Quote Originally Posted by 9goals2hattricks3pen View Post
Having taught in a US state school for a number of years my son's description of American kids is they are 'spoiled brats' which based on the facilities at his school is quite probably exactly what they are. Perhaps this is 1 reason they grow up to be so loud and brash.

Worth adding he doesn't have to go far to see state schools that are nowhere near as well resourced.

America is a great place to be well off, bad place to be poor
Oddly enough we have had two home tutors for our youngest who both worked for several years in the States and both said basically the same thing! They both loved the areas they were in for the scenery but whilst they made some good friends, they also found too many Americans to be brash, generally very ignorant of any current affairs outside of their own local area and with a particular sense of entitlement (e.g. they expected a certain quality of house or car even if they couldn't really afford it but still balked at paying health insurance). They both found a very marked divide between rich and poor and both were concerned about the education systems they taught in. It wasn't just about resource issues either but also about the ethos of how these children were being taught and the impact of various agendas and censorships placed on them. If they ended up being "spoilt brats" or generally ignorant on too many issues then that is surely the failing of the education system as much as the parents.

Of course, these are generalizations and America is a huge nation containing a hugely diverse population but they are both highly intelligent and personable ladies who, I'm sure, only speak as they find.