Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On International Education Week
November 13, 2007
Mr. President, in honor of the eighth annual International Education
Week, which runs Monday November 12th to the 16th, 2007, I would like
to emphasize the importance of international education and exchange
programs and the key role they play in strengthening our own educational
system, shaping our young citizens to become successful in our interconnected
world, and improving our image as Americans overseas.
In so doing, I want to share a number of stories from my constituents
about how their international education and exchange experiences have
changed their lives. While I do not have time to read all of their stories,
I would like to submit them all for the record as each and every one
of these stories demonstrates how critical it is that we support international
education and exchange programs and initiatives. I ask consent to place
them in the record.
You will see in all of my constituents’ stories a common theme
– international education has opened their eyes to the fact that
we are an interconnected global community and that we have responsibilities
as Americans to reach out to that global community. A constituent, Claire
from River Falls, Wisconsin, wrote to me that, “I was an AFS student
in high school (in Brazil) and since then firmly believe that if we
could lift every 16 year old our of their ‘comfort zone’
and have them live somewhere else in the world for a few months; we'd
end war and certainly increase global understanding.” I agree
with this statement and firmly believe that if we all stepped out of
our “comfort zone,” we would be facing a future that is
more stable and secure than where we appear to be today.
International education and exchange strengthens our own educational
system in a variety of ways. First and foremost, educational exchanges
better prepare our children for the workforce and competing in the global
economy. Katherine from River Falls shared her experience working through
a non-governmental organization called Building Tomorrow. She wrote,
“While in Uganda [with Building for Tomorrow], I was fortunate
enough to have a home-stay experience with a Ugandan family….I
and two other Building Tomorrow members were paired with a doctor because
we all had an interest in some aspect of health care….This experience
was remarkable and contributed to my decision to pursue a career in
public health.”
International education and exchange strengthens our own educational
system. Teachers and students participating in exchange programs are
able not only to broaden their own horizons, they also inform their
peers of their experiences and thinking and, in so doing, contribute
to their school systems for the lasting benefit of others. Sandra, a
teacher in Sun Prairie wrote to me that she participated in two separate
Fulbright Hayes Group Projects Abroad and that, “both Fulbright-Hayes
Group Projects Abroad inspired me to develop innovative interdisciplinary
curriculum units, made infinitely richer by my newly acquired photographs,
video footage, cultural artifacts, interview notes, books published
outside of the U.S., and personal reflections…As a result of ongoing
internationally focused literacy programming, my middle school students,
including reluctant and struggling readers, seek out books on other
cultures and countries, are intrigued by world maps, and pay more attention
to world news and global concerns.”
International education and exchange programs foster greater cultural
understanding. Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders –
and the better they understand other cultures, the better prepared they
will be to make informed and balanced decisions for the benefit of our
nation’s and our world’s security and well being. Thanks
to the disastrous policies of this administration, anti-American sentiment
around the world is at alarming levels. Those policies were based, in
part, on inadequate information or misinformation about the rest of
the world. As a result, future American leaders are facing a world that
is fraught with mistrust. Their overseas experiences today will build
relationships for tomorrow. Those experiences will form their future
decisions and provide them with a broader appreciation of others’
views and interests.
Sarah, a senior at University of Wisconsin Stevens Point wrote to explain
to me how her semester abroad program: “Traveling and studying
abroad in general taught me about American and other cultures, societies,
views, and ideas, different forms of government, a greater sense of
independence, and how to look at cultures and traditions that are different
from my own with an open mind, rather than making judgment[s] before
I know all the facts.”
As U.S. citizens, many of us have privileges that countless millions
of people throughout the world will never experience. International
educational opportunities encourage a greater sense of social responsibility
to assist those who face lives of poverty, disease, and the effects
of natural disasters. Lacey, a twenty-five year old graduate UW Madison,
emailed me upon her return from spending a summer studying in China
which impacted her so much that she is returning to be a volunteer interpreter
at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. She wrote, “I use my travels and
the things I learn from each place to bring back to my community with
me and try to give back in whatever way I can as much as possible.”
Finally, our citizens are our best diplomats. International education
and exchange programs offer them the opportunity to reach out to others
to reverse negative or inaccurate images that the rest of the world
has formed. Kathy from Oshkosh shared with me how her experiences changed
her perceptions. “I recall with distinct clarity a conversation
I had with my host mother in Spain about the people of Islam in our
country. She was very surprised that I had friends who are Muslim and
that I respect their culture and religion. She told me that I changed
the way she views Americans….Senator Feingold, I am no longer
just a citizen of the United States of America. I am a citizen of the
World.”
Mr. President, Congress has an important role to play in enabling and
promoting these experiences for our constituents. I was a strong supporter
of the creation of the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad
Fellowship Program, an independent commission created in 2004 for the
purpose of recommending a program to greatly expand the opportunity
for students at institutions of higher education in the United States
to study abroad, with special emphasis on studying in developing countries.
One of my colleagues--Senator Durbin--has taken an important step in
working to implement the commission's published recommendations by introducing
the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007, S. 991.
But Mr. President this bill is not enough. We also need to be supporting
opportunities for every American to study overseas. And if not study,
then to volunteer or participate in one-on-one exchanges. Cultural misunderstanding
makes our world more dangerous, and, as you have heard from the accounts
I have read, it is our citizens who make the biggest, longest lasting
change.
As we recognize and celebrate International Education Week, I call
on all Americans to take a little time to learn something new this week
about another culture, and I encourage all Americans to recognize and
support international education and exchange throughout the year.
Read stories
from Wisconsinites on their international education and exchange experiences.
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