Spring, Joel. (2003). The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States and the Global Economy. Reviewed by Rosa Gonzalez-Gomez, University of Texas at El Paso

Spring, Joel. (2003). The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States and the Global Economy. New York: McGraw-Hill. 288 pages $ 53.95 (paper)   ISBN 0072563966 Reviewed by Rosa Gonzalez-Gomez University of Texas at El Paso August 21, 2005 Multicultural Education is such a broad subject and comprises so many issues that it is difficult to define with precision and perfect tuning. “Providing the intellectual tools for creating a just society” (Spring, 2003 pp.57) is a precise definition of what multicultural education should encompass and provide for minorities in the United States and for all citizens of this increasingly globalized world. Spring demonstrates from the beginning his command and knowledge of the subject area and exhibits first hand experience in many of the situations he examines. He speaks eloquently of his own multicultural upbringing, and of being the son of a Native American father and a mother of English and German descent. Both theoretical and practical, the book offers an exceptional trouble—solution approach to the topic of multicultural education. Spring presents a compelling argument in favor of all areas of multiculturalism and provides a diagram of the complete multicultural landscape. Ideal for those devoted to the study of multicultural education, the content is packed with examples of the many cultural groups living in the United States. The book begins with an introduction to one of Spring’s classroom settings where he presents his students with the charge of defining “American Culture.” This task, unsurprisingly, provokes intense emotions in his students. Some students define American Culture as symbolizing “freedom and liberty for all”; other students feel that the American way or culture translates into learning “how to oppress other people.” With this exercise, Spring is provoking confrontations among his students; he is demonstrating the level of complexity of the subject matter and the array of emotions it can arouse. In chapter one, Spring asserts that the earth is confronted with a new phenomenon: “the specter of migration,” as he quotes Antonio Negri’s and Michael Hardt’s past work and studies of globalization. Spring confirms what probably most of us have suspected for quite a long time: diversity and multiculturalism are here to stay. His illustration of how “Emotions of anger and hate seem most prevalent when cultural intersections are a result of war, invasions, or forced dominations, and how past eras of violent confrontations remain alive in human consciousness and sustain feelings of anger and hate” (p. 7), is not just eloquent but brings the reader face to face with how emotionally embedded multiculturalism is in people’s psyche. Subsequent chapters effectively address other areas of multicultural education and multiculturalism. He explores individual cultures and civilizations and provides an in-depth analysis of dominated cultures, immigrant cultures, and dominant cultures. He establishes how within one ethnic group, one can have sub-cultures such as the culture of economic success. Spring examines many relevant related topics: gender, sexual preference, as well as social class, which entails discrimination of White against White, Black against Black and Hispanic against Hispanic, as a result of differences in socioeconomic level. Chapter ten came closest to the heart for it undertakes “The importance of bilingual education and problems in bilingual education” (pp. 203-223). Spring’s articulate portrayal of the topic brought me to tears. Being a bi-cultural and an immigrant student, I have experienced segregation in the classroom first-hand. Having worked in an educational institution for approximately twenty years, I have also witnessed how bilingual or bi-cultural students receive a segregated and inferior education as a result of deficiencies in bilingual school programs. I can also attest to how bilingual teachers are perceived as low-status teachers by the rest of the school staff, and how students in bilingual education programs are assigned separate classrooms or are provided with inferior quality classrooms, instructional materials, and mediocre or poorly trained teachers. Most detrimental is “the lack of instruction to challenge their critical thinking” (pp. 214); this alone should be considered a crime against society and an embarrassment for all involved. This chapter confronted me with the reality of bilingual education and all that is wrong with it. Spring asserts the urgency of re-visiting bilingual education without overlooking its original intent to help immigrant students, instead of damaging them as a result of poor funding and biases on the part of school administrations and administrators. In The Intersection of Cultures, Spring provides an overview of multicultural education, multiculturalism and does an excellent job of analyzing how it affects our global society. Although his chapters are organized, his analyses are limited by the brevity of each chapter. Enough material and information remains to be addressed that each chapter has the potential to evolve into one single book. Spring issues profound and important points and leaves the reader wanting to examine the area of multicultural education in greater depth. A highlight of Spring’s text is the section at the end of each chapter where he presents his personal reflections and invites the reader to apply and relate multiculturalism to their personal lives. The Intersection of Cultures is a good option not only for students but for all involved in the delivery of instruction. It provides an opportunity to analyze the importance of multiculturalism. It challenges students, teachers, and school administrators to turn their frustration into action and successfully turn back segregation and discrimination against other cultures in the classroom and in every day life. The Intersection of Cultures provides a concise yet fresh opportunity to re-examine the nature of multiculturalism and diversity; it affords one the opportunity to re-evaluate pre-conceived ideas of one’s own cultures, as wells as, other cultures’ strengths and weaknesses. About the Reviewer Rosa Gonzalez-Gomez University of Texas at El Paso Rgonzalez14@utep.edu; rosag@epcc.edu Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Education Review.