Education for mutual understanding through personnel interchanges

From time immemorial, men of good will the world over have been groping to find better ways of establishing rapport with other men. Misunderstandings and conflicts between nations result in no small part from a lack of first-hand knowledge of one people by the other. Valid self-appraisal on the part of a people is most effective if this self-appraisal is based on true understandings of the local and national lives of other peoples. Ordinarily, the more the people of one country know about the people of another country the easier it is for mutual understanding and good will to develop. Wherever there is free interchange of persons and ideas, the understandings tend to grow and develop. Canada and the United States offer optimum possibilities for mutual understanding and good will. Americans living on the southern fringe of Canada, and Canadians living on the northern fringe of the United States are much alike in thought, speech, dress, and ways of living. But it should be pointed out that even among the peoples of two countries as closely linked as are the United States and Canada, by geographic contiguity, common elements in tradition, and similarity in convictions and ideals, there are still areas of misunderstandinglargely due to a lack of first-hand information. Dr. Arthur A. Hauck, in his study, Some Educational Factors Affecting the Relations Between Canada and the United States, published in 1932, pointed out many misconceptions that high school students in each country had about the other country and its people. A recent investigation in Louisiana and Montreal using an adaptation of Dr. Hauck's 1932 study reveals that in many areas misconceptions still prevail. Certain studies and projects are being sponsored by the CanadaUnited States Committee on Education to promote better knowledge and mutual understanding between citizens of the United States and citizens of Canada

Political science · Sociology · Diverse Educational Innovations Studies · Educational Practices and Policies · Service-Learning and Community Engagement