacher education. Instead, generative ways are needed for teachers to explore their own assumptions and to construct pedagogy that takes into account the values and practices of cultures different from their own. (SLD)

Before analysts can assess self-esteem as a goal for policy and practice, they must consider the ideological orientations of those who use the term and the cultural norms that shape the debate. Explicit attention to the politics surrounding self-esteem is needed to evaluate the use of the term in policy contexts. (Author/SLD)