International Students

Today I came across an article in the Star Tribune about the increase of international students in U.S. colleges. Over this past year, this article written by Juliana Barbassa, states that there were 583,000 students from other countries that have come to the United States to attend the college of their choice. The government seems to have let go of most of their fears about international students and the impact they have on our country. The government's recent fears about letting international students into our school systems came from the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The hijackers entered the country on a student visa that brought on the restrictions against international students. Bush felt that he couldn't take any more chances on students coming here with student visas, which is really too bad.

Barbassa includes a quote saying that companies prefer when students are educated in the United States because then they are better suited to work here. When students go to school here and live here, they are constantly immersed in our culture. They understand how things work in the United States and they know how to get on top. I fully support international students. It benefits American students in that they become more knowledgeable about their international peer's cultures and ways of life. It's a shame that the FBI has to keep such close tabs on international students in case there is any evidence of terrorism, however there have been many lives lost when such measures of security aren't taken so I can see why that remains necessary.

Personally, I think this same issue is different in a high school setting. International college students have already proven themselves as smart and responsible enough to tackle college. I do think however that when public high schools get bombarded with students who can't even speak English, that the benefits become negative for American high school students. In my personal experience, I went to a public suburban high school. American students, at this point, are no longer the majority. This is not a good thing for students in that sort of setting. I felt as though I wasn't being taught at an appropriate level for what grade I was in. American high schools are judged on how well their students are doing academically. Public schools don't have near the funding available to them that they should. When there are students in that sort of setting who don't even speak English, the curriculum is dumbed down so that they will look better to the government and get more funding.

I think international students in a college setting are a very important aspect of college as a whole. I think that during college, many students meet entirely new kinds of people. International students are the people who are going to make American students want to get out in the world and appreciate it on a different level.