[Wikipedia-l] US Education system (was NPR interview)

[Jimmy Wales]

Alphax wrote:
> Christopher Mahan wrote:
> 
>>>How do you explain to somebody that Toyota != Toyota Motor
>>>Corporation when their level of expertise is limited to US High
>>>School education level?
>>>
> 
> Is it true that in the US, students are not taught anything about other
> countries?

No, it is not true.  It is true that US education tends to be quite
heavy on American history, with a lesser focus on European history, and
still less on the history of say, China or Africa.

<POV>
If I had to criticize the way history is taught in the US, it is not
that students are not taught _anything_ about other countries, but
rather than they are taught about other countries in a way that tends to
suggest that other countries are out there somewhere, but don't have a
lot of importance for us except that sometimes they start to fight with
each other and we have to go make them stop.
</POV>

--Jimbo