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Show EXCHANGE STUDENTS German Youths to Learn About U.S. Living in Rural Homes Although this program of the state depactment and the national grange is one of exchange. It represents repre-sents for the most part an opportunity oppor-tunity for foreigners to see not only our agricultural methods but also to study our national philosophy and the manner in which we live. It is hoped that after a year in this country, coun-try, the students will inject into their native Germany upon their return, re-turn, a good deal of what they have absorbed. Other aims of the program pro-gram include youth leadership, training, and agricultural progress. This group of 74 represents only a small part of the entire program. There will be 450 German teenagers teen-agers sent to study here this year, but the total from Germany during the year, including all age groups, will be almost 3000. This, in turn, is still only a part of the "Campaign "Cam-paign of Truth" program Inaugurated Inaugu-rated by President Truman last year which brought 10,000 persons from 55 countries to the United States to live, work, and study. By Anne M. Mattingly WNU Washington Bureaa "The people are so nice and it's wonderful to be able to say whatever what-ever you want to in America. I'm so happy to be here." This statement state-ment by 16-year-old Chrlstal Mohr. one of the 74 German teen-agers who arrived in this country recently to study our agricultural methods under a joint national grange and state department program, accurately accu-rately represents the collective sentiments of the group as they looked for the first time on the American way of life. These youngsters are to be sent to grange homes throughout the country, a large number going to Washington, Virginia, and Ohio. There they will become "members" of the family, will help on the farms, and will attend the local schools. The homes have all been offered, and in most cases the boys and girls were given a choice of the type of farm on which they wanted to live. The financing while here will be done completely by the grange families in return for the farm work that the youths do. JUST ABOVE THE teen-age level, there are "Young Farmers Groups", young men and women in their twenties, from Germany, Norway, Nor-way, Denmark, and Sweden, who do much more traveling than the younger students. They shift from home to home and learn all types of farming, whereas the teen agers become "members" of one family for a yeaf while they go to school. Since only about one in ten of the group of 74 which arrived recently can speak English, it might be assumed as-sumed that language would be a great barrier to their American education. However, there was a girl in a similar group last year who, within a month, had learned English well enough to compete with her fellow pupils on their own terms. Officials of the state department depart-ment and the grange praised the teachers in our schools to whom fell the task of educating these students. stu-dents. The extra time spent with them and the understanding given them did much to aid the rapid adjustment of the youngsters. Upon their arrival in New York, this latest and first such group of German teen-agers were whisked down to Washington where they, In a group, spent part of their second day in this country writing home to their families to let them know of their safe arrival and to tell of their first Impressions. While in Washington, they met Herschel Newson. master of the national grange, who welcomed them to this country and added that he hoped the Americans with whom they came in contact would learn as much about Germany as the students did about America tht.t in order to be successful, the program pro-gram had to be reciprocal. The group also met Harold How-land, How-land, of the exchange of persons division of the state department, who summed up the whole purpose of the program with his quotation from Charles Lamb. "How I hate that person!" Lamb is reported to have said. "Why, do you know him?" someone asked. "Of course not", replied Lamb, "if I knew him I wouldn't hate him." If, through the Immediate sphere of the study of agriculture, and the greater and broader one of human relations, this program can continue con-tinue to aid in the cause of international interna-tional understanding, it will be a great boon not only to this country, but to the entire world. If knowledge knowl-edge and understanding are present, pres-ent, there is less chance of hatred. |