On Education

Education comes from the Latin verb educare, which means to bring up, to train, etc. It means "to develop faculties and powers by teaching, instruction, or schooling; to impart knowledge, skills, etc." To me, education also brings changes in attitudes and behavior as well as increased prestige, all of which will, in return, give us a better life. We know that the amount of education today has become a good indicator of socio-economic status, from lower class up through upper-middle class. Education, of course, leads to economic opportunity and secure higher-status jobs.

In the Waterbury Sunday Republican on December 30, I read the article "The Year of the Euro" by Daniel Rubin. I think that Mr. Rubin should brush up on certain facts and acquire more global awareness and knowledge. I like to point out that the national currency of Spain until the end of this year has been the peseta, and not the peso as stated in the article by Mr. Rubin. It would be the same to say that here, in the U.S.A., we use the drachma.

The peso is the national currency of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Uruguay, but not of Spain. When we talk about the peso, we should distinguish one peso from another. For instance, the peso Colombiano has a different value from the peso Dominicano, the peso Argentino, etc. The U.S. dollar is different from the Canadian dollar; the French franc is different from the Belgian franc, etc.

I am not surprised at this misconception. I very frequently see words misspelled on CNN, Fox News, etc. Most recently, CNN misspelled the word "rendezvous" and Fox News misspelled the plural of "museum."

Although the responsibility for public education resides in the schools, the media should also have a degree of responsibility for educating people. The ancient Greeks used the theater, free of charge, to educate people on social institutions, politics, religion, etc. I think the major challenge to peaceful international relations is the need for greater global awareness of other cultures. Every nation differs somewhat in customs, values and attitudes from every other. Let us try in 2002 to penetrate beneath the surface of the cultures of other people who live in our own nation.