Travel in general is enlightening; I've seen more of the United States of America than most people will ever see (26 states and counting, most of it by train or car!) and have been to Europe, where I visited the Netherlands (I didn't just see Amsterdam, by the way), Paris, and London. I wish I'd seen more, but I turned 18 on the trip and it was my first time away from home. I have no doubt that someday I will go back. I also want to go to Japan, the South Pacific, and New Zealand, but really that's just the beginning of the list.
And Canada may seem like it's very similar to the United States, skizziks, but there are some interesting differences if you spend enough time there. It's one of my favorite places to travel to as it's similar enough that I'm not totally uncomfortable, but just different enough to be fun.
I don't think the government should require us to travel, but I do think there are ways they can encourage the populace of the United States to step outside of their comfort zone, via service programs like the Peace Corps or requirements in university in regards to study abroad, and promotion of the Rotary's programs to send high school students overseas.
And Bill, I have to say that studying foreign language extensively in high school and college improved my knowledge of the English language, particularly in regards to grammar, so I think that encouraging dual-immersion classes could result in an improvement in literacy skills in both languages, not just the foreign one. Besides, given what we know about the brain, it is best to start as early as possible when teaching children languages; post-adolescence it becomes more difficult. Certainly, they'll still learn, but why not take advantage of the time when they're like little sponges for it?
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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