World Education unstandard

Key Words pointed out "We All Have A lot to Learn" and I like the direction of the article but it misses the mark a bit:

There are some parts of the intellect that we are not able to test well—like creativity, curiosity, a sense of adventure, ambition. Most of all, America has a culture of learning that challenges conventional wisdom, even if it means challenging authority.

America was FOUNDED on challenging the authority -- at least challenging King George. Why do you think we have the 2nd amendment? [In case it's not obvious: it was so that we, the citizens, can knock down tyranny and those who get in the way of freedom, including the police and the military. As a naturalized US citizen, I swore to "support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic" and note the "domestic" part: the government can go astray, too!]

Getting back to what makes America unique, the key is not in the spirit of challenging authority but in freedom: being free means that any unwarranted slavery is unwelcomed and actively resisted. Being free means being debt free and free from any artificial dependency: self reliance and independence allow one to be free.

Even the Bible is clear about freedom:

Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
-- 1 Corinthians 7:21-23

Obviously, no man is an island and even Robinson Crusoe had Friday's help. Hence, freedom is not ability to do whatever you want (which would reduce to pure chaos), but living within the boundary based on clear, external (transcendent, if you will) rules that binds all (i.e., no one is exempt). Human slavery is when one person has an arbitrary say over another another person: slavery is impossible if both persons are of equal "standings" and this can only take place when there are transcendent rules and a transcendent rule enforcer.

Anyway, by starting with freedom, one can have the confidence to challenge the status quo: one is free to try something new and also free to fail. In an authoritarian society, failure is feared (very much so in Asian society) and avoided at almost all costs. Yet failure is important part of both freedom and learning experience (i.e., education). Without failure, one does not learn what NOT to do next time. But it doesn't end there. Thanks to Christianity, there is also another important part of freedom: forgiveness, the chance to start over. In America, after a failure, once can recover and start anew: in a non-Christian society, failure is a black mark that can never be wiped out for generations to come.

[I don't have the time to complete my thoughts, maybe tonight.]