A frontier mentality will come in handy. True, American kids are not taught to memorize reams of mathematical tables like their more disciplined counterparts in countries around the world. They're taught to to be original, to think for themselves, to express their feelings. That's partly why Americans are able to take the world by storm, as the creators of phenomena like jazz music, rock 'n' roll and rap. Of course, there are also plenty of major challenges we must overcome, such as an underskilled work force, growing illiteracy and rising social problems.
All cultures have their strong points, unique features and world contributions.
The Europeans have their social conscience and the Japanese their collective mentality of teamwork, to name but a few. But none of them may prepare their people better for the rigors of the coming Digital Age than what we've got right here.