One of the most challenging issues faced by the American school system is managing diversity. In an increasingly heterogeneous society, schools are able to transform the racial, ethnic, and cultural awareness of an entire community and even the culture as a whole. Because young students are impressionable, eager to learn, and sensitive to the world around them, school officials and staff have a definite responsibility to promote positive images of minorities. Many school systems and teachers are well-versed enough in political correctness to avoid racist language or the deliberate mistreatment of students. However, what Wiley calls "institutional racism" is still common practice in many schools.
             Institutional racism is a subtle process; because it is cloaked in good intentions, institutional racism often goes unnoticed even by minority groups. In fact, Wiley notes that "regardless of whether they were intended to do so," the practices that lead to discrimination in the classroom severely impact students' self-esteem (136). Moreover, the ways that individual school systems, teachers, and principals approach diversity has the potential to impact not only children's' self-esteem but also the
             worldviews of the culture at large. One of the most significant ways that cultural pluralism manifests itself is through language. Language is fundamental to human relations, communication, and daily life. Therefore, the way schools treat children whose first language is not English, or at least those whose families do not speak English, is a major consideration. In his article about language practices and policies in institutional contexts, Terence Wiley focuses on multilingualism as a function of
             diversity. According to Wiley, "elevating the status of the students' native languages helps enhance their positive self-identity and promotes additive bilingualism" (137-38).
             In Europe, where so many different cultures exist side-by-side, multili...