Those very features that have made us
different from other advanced welfare states, that have even made us seem «backward» at times — the variety of our racial and ethnic groups, the opportunities for creative innovation and experimentation inherent in our sort of federalism, our
tradition of voluntarism, and even, within bounds, our attachment to a gambling, risk - taking, profit - making economy — may turn out to be conducive to the implementation of an ecological
approach to social policy.
They seemed honestly interested in how what we do as teachers was the same or
different from their
approaches to teaching and learning, wanted to know how US teachers were prepared in colleges and universities, and were eager to share their
traditions and ideas with us.