I was flipping through one of my old books, Barron’s 2001 Profiles of American Universities, the other day, and once again, I noticed several unique characteristics of the United States as the world’s educational powerhouse.

First, the United States is a distinct educational destination that values ​​pluralism. In addition to the tens of thousands of educational institutions that house students from the United States and the rest of the world, which dot the landscape of this gigantic country, the United States offers a whole world of university courses. These programs are relevant to the American population. Eskimo Studies, Jewish Studies, Native American Studies, Hispanic and Mexican American or Chicano Studies, and, in recent years, Filipino Studies, are some of the unique programs offered at American universities that increasingly reflect history and heritage. multicultural and pluralistic. of the American people (it can also be inferred that the old colonial masters offer courses at their universities that reflect their imperial past. In the UK, Egyptology is a course offered at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. This scenario manifests British interest in Egypt, which historically was one of the colonies in the spheres of influence of Imperial Britain). As a Boston resident, I am well aware that the United States, especially Boston, Massachusetts, is the cornerstone of world education. For example, shop at a local Abercrombie and Fitch store and you’ll be met with hordes of multicultural youth. You can hear them speaking in Central European, French, Japanese, British English, and thousands of other lingua francas, demonstrating how the United States is the world’s quintessential educational hotspot. You’ll also find a group of well-dressed Japanese tourists politely volunteering to take my photo as I stroll down School Street in Boston, thinking I was a visitor like them. Or a Red Cross volunteer calling me a student and asking for my contribution. I agree with LL Cool J, a well-known rap artist, in pointing out that regardless of whether the United States faces financial and political turbulence, the superpower will always be number one in the world primarily because it is a creative hub. Given the millions of citizens of this growing and educational heart, imagine the great creativity that this population can produce.

Second, no country in the world is as democratic as the United States. Academic freedom prevails everywhere. Students are encouraged to get involved and express their views as early as elementary school. The popularity of talk shows airs during the day, primetime, and late night, suggesting you’re in Oprah’s country.

Third, in the United States, the right to information is highly respected and observed. America is a reading society. Publications and documentation are valued for their purpose of keeping the American public abreast of knowledge and events that affect their daily lives. Also, if you’re curious about something in particular under the sun, expect that when you google it, a wealth of information will become available for that topic that has already been posted or blogged about. I experienced this particularly when doing my research on this contemporary phenomenon of students doing study abroad programs or traveling abroad to study at university. Lo and behold, I realized that the United States has institutionalized the topic of my graduate thesis and has even coined the term for it: international education. And boy, institutions like the Institute of International Education in New York City (where I asked for my necessary references to complete my study) and international education experts have been around for a long time! In addition, another scenario for how this information center works is that just two months after the 33 Chilean miners were trapped in the century-old copper and gold mine in Chile, the book The 33 Men by American author Jonathan Franklin had already been published. . In fact, the United States is the place to be when you need a wealth of information for your research paper or simply enjoy learning and discovering more. In addition, arthouse films abound that focus on the immense tendencies of human nature, such as the ballet psychodrama The Black Swan starring Natalie Portman, Michael Fassbender’s film about sex addiction explained in Shame, and the story of love between a young student and an old man Lolita style. The film An Education, starring Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan, makes it easier for your inner humanity to unfold tremendously if you live in the United States. This educational heart enables an individual’s intention to be highly educated, civilized, elegant, and cultured.

Fourth, Americans seem to have a role and a voice in almost every field of knowledge and human interest. They take an interest in, discover, and document anything under the sun that everyone knows them for, such as naming dinosaurs (19th century Yale scholars are credited with this), cow mooing for the benefit of industry (Thanks to Temple Grandin, an American prodigy in animal science and animal behavior), and National Geographic’s informative accounts in its magazine of the lavender-laden perfume fields of Provence, the aquatic wonders of the Galapagos Islands, the dramatic spill of Exxon Valdez oil in Alaska and the tea-colored Orinoco waterway in the heart of Venezuela. The United States certainly allocates substantial funds to defend not only its citizens, but also the people of the rest of the world, the inalienable right to know.

Fifth, being the Education Mecca of the world as it is, the United States is a lauded investor in people. It provides opportunities for anyone who intends to do whatever it takes to achieve their life plans, regardless of their background. For example, Temple Grandin, a typical Boston resident, was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at a young age. Later in her life, she became an expert in animal science. Dr. Grandin is an American physician specially trained in animal science and behavior. Gifted and versatile, she has risen to become a professor at Colorado State University, a best-selling author, a consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior, and the inventor of the hugging machine, designed to calm hypersensitive individuals and a mode of stress relief therapy. In 2010, Dr. Grandin’s life story was made into a movie under her name. The inspiring film earned a Golden Globe for Claire Danes, the actress who played the title role.

Finally, the US offer of Scandinavian studies, British studies, Canadian, Dutch and Polish studies in some of its tertiary institutions shows the intention of the United States to extend its appendages of influence, be it political, economic or cultural, to the territories treated by these. study programs. In addition, it is in the ideals of the United States to strengthen its established diplomatic relations with its allies, with the aim of obtaining a better knowledge and understanding of these countries. In the American TV show, Rick Steves’ Europe, I am surprised to conclude that American expatriates are everywhere, studying and getting better acquainted with the other passers-by of this world. Rick Steves is an American author, historian, and television personality who hosts his Eurocentric travel show. The episodes feature Mr. Steves traveling through strange but astonishingly picturesque places, such as the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, the Balkan side, and other delights of the Adriatic. In one of the episodes, he met a fellow American writer and permanent resident of Slovenia who wrote a travel guide about life and times in the land of southern Europe. Furthermore, an American scholar, David Timberman, vividly captured a lucid account of the Philippine sociocultural landscape in his book A Changeless Land: Continuity and Change in Philippine Politics, one of my graduate school required readings. As an observer, these scenarios present the United States as projecting an international presence similar to the Roman Empire. So you might expect that if you were to travel to unconventional tourist destinations like Greenland or Iceland, you could always expect to find hints of the American.

This is how America works as the educational center of the globe. I must say that any enthusiastic observer and willing learner could develop intellectually in the fertile land for educational activities that is the United States.