In his book We Are All Multiculturalists Now (1997), Nathan Glazer states that "we all now accept a greater degree of attention to minorities and women and their role in American life" (p. 14). The Graduate Studies in Education faculty at Indiana Wesleyan University is committed to the spiritual, intellectual, and emotional growth and development of our culturally diverse student body.

The following book selections have been chosen for review to focus our attention, broaden our perspective, and deepen our understanding of the issues and challenges of offering a multicultural education to our students. These selections do not represent the University's perspective in all respects. Instead, they offer the reader diverse points of entry into the multicultural debate in education today.

Tolerance & Education:
Learning to Live with Diversity and Difference
by Paul W. Vogt

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
1997, 290 pp
ISBN 0-7619-0216-3 $25.98 (pb)

In his most recent book, Paul Vogt, a professor of Educational Sociology and Research Methods, examines the many facets of tolerance in education. He states that tolerance is "the final defense against discrimination and persecution," and calls into question our basic definitions of tolerance.

In the book's seven chapters, Vogt explores our assumptions of tolerance, and asks such questions as -

The author also offers critiques and encourages discussion about prejudice, bias and stereotypes in the educational environment. He offers recommendations for educators and highlights future research needs.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
1997, 186 pp
ISBN 0-8039-6337-8 $22.95 (pb)

Jeffery Kottler, author of many books in education and psychology, offers a critique of multiculturalism in American education today. He contends that, while discussions of cultural diversity issues have been thought provoking, actual attempts at change have been superficial and ineffective. Kottler also argues that, because "teachers are expected only to make token gestures of compliance to multicultural values rather than dramatic transformations in how they work," racism and oppression continue in our schools unabated.

This book offers educators the opportunity to explore the influence of their own culture and values upon their students and classroom environments. Such self reflection, Kottler believes, is the first step toward genuine positive change.

Stockton, CA: ICA, Inc
1997, 112 pp
ISBN 1-879774-09-7 $23.95 (pb)

and

Teaching to Ethnicity, Gender, and Race:
The Quest for Equality
by Carlos Bonilla and Joyce Goss, eds.

Stockton, CA: ICA, Inc
1997, 73 pp
ISBN 1-879774-09-7 $23.95 (pb)

Bonilla and Goss have edited two spiral bound collections of essays authored by teachers of culturally diverse classrooms in California. These essays focus on key issues in teaching students of all ages from diverse backgrounds and abilities. Each book includes handouts, bibliographies, and lists of additional resources. Although the authors' scholarship and writing quality is not consistently high, these editions address critical issues of diversity in education today.

New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishers
1997, 197 pp
ISBN 0-8204-3690-9 $29.95 (pb)

In this thought-provoking work, Wieder contends that, although legally mandated, integration of America's educational system is imperfect and, in some places, nonexistent. He argues that the underlying issues of multicultural education must be confronted and assertively acted upon if educators and students are to experience authentic integration.

Wieder describes a school system in which integration has taken place only in the physical sense. The textbooks, school culture, and educational environment have largely remained unchanged. School success continues to be elusive for students from backgrounds and cultures other than white middle class. Wieder's book is both informative and interesting, as he uses narration, photographs, and oral histories to persuade his readers to thought and action.

ON-LINE RESOURCES:

DiCerbo, P. (Ed.) (1999).Preserving Home Languages and Cultures in the Classroom: Challenges and Opportunities. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.

A View From Within: A Case Study of Chinese Heritage Community Language Schools Xueying Wang, Editor. National Foreign Language Center, 1997.