U.S. sucks at geography

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MK
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U.S. sucks at geography

Postby MK » Tue May 02, 2006 4:17 pm

Young Americans shaky on geographic smarts
Study finds that many fare poorly at finding Louisiana and Iraq on a map

WASHINGTON - Despite the wall-to-wall coverage of the damage from Hurricane Katrina, nearly one-third of young Americans recently polled couldn’t locate Louisiana on a map and nearly half were unable to identify Mississippi.

Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 fared even worse with foreign locations: six in 10 couldn’t find Iraq, according to a Roper poll conducted for National Geographic.

“Geographic illiteracy impacts our economic well-being, our relationships with other nations and the environment, and isolates us from the world,” National Geographic president John Fahey said in announcing a program to help remedy the problem. It’s hoping to enlist businesses, nonprofit groups and educators in a bid to improve geographic literacy.
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Planned is a five-year, multimedia campaign called My Wonderful World that will target children 8 to 17. The goal is to motivate parents and educators to expand geographic offerings in school, at home and in their communities.

They will have their task cut out for them, judging by the results of the survey of 510 people interviewed in December and January.

Among the findings:

* One-third of respondents couldn’t pinpoint Louisiana on a map and 48 percent were unable to locate Mississippi.
* Fewer than three in 10 think it important to know the locations of countries in the news and just 14 percent believe speaking another language is a necessary skill.
* Two-thirds didn’t know that the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in October 2005 occurred in Pakistan.
* Six in 10 could not find Iraq on a map of the Middle East.
* While the outsourcing of jobs to India has been a major U.S. business story, 47 percent could not find the Indian subcontinent on a map of Asia.
* While Israeli-Palestinian strife has been in the news for the entire lives of the respondents, 75 percent were unable to locate Israel on a map of the Middle East.
* Nearly three-quarters incorrectly named English as the most widely spoken native language.
* Six in 10 did not know the border between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified in the world. Thirty percent thought the most heavily fortified border was between the United States and Mexico.

Joining in the effort to improve geographic knowledge will be the 4-H, American Federation of Teachers, Asia Society, Association of American Geographers, National Basketball Association, National Council of La Raza, National PTA, Smithsonian Institution and others.

“Geography exposes children and adults to diverse cultures, different ideas and the exchange of knowledge from around the world,” said Anna Marie Weselak, president of the National PTA. “This campaign will help make sure our children get their geography — so they can become familiar with other cultures during their school years and
"When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war." – Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Rspaight
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Postby Rspaight » Tue May 02, 2006 8:00 pm

Well, that explains how the government got elected.

Ryan
RQOTW: "I'll make sure that our future is defined not by the letters ACLU, but by the letters USA." -- Mitt Romney

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Xenu
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Postby Xenu » Tue May 02, 2006 9:42 pm

I'd actually be guilty of lots of the above. For whatever reason, I can't retain geographical anything. Oh, I can short-term memorize maps with the best of 'em (whether they be of congressional districts or Judea in the time of Christ), but plunk me down in front of a map of the USA and ask me to fill it in, and I'd likely fuck up a few states. It's sort of shameful, I know, and I've attempted to fix this more than once, but eh.

I didn't gain a sense of direction until later in life; maybe this'll come in time.
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"Fuckin' Koreans" - Reno 911

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rjp
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Postby rjp » Thu Jul 13, 2006 6:38 am

we don't teach geography in school anymore. at least not in ohio.

renny

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Alexander Keith
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Postby Alexander Keith » Thu Jul 20, 2006 7:41 pm

That to me is sad. What is next to go. History?
Barry