Plan for Peace

[garinda]

Can you point us in the direction of the study that provided you with this world shattering information please?

Oh come on, that's common knowledge, and yes tests have been done asking highschool students to point to various countries on a world map, most were unable to correctly point to states they don't live in.


It was pointed out that most ordinary Americans never travel abroad, and have a very insular approach to 'their' world. That's just a fact not a criticism.

I suppose thats one of the advantages of being in the UK, is that in the time you could fly from NY to Dallas we could fly to a dozen different countries and cultures, although I wouldn't be so rude as to say this makes us more cultural.

 

[Bazf]

Not actually wanting to get in to whos better at educating and what the end product is, after traveling extensively around the globe I have to say the Americans do more, put more money in and are better at educating then the British.
I am currently coaching Football (soccer in America) at a high school, all the girls on the team are heading to University and are being encouraged by there parents, teachers and coaches, remembering my days at Rhyddings you were lucky to leave with a couple of GCSE's if they haden't tried to get you to leave early. If I haden't meet my wife and come to America I doubt I would have got my degree as adult ed is under funded and under advertised in the UK.

Having worked in the USA for two months of the year for a decade I really struggle ordering coffee in America.
"Gee, can you say that again you just sound like the Queen."

Shoudn't that be King?

 

[JohnW]

Ah, good old common knowledge. I am aware that many Americans have never felt the need to leave the shores of their own country. Of the ones who have travelled abroad, a goodly proportion would, probably, have only visited either Mexico, Canada or the Islands. I agree that this is inclined to make them somewhat insular and less knowledgeable of other world cultures than the well-travelled, average Brit who has multi-cultural continental Europe on his doorstep. But to say "Most Americans would be hard pressed to point to the UK on a world map" is total bull****. It is that kind of sweeping, unfounded and derogatory statement that really gets up my nose. If you are going to criticise, at least make it constructive and factual.

 

[Neil]

Not actually wanting to get in to whos better at educating and what the end product is, after traveling extensively around the globe I have to say the Americans do more, put more money in and are better at educating then the British.

I think that depends on who you talk too. When I worked for Michelin, some of the project engineers went over to one of the American factories in Greenville, [size=-1]South Carolina[/size]. I can remember them telling me how they were amazed how many of the production workers were illiterate. I don't mean poor at reading, I mean totally unable to read or write.

 

[garinda]

Ah, good old common knowledge. I am aware that many Americans have never felt the need to leave the shores of their own country. Of the ones who have travelled abroad, a goodly proportion would, probably, have only visited either Mexico, Canada or the Islands. I agree that this is inclined to make them somewhat insular and less knowledgeable of other world cultures than the well-travelled, average Brit who has multi-cultural continental Europe on his doorstep. But to say "Most Americans would be hard pressed to point to the UK on a world map" is total bull****. It is that kind of sweeping, unfounded and derogatory statement that really gets up my nose. If you are going to criticise, at least make it constructive and factual.

www.greenteacher.com/articles/70kisbell.pdf -

Just one example of the acknowledged examples of the poor geographical knowledge of the world of American students, compared with their European counterparts. There was also a really funny article in the Times at the start of invasion of Iraq, asking Americans to point in the general area of the middle East. The results weren't not very encouraging.

Like I said I'm not being critical, just pointing out that the vast majority Americans don't have the luxury of foreign travel, and this seems to be backed up by their insularism.

 

[Neil]

just pointing out that the vast majority Americans don't have the luxury of foreign travel

It's good isn't it?

A spent a week in France on an IT security conference a few years ago. £ of the people there were Americans. 1 of them was a very polite gentleman. The other 2 were ignorant egotistical tossers. From my admittedly small survey I decided that two thirds of Americans are ignorant egotistical tossers. That said I have had the pleasure to work with a couple of extremely pleasant and helpfull Americans since. They must have left the other 4 ignorant egotistical tossers back home

 

[Bazf]

I seem to remember the same thing with the Falklands, quite a few people thought it was just off scotland.

 

[garinda]

Sadly the Americans knew were Grenada was though when they invaded this Commonwealth country.


That even strained the close relationship between Thatcher and Reagan.

 

[Neil]

Was Grenada an American success. They needed one after there previous poor effort in Vietnam.