Debate Over Multiculturalism

I’ve taught courses on the community college level for more than 15 years. It’s frightening to learn that a fellow educator holds such uneducated and ill-informed notions about the value of multicultural studies.

Evidently, Buchholz has spent too much of his life cradled in economic theory and hasn’t bothered to notice the dramatic demographic changes taking place throughout the nation.

One only need look at the latest U.S. census results to appreciate the increasing numbers of Asians and Latinos who are redefining our culture. Contrary to Buchholz’s contention about a “dominant culture,” minorities or “people of color” now comprise the majority. There is no dominant culture.

A student’s right to choose from a culturally diverse curriculum is as much a treasured concept as a teacher’s academic freedom.

While I staunchly support Buchholz’s right to express his opinion, I’m astonished at how an educator can deny the existence of a student’s need to learn more about his or her cultural heritage.

KEITH A. SHELDON

Chino Hills