This contribution is about situations in classrooms when students express racism, leaving teachers feeling uncertain about how to act. The study is mainly a theoretical contribution inspired by John Dewey’s (1908/1978, 1916/1985, 1922/1983) work on, if, and how deliberation can be used in such situations. It also uses recently carried out interviews with teachers on how to respond to racism in education, to illustrate situations related to the theoretical argumentation in the text. In this presentation “expressions of racism” refers to interpersonal racism where racism is expressed between people, based on race-biological and/or cultural divisions. The aspects highlighted are: 1) the student’s (expected) potential for growth, 2) the class composition and classroom climate, 3) the teacher's own knowledge and experiences.