This view is reflected in increasing calls for financial equity among schools, desegregation, mainstreaming, and standardized testing for teachers and students alike; it has been maintained that by providing the same education to all students, schools can equalize social opportunity (Bowman, 1994).

This latter position is typically followed up with the use of a particular curriculum designed to support the approach. In this regard, Bowman suggests that, "Knowledge is thought to exist in the collected wisdom of a canon, and education is the transferral of established wisdom to the learner" (p. 218). Unfortunately, when educators attempt to impose a "one-size-fits-all" curriculum on a diverse study body, there are bound to be problems -- particularly for those students who are already marginalized through language and other socioeconomic constraints.

Furthermore, in many ways, the public schools are unique in that they have been assigned the responsibility of communicating what American society regards...
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