culture

SO last night i was talking on the phone with my friend who lives in Italy (he was an exchange student last year, that’s how i got to know him) and we got on the topic of education. At this, he was quick to remind me how last year not only did he know more about the American presidents than i did, but also more about world cultures in general. some of this was from experience, but it got me thinking alot about the education system in the states. in other countries, students are taught about the rest of the world, given in apparently great detail. Many start to learn another language at a young age, elementary schoo as opposed to high school. Here in the US, we are taught a very westernized view of everything, and barely brush on other cultures and countries. i’m absolutely fasinated with other cultures and religions, so i took my own time out to learn about them. when i reached senior year and we were required to take a class in world design, i knew more than my teacher did about other religions and cultures. hardly any of the other students really saw relevance for the course, they thought it was a little redundant to take since they weren’t going to ever see those countries. Americans seem to have the lack of adventure. Very few ever travel somewhere more unorthodox than a Carribean cruise. Maybe that’s the difference, Europe’s countries are so close to each other, they can easily see a totally different culture with a short drive. They aren’t quite as isolated as the US is. We have Canada, and Mexico, and the most interest taken in either seems to be fishing and hunting in Canada or Cancun. maybe children need to start learning about other cultures and appreciation for them at a younger age, might promote for a broader outlook on things.