Children of World Attracted to U.S. Culture

06/16/2003

Children of World Attracted to U.S. Culture

"A man doesn’t have to have all the answers—children will teach him how to parent them, and in the process will teach him everything he needs to know about life." - Frank Pittman, in "Man Enough"

CHILDREN OF WORLD ATTRACTED TO U.S. CULTURE

In a seeming contradiction, world opinion of the United States is markedly declining, yet children of the world still are hold American culture in high esteem.

A recent report by the Pew Research Center For the People and the Press, "Views of a Changing World: June 2003" (http://www.pewtrusts.com), shows that the image of the United States has declined in most nations in the past three years. For example, in 2000, 75% of those interviewed in Indonesia had a favorable view of the US, but in June 2003, only 15% were favorably inclined to the US. In Germany, those viewing the US favorably declined from 78% to 45% in that three-year period; in Canada from 71% to 63%; in Brazil from 56% to 34%; and in Morocco from 77% to 27%.

On the other hand, Escala, a magazine published in Mexico, reports in its May, 2003 issue, that children of the world view the United States as "a children's paradise." In analyzing why this is the case, Escala writer, Guadalupe Aleman Lascurain, makes these observations:

"What is it about American popular culture that so attracts children? ....Long after 'growing up', Americans retain certain admirable childhood qualities: they are impulsive, friendly and extroverted. This may be why even their 'adult' tourist attractions seem to have been designed by a child genius....

"To grow up in the United States is to know that you can choose from over 200 breakfast cereals...It means that on Saturday mornings you can watch four hours of newly released cartoons...Finally, it means that your parents nearly always shower you with attention and affection, as well as a degree of care that can border on paranoia...

"From nursery school on, American children are taught one of the basic values of their culture, respect for others. Since the United States was founded by immigrants, there is no such thing as a 'plain' American. There are Italian-Americans, African-Americans, Latinos, Polish-Americans, Japanese-Americans, etc. This mixture is generally fairly successful thanks to an education system that rejects discrimination in any form. Even small children learn that freedom of expression demands responsibility and that racist, sexist and classist comments are just not acceptable."

To take a look at the demographics of the children of the world, go the the Exchange Article Archives at https://secure.ccie.com/catalog/cciecatalog.php?cPath=50, and enter the keyword "international" in the search engine and check out "The Diverse World of Early Childhood".

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.