At least locally born Australians can pinpoint America on a map,...

At least locally born Australians can pinpoint America on a map, unlike a surprising number of locally born Americans who seem to think that Australia is somewhere in Europe. At least most Australians have a smattering o knowledge outside our borders unlike far too many in America

There is some truth in that, but it has absolutely nothing to do with education. I do profess to know a bit about the US, having spent a lot of time there in the last 23 years. Inside America is actually a very isolated place. Almost all the TV news is about American events. I would estimate 99.99%. In Australia its the exact opposite, much of our news is external.

The prefect example of this was when J Gillard made a high profile visit to the US. Headline news here, but my (very well educated) US friends did not even know she was in the US. Americans know we have a funny accent, and cute furry animals, but that's about it for the average American. But they have Bill Gates, and his ilk, so uneducated is not a very good description.

The reason is not lack of education. It is simply that domestic Americans do not need outside information.

PS. A few years ago, I was in a Targa New Foundland car rally. Many controls were at schools, so I asked the kids if they knew where Australia was, given that New Foundland is an awful long way from here. Almost all did, so I concluded that basic education there was not too bad.