After my sabbatical, I became to recognize that my country, the United States, is the best, this society is the best, and education in the U.S. is the best.
If Americans who never left the country would like to appreciate their country more, all they need to do is to go overseas (e.g. to a place like the Middle East).
There is no doubt that there is a need for a big change in the Middle East. There is a need for a change in many aspects including the education system which seems to be (at least that what I think) as if it's desiged to encourage people to memorize, to depend totally on the instructor, and not to think. It seems as if students learn how to memorize, solve old exams, and solve only direct questions and questions they saw like them in class. If the question is re-written differently, the idea is manipulated a little, several ideas are combined, etc, students may not know what to do. Also, it seems to me as if students got used to high grades (they don't deserve) and average of 70 or higher.
The behavior of students is another big issue. Several aspects of the behavior of many students seem to be odd and quite unaccpetable in well-respected universities in the U.S. and other parts of the Western World, but to them this abnormal behavior is normal. It seems as if many students have wrong understanding of major concepts in life, and they may not understand life nor what education is all about. In addition, many of those that go to college, apparently do so not because they love education but because they want degrees for one reason or another. Many may not study the field they like, but another field because their parents may want them to study that or because the society thinks highly of their field. Many seem as if they study for the grade not because they want to learn. And it looks as if many students forget the material months after taking it.
The West should be sincere in its call for democracy in the Middle East and for a new way of life there, and it must not use double standards by criticizing regimes for being undemocratic and for being corrupt, but at the same time, supporting other undemocratic and corrupt regimes.