Yesterday we had the privilege of hosting a feature story writer from The New York Times. The focus of her visit was on our efforts to increase global awareness among students. In the course of the day, however, she heard about a lot of things happening in other areas as well.

Reporters with brains and time are fun to watch in action. As they dig deeper and deeper into a story, they usually figure out whether something or someone has substance or not. Watching the reporter speak with Herricks' students and teachers about a wide variety of programs and initiatives was a pure delight. The deeper she dug, the better the answers she got. Students were perceptive, articulate and mature. I was, and still am, in awe.

The teachers she spoke with were incredibly effective at communicating what we are trying to do. We clearly do not have all of the answers and no one pretended that we did. However, the energy, enthusiasm and willingness to try ideas that might improve the quality of education for Herricks' students were wonderful.

Two years ago the National Geographic Society released one of their periodic studies. This one involved U.S. college students. The results were thoroughly depressing. For example, 88 percent could not find Afghanistan on a map of the world, although a similar percentage could find Vanuatu (the site of one of the Survivor series). Their knowledge of the U.S. was not much better, with most having difficulty finding either New York or the Mississippi River on a map.

It was fun to talk with the reporter from The New York Times. It is also important to remember that getting students to understand more about both their own country and the rest of the world is critical to everyone's future.