The purpose of this ethnographic study was to determine the norms and rules of behavior in a multi-ethnic seventh-grade classroom in an inner-city school. Data were gathered through classroom observations and interviews with the teacher. The teacher in this class stressed ethnic pride, and because the majority of the students (as well as the teacher) were African-American, an Afrocentric viewpoint was included in appropriate areas of the curriculum. The teacher also stressed that students needed to respect each other, enforcing rules concerning turn-taking and politeness. The teacher corrected students when they used Black English Vernacular (BEV) during formal classroom situations, but allowed them to use BEV when talking among themselves in informal situations. (MDM)