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TWRoO said:
chocoloco said:
spurgeonryan said:
chocoloco said:

If you go to college and take a math related major you learn the metric system even in the USA. The ones that do, know it is by far superior to the , "imperial" system. America needs to switch, now!

Except in America no one cares what other countries do, we also do not care about other languages as long as we can speak our own badly.

 

So even though we are taught metric things, does not mean that we like it. Although it would be a lot easier. Still would never want i  t to happen! Same with driving on the right side of the road, which makes sense.

Well in all seriousness America is such a large and financially wealthy country it is easy to ignore other ways of doing things. No other country has the benefit of having the worlds most widely spread language, American, most widely spread culture, and the things I mentioned above. Europe is filled with small countries and many cultures with different languages living close together, so of course in the modern world they need to know more about geography, other nations current events, and languages because it is a requirement to function in such small countries located so close to many very different cultures. Americans are very unique in that we can speak only English and do our own thing to get by and remaining the worlds current dominant power.Our biggest neighbor and ally  is Canada which is very, very similar in culture, so it also does not require as much learning of the on goings of our neighbors

I hardly would say we speak it badly as language constantly evolves throughout history and to think one form is more proper than the other is ludicrous. It will forever be evolving.

 

But most of all I think driving on the right sound of the road is the natural order of things, period.

I would have thought Americans are generally more likley to be able to speak a second language than the British... we learn a bit of French and German in Key Stage 3 and 4 (ages 11-16) but it's so badly taught the most impressive thing I can do in French is count indefinately. (personally I wasn't taught any German at all in school, but after I left they started teaching everybody both) in America though I would have thought Spanish is a common language.

Also, you read left to right, so what is so wrong with driving left to right. Personally I don't see any advantage of driving on left or right, they are both the same... It would be better if the world adopted one or the other instead of splitting though.

Spanish is more and more commonly taught to children at younger ages here, but the amount of Spanish speakers varies largely by region. With the South West and Cali having the most common amounts of Spanish speakers. This is of course due to the regions close proximity to Mexico. The thing is that the majority of the bilingual are not the current white majority, rather the immigrant, and children of immigrants living here. I cannot speak of the education for the whole country, but I know foreign languages are required in lower than college level schools and is often a requirement for college acceptance. The thing is they only require one semester or a year of foreign language and it is not nearly enough time for study to learn to read, write and speak conversationally.In other words, many people know small amounts of other languages, but cannot use it. My Grandma is Mexican and never taught her half white children Spanish, and during her time that was a common thing.

On the right side thing, I was trying to be absurd and I was buzzing on beer. It was meant to be rediculous based on the rest of my statement.