Alex Berryhill’s “Studying abroad should be mandatory” argues that “studying in a foreign country should be a requirement,” in order to give perspective to adolescents uneducated on cultures and experiences outside of the United States. Berryhill aims her piece at educated audiences with the ability to make a difference regarding required learning in foreign countries. Berryhill begins with strong logic to enhance her argument by utilizing the results of a trustworthy search engine. “I type into Google: “Reasons study abroad should be mandatory.” I find about 1,960,000 results,” she claims, implementing the idea that many people are in agreement with her on the issue, or at the least are aware of the opinion. After spending about a year abroad, …show more content…
Do we include the young people of Central America who continue to be victimized by drug trafficking, an industry fueled by the United States’ drug consumption? What about the Congolese, entrenched in the midst violence between armed groups, whose weapons are fueled by international companies’ trade in conflict minerals?” By mentioning these alarming issues with nearby countries, Berryhill hopes to raise awareness to the fact that many of these problems are being put to the side. Overall, it’s largely due to the naiveness of Americans, and the little we learn about foreign affairs. She uses the concept of ignorance to make the idea of studying abroad more appealing to her readers. “The original idea behind public education was to protect democracy by creating an informed, responsible citizenry, whose public engagement would ensure peace, cooperation and success,” says Berryhill. This statement is essentially guilt tripping the reader. After listing horrific issues in other countries, it becomes apparent that she is trying to impart the idea that America is not living up to the America that was in mind back when public education was becoming a reality. “In part due to globalization — and perhaps in part due to something beyond that overused phrase — our notion of education and citizenry must be extended,” she continues. “Today, we need an education system that creates global citizens whose public engagement will ensure peace, cooperation and success on an international level,” says Berryhill stating a view most will share. She utilizes large concepts that seem appealing to the reader ethically to convince them that studying abroad is necessary. Berryhill is bordering on either/or choices, due to the fact she seems to believe that study abroad is the only way to fix a problem that there is a multitude of solutions for. What makes her argument so appealing is the complexity of the issues she is