62.        This view of education seems to recommend that schools stress the unity of all
people instead of their diversity. White I agree that education should include teaching
students about characteristics that we all share, doing so need not necessarily entail
shifting focus away from our differences. Education can and should include both.
      On the one hand. we are in the midst of an evolving global community where it is
increasingly important for people to recognize our common humanity, as well as
specific hopes and goals we all share. People universally prefer health to disease, being
nourished to starving, safe communities to crime-riddled ones, and peace to war.
Focusing on our unity will help us realize these hopes and goals. Moreover, in our
pluralistic democracy it is crucial to find ways to unify citizens from diverse
backgrounds. Otherwise, we risk being reduced to ethnic, religious or political factions
at war with one another, as witnessed recently in the former Yugoslavia. Our own
diverse society can forestall such horrors only if citizens are educated about the
democratic ideals, heritage, rights and obligations we all have in common.
      On the other hand, our schools should not attempt to erase, ignore, or even play
down religious, ethnic or cultural diversity. First of all, schools have the obligation to
teach the democratic ideal of tolerance, and the best way to teach tolerance is to educate
people about different religions, cultures and so on. Moreover, educating people about
diversity might even produce a unifying effect—by promoting understanding and
appreciation among people from all backgrounds.
      In conclusion, while it may appear paradoxical to recommend that education stress
both unity and diversity, it is not. Understanding our common humanity will help us
achieve a better, more peaceful world. Toward the same end, we need to understand our
differences in order to better tolerate them, and perhaps even appreciate them. Our
schools can and should promote both kinds of understanding by way of a balanced
approach.