This is the United States, not America. The Americas are much bigger than these 50 states. And the world is bigger than the Americas. We need to prepare our youth for a world much different that the one you or I have grown up in. One where an understanding of other cultures will be as integral as skills required for high school arithmetic. And, actually, more people in the AMERICAS speak Spanish than English. We are not our own planet, we share it with billions of others and its about time we stop being ignorant and realize that learning to appreciate other cultures and other peoples is the only way we can create a positive and peaceful future, one where it will be safe for our children to live. I am an educator, and a pretty good one at that, and this lack of understanding of things not "American" is so dentrimental to our students and their future (and that of our country). We can no longer hold our youth back just because we are from a different generation. On the other hand, what we can do are teach them values like compassion and hard work rather than hatred.