The document summarizes proceedings from two conferences which addressed multicultural realities in American life. Intended as a means of expanding multicultural understandings of elementary and secondary teachers, the conferences encouraged exchange of ideas between parents, community members, curriculum specialists, administrators, educators, and policy planners. The narrative presentation is organized into four sections. Section I challenges widespread assumptions about ethnic studies, including the conceptualization that it refers only to non-white groups and should only be included in the curriculum of students who are members of that group. Section II stresses the need for conscious decisions about content and process in multicultural education to avoid fragmented programs which do little more than glorify ethnic heroes. Section III presents interdisciplinary suggestions for improvement of teacher education with a multicultural emphasis, evaluation of curriculum, and development of new models. Case studies of successful multicultural programs are presented. Section IV predicts that the future of multicultural education depends upon the commitment of the educational system to make multicultural learnings a valid, integral part of the education of every student. (Author/DB)