Quote:
Originally Posted by abaya
On a less expensive note, I think it is absolutely shameful that Americans are not required to learn a second language starting in elementary school. We should be fluent in at least Spanish, maybe French as well, LOOONG before we get to high school... NOT starting in 9th grade, when the brain has already frozen over for languages! If we can't afford to send every student abroad, then at least we can afford to require language instruction at an earlier age. For a nation of our standing, we are so woefully behind the rest of the world on this issue (well, and many others, but this one particularly)... it's reprehensible.
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I agree that Americans need to actually learn and KNOW another language. How many have I met that took 4 years of Spanish, or French, and still can't string 4 words in that language together because all you needed to do to pass the course was show up. I find it sad, since I'm fairly sure that learning another language while you're growing up greatly develops your brain, and in the end I think you'll end up much more intelligent.
However, I'm French, and I don't think learning French should be one of the main choices. Spanish, definitely. But French? you can speak it in France, Quebec, and a few African countries, which, let's face it, most Americans will never go to (or care about).
That's why I think we need to get with the times, replace French as one of the main choices with Chinese languages, or something else more useful.
If High Schools provided an option for travel for a semester (half a school year), or even a 2 week trip, with a partnered international student exchange system (each kid goes to a family in a foreign country for two weeks, and then welcomes the other family's kid in their house for 2 weeks) , I think American high school graduates would end up way better and more aware of the world.
-----Added 18/11/2008 at 01 : 35 : 44-----
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craven Morehead
If I lived in Europe, traveling from country to country would be similar to traveling to neighboring states here in the US.
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I'm not sure of what exactly you mean by this, if you mean in terms of cost, or of culture difference. But if it's terms of culture, trust me, European countries vary much more from on to another than the US States do.
But I don't think you meant it that way, since you have travelled a good amount.
Sorry, I keep coming back to edit. I just wanted to add: if the gov't did indeed decide to make travel possible for say, two weeks, for high school students, how much would it really cost? Would it not be possible for schools to have fundraisers for this purpose? And if the government chartered planes for students, without going through companies, or used government planes, wouldn't that save money? Anyone with a better grasp on expenses and economy than me(so basically, anyone at all) could maybe do the math, and prove me either right or wrong, but I suspect if it was well planned, it wouldn't cost
that much.