Programs like this will eventually yield benefits to civilization. There will be some duds, some failures. But the ship is sailing in the right direction. Congrats to all involved.

What I think is really sad, though, is that a German school will not accept a year's worth of work in a US Public school for credit.

With the state of America's public eduacation system it's no wonder that Germany won't take the credits. Sad, but not surprising. We are trailing so many European nations (including Germany) in the rankings of international education. If they think the education he will provide in our schools is inferior why should they accept his credits. They have no guarantees that what he receives will be on par with their level of education.

Expected: right on. Our high school education is not on a par with so many nations. Just the way it is. But, in defense of some scores that come in, many high schools in the world are really grades 10-14, with a tech school at the end of it for two years. Poland, for example. Germany? France?
England? Ireland? Korea? Japan?

The only real advantage that our system has over 99.27 of the world's other high schools is that we still let young people dream about things, work things out, try options, etc. We do not believe that their 8th grade test scores means they have to be 1. fisherman, 2. lawyer, 3. barber, 4. postman, 5. cop, etc. We keep the options open, and that is our strength. The older, more mature, more focused student trying to finally move up in society, etc. is our bulwark against the world.

I have seen how other nations handle their education programs, and generally speaking we win if you count up to the age of 26 or 30. Our people continue to find themselves, so to speak, and thus are better ready for the next 40 years.

The Shadow Knows.

I'm in Korea right now and I consistently see high school kids go to school at 6 AM and not come home from school/after school tutoring until after 9 PM. These kids then spend half days on saturday in school. On the contrary, my kids in Utah attend school from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM monday thru thursday and half days on friday. I put my child in first grade this year reading a third grade level. My child has not progressed much if at all this year. Were is all of our money going and why is it that I feel that I have to volunteer my time at my childs school in order to make sure that my child and some of his classmates get more of an education? If you answer these questions, don't give me the liberal line of blaming it on President Bush please.

This is a great way for American students to start learning more about the world and, hopefully, making it a better place in the future. Too bad we don't do more of this ... perhaps we would have less disagreements and more friendly cooperation.

Congrats to the Nacell Open Door program coordinator, host families,and schools for making this opportunity available to our schools and students. If the future really is all about the global economy and better international relations, then our students who are exposed to the world through the presence of foreign exchange students will have a head start in becoming 21st century leaders.

Too bad more families don't host foreign students. I've hosted two and it was a great eye-opener for them and my family. Lots of fun and absolutely minimal difficulties. And it's a great way to get a live-in language and cultural tutor. The kids love it.

The exchange students who attended my high school opened my mind and heart concerning other cultures. While I was fascinated to observe their cultural differences, I was surprised to find how much we had in common. What a valuable lesson this was for me! I learned early on that a person is first and foremost not a Norwegian, or a German, or an American, but a person, with many of the same desires and needs as me, including the desire to love and be loved.

In a world where much of what young people hear about foreign countries is negative, whether it's news of frightening events or human conflict, it is vital that we break down barriers of fear by exposing our youth to the wonderful people of the world! Because the cost of traveling abroad can be prohibitive for many people, I am such a proponent of programs like this, in which the foreign experience is brought right into our own living rooms and classrooms! I'm so glad that programs like the one that brought foreign teenagers to my high school, are alive and still serving the world in a very beneficial way!