Therefore, the selection of historiographies used to create school curricula and to inform pedagogy should be carefully selected and from as many perspectives as possible. Cultural identity does not have to be created in opposition to others. Too often, cultural identity is based on boundaries and borders rather than on commonalities.

Relying on singular interpretations of potentially biased historians is particularly problematic when issues of power and social control are taken into consideration. American public schools should be especially aware of how knowledge, power, and social control are closely interwoven. Even teachers of young children can become more aware of differential access to social and cultural capital: the means by which the rich become richer. Public schools should promote a cultural identity that is keenly aware of the problems with traditional pedagogy, traditional definitions of "culture," and traditional ways of disseminating culture.

Giroux (1999) notes that educators may need to...
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