I want to preface this essay with an explanation of why I have produced, for a volume on multicultural education, an essay which appears to say almost nothing about it. One reason is that I am uncertain of the usefulness of offering, from the security of the academy, theoretical criticisms of educational programs designed for much more desperate conditions than I am familiar with; I'm reluctant to comment on what's proposed for Los Angeles or Liverpool because I don't know what it's like out there. But there is also a deeper reason, given in the first of the two quotations from Mary WoUstonecraft which head this chapter. WoUstonecraft reminds us of something which it is easy to forget. Multicultural education provokes passionate debate about educational values which are felt to be deeply important (and so they are). This confers importance also on the debate about them, where theoretical issues arise (for instance about the universality of specific values) with which philosophers are likely to feel at home.