Is the multiculturalization of mathematics doing us more harm than good?

Few people would deny that mathematics is an important skill that should be acquired and applied by all citizens. However, there is great debate in the mathematics education community about how best to teach and reach all students.1 At times the debate has centered around issues of tracking (whether or not schools should group students according to their perceived abilities),2 and at other times around issues such as curriculum standards (creating a common curriculum that focuses on problem solving, reasoning, communications, and connections).3 With increased proportions of nonwhite school-aged children in the United States, the debate recently has come to focus on student culture and the curriculum (whether and how to incorporate the needs of a diverse student population).