After the American Revolution, the founders of the United States argued

To give a better understanding of multiculturalism, James Banks states, “Teachers need to let students know how knowledge reflects the social, political, and economic context in which it was created. Knowledge explained by powerful groups in society differs greatly from that of its less powerful counterparts”(Banks 11). For example, early Americans are most often called “pioneers” or “settlers” in social studies textbooks. On the other hand, foreigners are called “immigrants”. If a person were to look at the situation from a Native American’s point of view, one would see that pioneers were the immigrants. But since the “pioneers” later went on to write the textbooks, it is not usually described in that manner. Another important aspect students need to realize is that knowledge alone is not enough to shape a society. The members themselves have to be willing to put forth the time and effort and show an interest in shaping their society in order for it to benefit all people.

In the 1930's several educators called for programs of cultural diversity that encouraged ethnic and minority students to study their respective heritages. This would not be easy because there is much diversity in many different places. A 1990 census shows that the population in the United States has changed more in the last ten years than in any other time in the twentieth century. It stated that one out of every four Americans identified themselves as black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, or American Indian (Gould 198). Foreign born residents was at an all time high with 20 million.

Education today should not just be about learning basic grammar and arithmetic, but about cultural awareness. A perfect way to achieve this awareness is “multiculturalism” in schools. Most people can agree that a person’s life is affected mostly through the personal experience they have in their adolescent years (Pruitt 254). If public schools today could become more diverse, then the society would be a more culturally aware order.

Joining multiple cultures would not be an easy task. Most people agree that the first step in intertwining multiple cultures is to develop an understanding of other backgrounds. But the agreements stop there. One obstacle in this task is defining “multiculturalism”. When it means that simply there is an existence of a culturally integrated society, many people have no problems. When people go beyond that meaning and try to suggest a different way of arriving at a culturally integrated society, everyone seems to have a different opinion on what will work.

Like education in the nineteenth century, education was important to the American way of life. But education was drastically different. What used to be based on morals, success, and literacy was not what it used to be (Healy 68). The low amount of resources and the low pay teachers receive illustrates the poor quality of education the youth are receiving today (Healy 75). There was not as much emphasis on the importance of education today compared to the excitement about the opportunities education in the nineteenth century could create.

Joining multiple cultures would not be an easy task. Most people agree that the

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