ABSTRACT
Multiculturalism is not to be equated with ethnic studies, although such studies might be included under the general aim to understand other cultures. Although Joel Spring does not mention "preserving an original culture" as one aim of multicultural education, it may be implied by his third and fourth goals, and this is one of Schlesinger's fears-that immigrants will retain and favor their original identity. Benjamin Barber, for example, points to the "thinness" of cosmopolitanism. He argues that the concept does not have anything close to the emotional impact of national patriotism. Defenders of cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism would respond that it is American exceptionalism, not cosmopolitanism, which has caused the trouble. The challenge to educators is to find a way to prepare well-informed citizens who can listen to and analyze the arguments advanced for patriotism, American military leadership, multicultural education, and cosmopolitanism without attacking one another.
