This is an exceptional article for laying adequate groundwork to encompass the very broad very expansive subject that is cross-national compositional perspective. As soon as I was through the introduction, I found myself wanting to read the specifics of their studies on the six nations. Although an introduction is certainly just a general outliner, I felt this particular section went a long way in terms of raising awareness and positing concerns. Additionally, it was refreshing that while the authors argued how looking through an american lens would lend itself to clarifying differences between our writing practices, methods, and institutions and those of other nations, there wasn’t an overwhelming sense of superiority (which was due, in part at least, to Foster’s German background).

First and foremost, I was genuinely surprised that college composition courses are a rarity in most of the world. Given my very limited experience with any other educational systems but the one in which I was raised, this notion shouldn’t surprise me, but I can’t help but wonder why other countries don’t see the necessity of teaching students how to communicate effectively in writing, particularly in a globalized marketplace which places so much emphasis on writing. I understand that each country, nation, or even area is subject to its own thoughsts, ideals, and culture, and even if these created writing instruction that was labeled and appeared unlike anything resembling our own notion of “composition,” it still seems like an emphasis of some sort has to exist in order to truly call one’s students “educated” or even prepared for exiting the university system.

One similarity between other nations and our own that did not surprise me was the blame shifting that occurs inside the academic world once it is discovered that students don’t know certain information or techniques the educator’s or university assumes that they do. According to Foster and Russell, when this occurs “employers blame higher education teachers, who blame secondary teachers, who blame elementary teachers, who blame parents, who blame all of the above” (page unknown). This problem plagues the Western educational system from preschool through higher education and even into graduate school. Many teachers and students I have talked with throughout my own education fall on both sides of this issue: the ones being blamed for lacking skills and the ones who are lacking the skills they are presumed to have ownership of. I, myself, continue to be confronted with this issue in my own studies, and it never ceases to be a source of frustration. One way we have tried to combat this discrepancy is through standardized testing and curriculum like the NCLB act, and while these standards may limit deficiencies on the students’ part, they also leave very little to no wiggle room for educators while simultaneously tying their hands by limiting the amount of time they can devote to individual students who struggle or excel in the classroom. In the end, it seems that the only option we have available to us is to use Foster and Russell’s advice in regards to widening our focus and keeping abreast of the ways in which other nations structure their academic systems and the ways in which they combat the very same problems we face in the West.