Gosh, Dale, this is such a comprehensive list I don't know if the average American could ever encompass such a body of knowledge in their lifetime. Good thing we have the Internet, huh? :-)
Americans ARE taught (or at least have the opportunity to learn) all those subjects. Philosophy and economics, unfortunately, have a tendency to make people's eyes glaze over, so many don't tackle them. Every nation teaches children those subjects through their own prism; for example, in elementary school in the US they talk about "the melting pot", and the different countries people come from, etc. Current events are used to help children learn about events and people in other countries.
As for languages, well, unless you can use it you'll lose it, so even though I took 12 years of French I could read the signs and menus in France but wouldn't be able to hold a conversation. However, one strong trend in the US is lifelong learning, and with the wealth of information available, people should be able to fill in the gaps left from their formal education. So far, Americans can learn, and move, and change faster than any other nationality in the world. If that changes then yes we are really in trouble. |
