Study Abroad Education Should Be Mandatory
Posted on October 3rd, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Well, let me first start by saying that I love New York University. Even though they get on my nerves and their financial aid office is always trying to pull some shananigans with my aid, I still LOVE my school. But honestly, I think American education is a bit too institutionalized. Our ideologies have managed to infiltrate our educational systems and freedom of speech really hasn’t been FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
At the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies, I have been exposed to all types of students. Yes, it is typical for me to meet Italian & African socialists or students who believe that maybe communism wasn’t that bad, and no one looks at them like they’re crazy. Most of these students have studied and worked with communities in Asia and Africa, which are experiencing corrupt governments and suffering from poverty. And NO not ALL African nations are poor, but these students have a WORLD view on politics unlike a NATION view most American students contain. I can appreciate having socialists and communists in my classes and at my dinner table because although I do believe in capitalism, I more so believe in freedom of thought and freedom of mental expansion. I think we as Americans tend to tune out the rest of the world and believe that everyone wants a democratic government like ours. As Governor Palin conveniently stated on McCain’s foreign policy plan in her interview with Katie Couric, “we will spread democracy to every nation that wants it.” UMMMMMM how about NO, it’s the “save the world attitude” that the U.S. has adopted that got us into all this mess in the first place. I’m a firm believer in grass roots revolutions and politics. It is the people’s responsibility to fight for what they want. No one came over from another country when African-Americans were fighting for their rights and said here let me bomb your government so you can receive your rights. We fought for it and we continue to fight for it. The U.S. needs to take two steps back and think about our presence and reputation in the world because currently, we are practicing modern day imperialism (the crowd goes OUCH, Ari that was harsh).
But getting back on topic (I seem to be very politically sensitive these days), studying abroad at the University of London SOAS has really given me a new perspective. The experiences of engaging with worldly open-minded intellectuals about politics, education, finance, etc. is INVALUABLE. It definitely has further molded my views of the world. I wish every NYU student took advantage of this opportunity because living in an American bubble doesn’t allow you to truly understand our position in the world or give you a global eduation.
Ari
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