what? who? where?

[winterbadger]

The yearly horror that is geographic illiteracy.

Comments

[plutosonium.livejournal.com]

I don't think I ever had a "geography" class. I had Social Studies. We might have seen maps of various places, but I don't recall that we were ever tested on them.

[winterbadger]

I think I might have had a class at one point that was specifically labelled geogrpahy and that dealt with maps in general and how they are used to show things (physical geography, political boundaries, geology, environmental patterns, etc.) But I'm pretty sure that all my grade school classes that involved learning about countries (ours or other ones) involved maps in text books and blank maps that one had to drawn or write things on in tests and quizzes.

I think the stat early in the article that "Fewer than three in 10 think it important to know the locations of countries in the news..." is the crucial one. If people actively want to be ignorant (as many peope seem to) even the best teachers are fighting an uphill battle to educate tehm.

[plutosonium.livejournal.com]

I didn't think triangles were important but they still made me learn all about them. Who said grade schoolers got a choice. :)

[winterbadger]

They get no choice about what they get taught; they have all the choice in the world about what they learn. :-)

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

They couldn't find *India*? Ok some of the middle eastern countries sort of blend together if you're not paying attention, but India is a flipping subcontintent and sticks out like a sore thumb *shakes head in disbelief*

[winterbadger]

Well, you know, it's where Indians come from, so it's got to be somewhere between, oh, California and New York. All the sandy, rocky bit inbetween, where John Wayne kills all the Indians.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

*dies laughing, is resurrected and expires in giggles once again*

[azbound.livejournal.com]

Welcome to life as a CASA.

I'm considering buying a world map to show where places are, as my 14 year old doesn't even know state capitol.

Not that I could label every country in Africa, but at least I know where the continent is...

typical American response

[winterbadger]

Africa *is* a country!

Isn't it?

*looks confused*

[luscious-purple.livejournal.com]

When I was a preschooler, I had a puzzle map of the United States. I took the state-shaped pieces out and put them back endlessly.

When we had a pop U.S. geography quiz in ninth grade -- here's an outline map, fill in the names -- the only kids who aced the quiz had had similar puzzles. :-)

[astartesyriaca.livejournal.com]

That is truly frightening, and depressing...

When are we moving? (Though I hear it isn't much better over there these days...)

[winterbadger]

Oh, no, it's nothing specific to Americans.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4038463.stm

Well, we're moving right next door, so it shouldn't take too long, right? It's not like there's an ocean in the way or anything. ;-)

[astartesyriaca.livejournal.com]

Ocean schmocean!!

I'm drinking a lovely coffee at the cafe right now, though, and I fear I will miss that...

NW coffee snob here... thankfully I am a tea snob too.

[winterbadger]

Actually, I think you will be able to find good coffee in Glasgow. The usual chains, like Starbucks and Costa, are tehre, but I think I've heard tell of a couple of smaller, more boutique beaneries too.

Ha!! Now I need a coffee icon...

[astartesyriaca.livejournal.com]

In the NW, Starbucks is actually bad coffee (beans always taste burnt)... see? Total snob.

I didn't try Costa... wait! Did I? I think I might have on the road... it was ok. In Glasgow I went to Bean Scene, a local chain which has good coffee (not great, on par with Starbucks), but that I liked because they had wireles!!! (Had to pay for it, but still...)

Hopefully both the coffee and the wireless will get more prevalent. If we have to blanket them in American culture, lets do it that way instead of with McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut (which was EVERYWHERE!)

[winterbadger]

Bean Scene is one of the ones I've seen recommended. See, I knew better than to cite Starbucks as an example of "good" coffee (in snob terms ;-). But I'll bet its still better than the dreck I've gotten most of the offices I've worked in. :-) Costa is certainly no better than S'bucks (you'll probably remember their red and white lgooing and their cups, whihc have the whole heat-resistant corrugating integral to the cup).

[cutedeadgirl.livejournal.com]

I am very amused. "Keel em arabs! ... wait where the fuck are they anyways?!"

Here we have geography as standard school education as biology, math etc are. Then again we have religion taught in school too...

[winterbadger]

Yeah, I gather some basic religious education is standard in British schools too. I can only guess at the hysteria here i schools were to teach religion.

Parent: I don't want my child learning about Islam and animism and pagan $%^@#$!

Teacher: But we teach about Christianity too.

Parent: But you teach them about Catholicism and Lutheranism and Calvinism--we're BAPTISTS!

Teacher: But we include Baptists in our section on Protestantism... and we don't teach that any of these is *better* than the others; we're just teaching them about all the different faiths equally with no bias.

Parent: That's exactly the PROBLEM!

[cutedeadgirl.livejournal.com]

Well we here gots a government religion. And it never made my life worse than it is, only maybe when shops are closed on sundays and on christian holidays and I ca n't buy more beer (or any other comsumable *ahem*).

It is all so very silly. I know it depends on teacher too, but I learned well of all bigger religions in the country and international smaller things like voudoun etc.

[winterbadger]

international smaller things like voudoun

Parent: OMG! WITCHCRAFT! Heather, get you things! We're taking you to Jerry Falwell Secondary School RIGHT NOW!

[cutedeadgirl.livejournal.com]

Gosh. Read the other comments. We were doing maps so hard to learn all major rivers, lakes, oceans, mountains, capital cities etc or all continents. We also had to colour in black and white maps to match the map book we were using to study, so it showed all highs and lows of land. Then we did indeed get tested for all that.

I can't do geography as well as I should (my picture memory might be great but names... nocando), but reading all this it makes me feel like a genious.

[winterbadger]

I think you probably are a genius. :-) And well educated too. :-)

[cutedeadgirl.livejournal.com]

Right :P. Well ok my IQ says I am pretty ok on the intelligence department but noooo genius lives here. If one did I'd evict it. So I can have an excuse for being stupid.

[winterbadger]

:-)

[cutedeadgirl.livejournal.com]

Watch elves dance. Dance elf dance. To the YMCA.

My Sons 7 years old

[john-arundel.livejournal.com]

And can identify every continent, knows where we live in North America and understands where our family came from historically (United Kingdoms). - This is not because he's a genius - its because I have bothered to show him. God i hate people.