Due to changing demographics in the K-12 student population contrasted with the homogeneous population of prospective teachers, the uncertainty about teacher preparedness to meet the needs of diverse student populations remains a controversial educational issue. Teacher educators have continued to question whether preservice teachers presently in…

Describes a conference presentation on "Multicultural Ways of Thinking: Removing the Blinders," in which a teaching strategy called "anonymous sharing" was modeled. The strategy allows participants to share ideas in a nonthreatening way by reading comments made anonymously by others. Experiences of conference participants are used to make…

Viewed in the history of American public education, the current debate over multicultural education can be seen as a new word for the old problem of how to respond to the diversity of students. American public education, especially in cities, has rarely been free of this issue. (SLD)

Discusses the tendency of whites to deflect attention from racism, which is the main problem underlying the need for multicultural education, and suggests a role for whites in examining their own generally unrecognized white racial bonding. To mitigate effects of white racial bonding, advocates of multicultural education must recognize them. (SLD)

Offers questions to guide educators in responding appropriately to culturally sensitive situations concerning Native American mascots and mechanisms for sports teams. Although there are no simple answers, communication and consensus seeking are ways to ensure the appropriate use of American Indian mascots. (SLD)

St. Paul's Episcopal School in Oakland (California) addresses the needs of its multicultural community by promoting decision making by students. A commitment to diversity is really a commitment to respecting each individual, and real respect means respecting each student as a decision maker. (SLD)

Discusses multicultural education, school choice, educational reform, curriculum development, and teacher education. If the curriculum represents the past truthfully, issues of multiculturalism and inclusion of all racial groups need not be raised because a valid curriculum represents them adequately. Race explains nothing in education other than…

To teach mathematics successfully to African Americans, there must be modification of what math is as a knowledge. Recently, a framework was composed which delineated four disparate dimensions of math as a type of knowledge and how assessment varies as a result of the definitions. Examines implications for African American education, African…

Reviews four books by respected scholars in the field of multicultural education. These works present conceptual resources and pedagogical strategies to help explain the importance of understanding the language, community, and culture of students. Also presents four other multicultural resources reviews by other authors. (SLD)