| Those who feel equally strongly that the public | | | | may not understand the decision and may not |
| schools should continue to emphasize the | | | | speak the new language. In addition, individuals |
| assimilation of minorities into society and the | | | | who choose to assimilate are often accused by |
| modern economy by focusing on the core | | | | their original communities and other marginalized |
| intellectual and cultural values of the Western | | | | groups of having "sold out." |
| world. Those who hold this position still believe in | | | | Thus, for example, Black youngsters who are said |
| the notion of the "melting pot," our best-known | | | | to "act White" may be stigmatized as "Oreos": |
| assimilation metaphor. | | | | Black on the outside and White on the inside. |
| Although it was originally intended as a metaphor | | | | There are also no guarantees that an individual |
| for leveling the sociocultural and racial playing field | | | | who has chosen to cut off his or her original roots |
| in the United States, the melting-pot concept has | | | | will be accepted by the dominant society if there |
| been criticized for being discriminatory in practice. | | | | is a history of prejudice and discrimination against |
| (The author once asked the Black civil rights | | | | individuals and groups from certain racial and |
| leader Jesse Jackson Jr. whether he believed in | | | | cultural backgrounds. |
| the melting pot-to which Jackson responded that | | | | The ideology and processes of assimilation thus |
| in his opinion, most Blacks were stuck on the side | | | | have profound implications for school and society. |
| of the pot.) | | | | In states such as California and Arizona, with |
| Advocates of the melting pot claim that | | | | restrictive English-only language policies, schools |
| multiculturalism lowers academic standards by | | | | face tough ideological and curricular decisions |
| establishing preferential policies for minority | | | | regarding the use of other languages for |
| students for admission to colleges and universities; | | | | instructional purposes. In such situations, teachers |
| substituting "feel-good" learning for academic rigor | | | | must work with students, parents, colleagues, and |
| by overemphasizing selfesteem gained through | | | | community members at each end of the |
| reverence for one's ethnicity and linguistic | | | | spectrum-those who believe that schools have a |
| traditions; and dividing U.S. society by segregating | | | | duty to help students assimilate as a way of |
| students and teaching them competing | | | | preparing them for life in the dominant society |
| ethnocentrisms through curricular approaches, | | | | and those who believe in the value of pluralism-to |
| such as Afrocentric education and bilingual | | | | strike a balance. |
| bicultural education. | | | | Although the need to balance everyone's interests |
| These critics believe that such programs | | | | can be a daunting task for teachers, it can also be |
| undermine U.S. common culture by denying its | | | | a valuable opportunity to learn more about |
| Western roots, teaching the "wrong" values, and | | | | opposing views in an area where great |
| deemphasizing traditional moral authority based on | | | | understanding is sorely needed, and the |
| Western religious principles. Choosing to leave | | | | assimilation of minorities into society and the |
| one's cultural and linguistic heritage behind can be a | | | | modern economy should be one of the greatest |
| sad and difficult experience. Others in the family | | | | targets of our Society. |