I knew a woman once who thought there was a separate state known as New England.
You got it . Thank your NEA , the union thugs who are allowing American children's future to be hijacked .
The objective was simple--to dumb down the future electorate so that they would have little knowledge of the real world, and be more dependent on left-wing politicians to tell them what to think.
The fact is, if one peruses a map of the world intelligently, all sorts of otherwise baffling things fall into place--like the geopolitics of foreign policy and national security.
When I was a kid we studied geography per se from at least the fourth grade on up. Every classroom had a set of large maps to pull down in front of the blackboards, and we used them--political maps, topographical maps, maps of natural resources, rainfall, you name it. Anyone who knows the geography of the Middle east will not have been surprised by the events of the last oh, hundred years or so.
How can the students learn geography when it is taught by “teachers” who don’t know geography themselves? Being of 18 years of age, I am certainly considered a young American, however, I know geography very well. I learned the layout of the world through extensive study of history. It saddens me to report that in my experience with most young Americans my age, it is quite true that they cannot locate basic countries on a map such as Somalia or Vietnam. It seems to me though, that it is a bit of a stretch to say many of us can’t locate the Pacific Ocean on a map...
The lack of good education in ANY subject leads me to entertain the ideas that (a) Schools don't want to teach anything of substance, and (b) Teachers probably were produced by the same system and couldn't even if they wanted to.
Then consider the uninvolved parents who are either working at their second jobs or are watching TV, consider the PC advocates who will pounce on the mildest transgression and scare the teachers into submission, and consider the lawyers who will sue everyone in sight if ANY discipline is wielded.
Currently, it's a no-win system. We need "Change we can believe in!" How's that for a political slogan?
Maps were one of the things I used to look forward to every month when I had a subscription to National Geographic. When I was a teenager I had my bedroom pretty much wallpapered with maps.
I suspect I could go just about anywhere here in the states without a map. I might not get to an adress in Californa without a map but I can get myself to a neighborhood. Years ago I drove to Frisco Texas without a map and got to within a block of where I was going before making a phone call to get the rest of the way there.
Lots of kids these days can’t cross the street without a GPS and it better tell them to look both ways first.
The first "Pacific President" will let us know, if we need to....
I know so many people from college in sales or marketing who make high 6 figure salaries yet would fail a 6th grade geography or history test.
On the other hand, I can ace ANY geography or history test yet make nowhere near that kind of scratch.
Point being, education doesn’t necessary determine success.
http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/missingcountry.htm
Nations and their borders are not set in stone; consequently, your grandparents’ globe or Atlas might be outdated and teachers don’t seem to know the basics.
A retired teacher I recently met - admitted to not knowing where Sri Lanka could be found on a map. Appalling.
There are some schools which no longer teach geography, history, music and the arts, or science. Gotta save money for the football team, ya know.
Anyway, a few years ago, there was a survey done of mostly young people out of high school (some in college or just out of college). All the survey asked is for the participant to name the capital of his/her home state. In PA, for example, most participants guessed either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia (the capital is Harrisburg). But there were some who came up with cities such as Wilkes-Barrne or Erie. A significant percentage (I think around 14%) wouldn’t even try to hazard a guess.
I have a fantasy.
Next presidential election, line up the candidates before a big roll of butcher paper tacked on the wall.
Give each one a crayon. (Or perhaps a small box of crayons, eight colors.)
“Draw a map of the United States. You have ten minutes.”
Then
“Draw a map of the world. Draw and label all continents, oceans, and as many countries you can name. You have 30 minutes.”
I’d LOVE to see that, and nationally televised, live and unscripted too.
I have an otline map of the U.S. - just the state borders, no names. I kept pointing to different areas, asking my 15-year-old granddaughter to name teach state. Damned if she didn’t nail them. I was flabbergasted. Next time I’ll try a world map.