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almostaugust · 11-19-2003, 04:03 AM

I found this news headline at www.abc.net.au/news.

It got me wondering about the US education system. Can somebody maybe tell me a little about what the History syllabus is like? The Americans ive met in my travels have seemed pretty knowledgable on world affairs.

US expert panel decries America's 'ignorance of outside world'
A panel of prominent US politicians and educators have decried what it called "America's ignorance of outside world," arguing that Americans' reluctance to study foreign civilisations could eventually become a threat to national security.

The scathing report produced by the Strategic Task Force on Education Abroad marked the first attempt to question Americans' ability to fully grasp the meaning of events abroad since the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

"We strongly believe that the events of September 11, 2001, constituted a wake-up call - a warning that America's ignorance of the world is now a national liability," the task force headed by former education secretary Richard Riley and former US senator Paul Simon said.

The report points out that the gap separating Americans from the rest of the world became particularly evident on that tragic day when most Americans were forced to ask themselves the anguished and confused questions, "where did this come from?" and "how could anyone want to do this to us?"

The answer is that Americans are largely "ignorant" about the Middle East and suffer from "a pervasive lack of knowledge" about the world at large, task force members insisted.

They decried the fact that some Americans had made speaking only English "a point of national pride instead of a disgrace".

"We are unnecessarily putting ourselves at risk because of our stubborn monolingualism and ignorance of the world," the task force went on to say.

"As strong as our country and our economy are, we cannot remain prosperous and secure if we do not understand the words and actions of our international neighbours."

The panel said the United States needs military personnel, diplomats and business executives who speak Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, Swahili, Russian, Korean, Farsi, Hindi and dozens of other languages.

"To successfully navigate the new millennium, we will need leaders who are able to understand global crises not only from an American vantage point, but also from those of our allies and our adversaries," the report said.

It does not mention by name either US President George W Bush or other current leaders from any of the political parties.

-- AFP

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11-19-2003, 04:03 AM	#1 (permalink)
almostaugust Junkie Location: Oz	Education Article I found this news headline at www.abc.net.au/news. It got me wondering about the US education system. Can somebody maybe tell me a little about what the History syllabus is like? The Americans ive met in my travels have seemed pretty knowledgable on world affairs. US expert panel decries America's 'ignorance of outside world' A panel of prominent US politicians and educators have decried what it called "America's ignorance of outside world," arguing that Americans' reluctance to study foreign civilisations could eventually become a threat to national security. The scathing report produced by the Strategic Task Force on Education Abroad marked the first attempt to question Americans' ability to fully grasp the meaning of events abroad since the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. "We strongly believe that the events of September 11, 2001, constituted a wake-up call - a warning that America's ignorance of the world is now a national liability," the task force headed by former education secretary Richard Riley and former US senator Paul Simon said. The report points out that the gap separating Americans from the rest of the world became particularly evident on that tragic day when most Americans were forced to ask themselves the anguished and confused questions, "where did this come from?" and "how could anyone want to do this to us?" The answer is that Americans are largely "ignorant" about the Middle East and suffer from "a pervasive lack of knowledge" about the world at large, task force members insisted. They decried the fact that some Americans had made speaking only English "a point of national pride instead of a disgrace". "We are unnecessarily putting ourselves at risk because of our stubborn monolingualism and ignorance of the world," the task force went on to say. "As strong as our country and our economy are, we cannot remain prosperous and secure if we do not understand the words and actions of our international neighbours." The panel said the United States needs military personnel, diplomats and business executives who speak Arabic, French, Spanish, Chinese, Swahili, Russian, Korean, Farsi, Hindi and dozens of other languages. "To successfully navigate the new millennium, we will need leaders who are able to understand global crises not only from an American vantage point, but also from those of our allies and our adversaries," the report said. It does not mention by name either US President George W Bush or other current leaders from any of the political parties. -- AFP [PHP]