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PARTISAN REVIEW
this multiculturalism fight, even before it was mentioned in relation to
the curriculum. I think it's one of the major differences between Ameri–
can education and the education of other industrial, democratic coun–
tries, and it is one of the reasons why we don't make it competitively.
Edith Kurzweil:
All this, it seems to me, gets us back to asking how
we could change the culture. Wilson Moses, you brought up the parents.
Wilson
Moses:
It
is significant that many of the people who talk about
multiculturalism send their kids to places like Exeter and Andover, and
then on to integrated colleges, not to historically black ones. This con–
tradiction is not peculiar to black Americans . Hispanic-, Jewish-,
Chinese-Americans, and other groups all try
to
encourage integration
while preserving ethnic integrity.
Abigail Thernstrom:
Why isn't there a public outcry? Why don't
parents say, "Wait a minute. What are they teaching my kids at school?
These are not my values."
AI Shanker:
Parents are not well-organized, but radical versions of
multiculturalism are really not popular with them. In New York there
actually was a poll conducted about the issues raised by the Sobol Re–
port. It found that black parents, by a big majority, believe that teaching
America's common heritage and values is very important. About eighty–
eight percent of black parents thought so, while about seventy percent of
white parents did - a smaller percentage. Across ethnic and racial groups,
the overwhelming majority of parents said both the common heritage
and the contributions of America's diverse population should be taught.
There was very, very little support for the kind of separatism advocated in
the Sobol Report.
Arthur Schlesinger:
I'll tell you where there is a problem: it is in the
self-appointed media spokesmen, such as AI Sharpton. He's good copy,
good television. The media creates such spokesmen.
AI Shanker:
National polls show that the overwhelming majority
favo~
a national curriculum. Maybe we ought to worry that the public wants
to go too far in terms of homogeneity.
Jean Elshtain:
I think parents feel beleaguered. For one thing, there are
limits on people's time. People are hard-pressed; both mothers and
fathe~
work. You used to rely on the women taking care of the PTA and so
forth. The way parents raise issues also comes under question. And often
