Education in the United States will need to become significantly more
             multicultural if it is to meet the needs of its student base, according to
             reported statistics and results of studies. Such curriculum changes will be
             required for children at all educational levels, from those in general
             classes to those in exceptional or gifted programs.
             Over the next 50 years, the country's Latino and Asian populations are
             expected to triple, reports the U.S. Census Bureau. The white, non-Latino
             population will drop to just 50.1 percent by 2050-- the lowest in the
             nation's history. The African-American population is projected to rise from
             35.8 million to 61.4 million in 2050, or an increase of about 71 percent.
             At the same time, the world is becoming considerably more global in
             economic, political, social and technological spheres. These factors,
             alone, will necessitate a change in the now standardized Anglo-American
             Studies report a number of other reasons in addition to population
             changes that will make diverse education mandatory. A number of reports
             show that a multicultural curriculum can increase academic relevance for
             students of color, attitudes in ethnic group interrelationships and degree
             of creative learning for everyone. Other benefits for students may include
             greater intellectual involvement, more advanced thinking, enhanced
             intellectual and academic skill building, better cross-racial socialization
             (Bowen and Bok, 1998), and more preparation for living in a culturally rich
             As early as 1975, sociologist Coser emphasized the advantages gained
             by all ages when living in complex social structures or social situations,
             as he defined them, that are familiar to the residents yet often quite
             discrepant with past lives. Complex structures are composed of many rather
             than few people who have different contradictory expectations of one other.
             Coser argues that unfamiliarity,...