White, middle-class teachers often fail to understand the unique lifestyle of urban minorities. As a result, their classrooms are dominated by disruption and confrontation rather than by education. The three main factors limiting the efforts to improve the education of minority students are institutionalized white racism, the fear of people who have unfamiliar lifestyles, and the rigid use of inappropriate assumptions and techniques for teaching in the inner city. Youths from these areas use verbal techniques and routines such as 'playing the dozens,' which can be a harmless game or the catalyst to violence depending on the teacher's response. Administrators and teachers need to understand these techniques and to deal effectively with disruptive classroom behavior so as to create the safe, secure, and relaxed atmosphere necessary for teaching and learning. Recommendations are given for communication techniques, discipline, and personal dress and grooming. Ninety-nine case examples illustrate interactions between teachers and students. Chapter reference notes and index. (Publisher summary modified)