Chapter 7 Thinking Outside the Box: Fostering Racial and Ethnic Discourses in Urban Teacher Education Patricia A. Young University of Maryland The ability to differentiate instruction and teach a range of children is es- sential for in-service and pre-service teachers. However, nurturing and de- veloping pre-service teachers to teach in urban schools and communities requires additional tutelage. Teachers must know how to think critically, solve multifaceted problems, master content knowledge, and then transfer these skills to children. They must know what they know, be able to articu- late that knowledge to children, and acquire knowledge they do not them- selves possess. The role of a teacher dictates that they (a) provide a variety of instruction to meet content area, individualized, and group needs; (b) facil- itate, monitor, record, assess, and evaluate the learning goals of each child; (c) manage classroom actions and activities; (d) handle the needs of stu- dents (physical, behavioral, emotional, mental, social, cultural, racial, eth- nic, and linguistic); (e) and walk in the shoes of children. Given these challenges, screening those who want to become teachers is imperative. The demand for teachers has brought forth people from all dis- ciplines of life: retirees, career changers, bright-eyed recent graduates, and young adults who became captivated while in high school. This variety of applicants still remains homogeneous by racial and ethnic distinctions. Given this dilemma, educating pre-service teachers about the racial, ethnic, 109