This study was undertaken in an attempt to determine if the traits of flexibility, openness, and sensitivity found in high school teachers would be associated with higher levels of satisfaction among students in general and among minority students in particular. Thirty-nine teachers and 953 students served as subjects in the study. Three measures were administered to teachers: (1) the Parsons-Kreuter Ressentiment Index; (2) the This I Believe test; and (3) the Cross Cultural Sensitivity test. These scales were related to a measure of student satisfaction with the teacher and school environment obtained via the Friedenberg-Nordstrom Ressentiment Index. Support was found for the hypothesis that the openness, flexibility, and sensitivity of a teacher's cognitive style and perceptual systems can have positive effects on the satisfaction and adjustment of students. Unusual or exceptional patterns of relating to others did not seem to be required for successful communication with minority students. However, without the sensitivity to understand another and to resist the inclination to make strong and negative attributions based on unusual behavior, the "concerned" teacher may be seen as paternalistic and unresponsive. (Author/PC)