Multiculturalism Is a Term Referring to a

Multiculturalism is a term referring to a current concern in academic circles. A high school education is considered effective and valuable if it helps the individual be prepared to live in a world of competing ideas and values and to be able to work with people from different backgrounds. As Hugh B. Price notes, the issue is whether a multicultural education is necessary to achieve these goals. This leads Christine E. Sleeter to consider what multicultural education really means.

First, to ask whether multiculturalism is needed in school is not to ask whether there should be a mixture of cultures in school, because this certainly will true as a matter of course. Students from a variety of different ethnic, racial, and even national backgrounds come together in American schools and bring differing values with them. The issue of multiculturalism in schools, however, is a curricular issue as parents ask whether aspects of different cultures should be taught or whether some majority culture should be the only source.

As a rule, this means imparting Western culture and cultural values as if they were the ideal, while a multicultural approach would teach a broader range of values and show greater respect for the values of other cultures. The issue really begins with the question of what sort of society we want. Those with a traditional approach see America as a "melting pot," with a common American culture created out of the many cultures represented in American society, overcoming differences through unity.

This idea embodies the fact that so many different kinds of people have come here to join the larger American society.

The virtue being promoted in this concept is the virtue of assimilation, and it was long felt that even if the first-generation immigrants were unable to assimilate fully because of linguistic or cultural differences that might emphasize their separate identity, their children would be fully assimilated and "Americanized." Those who want a more multicultural approach are those who believe that America tends to promote an Anglo-Saxon culture that simply does not represent everyone. They call for a more diverse curriculum, going beyond the usual emphasis on the Western tradition.

The belief of those supporting this approach is that for America to forge a truly common public culture, it is necessary first to recognize the importance and value of the many different heritages which go into the mix and to recognize their value on their own. The two sides might sound reasonable when their positions are stated simply, but there is actually considerable fear of multiculturalism in some circles.

Multiculturalism is a relatively new word as applied to educational issues, though in fact there has long been a multicultural aspect to education even if it was not identified as such. There was once a class.