Here are just a few reasons:

• “In a 21st century world where jobs can be shipped wherever there’s an Internet connection … a child born in Dallas is now competing with a child in New Delhi.” —  Barack Obama

• According to a major IBM survey of more than 1,500 chief executive officers from 60 countries and 33 industries worldwide, chief executives believe that “more than rigor, management discipline, integrity or even vision—successfully navigating an increasingly complex world will require creativity.”

• There are more than 1 billion people who speak Chinese, and only 510 million people who speak English. English is no longer the dominant world language. For students becoming global citizens, knowing a second language will be critical.

• “The American economy is inextricably linked to the global economy. It’s estimated that one-fifth of jobs here are now tied to international trade. Moreover, many of the world’s major challenges — climate change, instability in financial markets, food and water insecurity, infectious diseases, migration, war and terrorism — are complex, interdependent and borderless. And with 40 million foreign-born residents, the United States is itself a global society with deep emotional ties to many nations and cultures. To survive and thrive, Americans have to learn how to manage greater complexity and collaborate across lines of difference. (“Preparing Young Americans for a Complex World,” New York Times, Feb. 8, 2017)