Geography-challenged Americans
TV ClubHouse: Archives: Geography-challenged Americans
Crazydog | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 10:01 am     Check out this story from CNN on how bad Americans are at geography: Global goofs: U.S. youth can't find Iraq Now the Iraq thing I can understand. But I find a little unbelievable the claim that only 51% could find New York state. And especially that 11% couldn't find the United States. I know that Americans are a little challenged geographically, but I am always amazed as to where they find the idiots who take these "look how stupid we are compared to the saintly Scandinavians" tests. I'm thinking there has to be some explanation - like that some of them can't read. |
Djgirl5235 | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 10:23 am     I'd like to know how the Canadians did - but no mention other than the fact that they were interviewed... |
Jagger | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 11:27 am     um, I might have been one of them tested. I can't for the life of me catch on to geograghy. I have a hard time remembering what states border my state. |
Mosessupposes | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 11:33 am     Well I just wish this was one of those Internet Myths or Urban Legends, one always finds while "surfing the net". But, these are the results of a National Geographic Society survey...posted on CNN.com. How sad...how very sad. I have worked with teachers who would probably flunk a basic test in their chosen specialty. So, why would I be surprised that the students of this country are basically functional illiterates. Maybe we should go back to one room schoolhouses. |
Nicoleme | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 12:33 pm     Im in the only state that borders one other...(i think) |
Marysafan | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 01:12 pm     Then nicoleme....you must be in Maine! Maine is the ONLY state that shares a border with only one other. okay...call me a GEEK..I. loved geography. I took it upon myself to teach my children all the states and their capitols. (I must have been a real pain the butt for a mom! lol!) |
Car54 | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 01:31 pm     I admit it, I am a geographical idiot. I have moved 4 times in 5 years for work...all over the country...and when I move, I have to drive there...just to sort of get my bearings. If I fly, I have no idea where I am. I have a general idea what states are in the north south east west...but that is it. Forget looking at a map and actually naming what state it is. We moved the year my school really "did" geography, and my new school had already covered it.... so I just sort of never got it. All that said...I CAN read a map, and if I have a Triple-A Trip-tych, I can follow the directions beautifully. |
Scorpiomoon | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 01:56 pm     There was an old USA Today survey done. A map was shown to Americans with the names of cities and states removed. Many of them couldn't find their own home state or city. The running joke is, if Canada and the U.S ever went to war against each other, Canada would just have to remove the name of the country from maps and the Americans wouldn't be able to find us. I don't understand how you guys can be geographically challenged. While growing up here (in Canada) geography was drilled into our heads--North American geography especially. Isn't geography emphasized in the American education system? |
Urgrace | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 02:14 pm     Geography used to be a subject that you had to take in order to graduate. My understanding is that is not the case now. |
Halfunit | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 02:25 pm     I remember first having to memorize continents and oceans. Then we spent a week on each continent memorizing countries. Then it was a week on the US, with states and capitals and the 5 Great Lakes. THEN, it was the state of Ohio and yes, we had to memorize ALL 88 counties. THAT was rough. I have retained only about 20 of them, just based on location and shape, lol. |
Vixeninvegas | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 02:27 pm     ::::::: cringes & runs out of the room before someone asks her to point out any state besides Kansas, California, Nevada, New York or Flordia on a map ::::::::::: |
Twinkie | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 02:27 pm     I am also geographically challenged. Since I grew up in FL I can name the states all around it but other than that I don't know what states border other states. Hubby is the exact opposite. He is a whiz at geography worldwide and has traveled to most countries. |
Nicoleme | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 02:50 pm     Marysafan~ yes, thats right! im in Maine! we only border New Hampshire. I can do all of the New England states, plus a few more on the east coast, but when it comes to those d@mned big square states in the middle i would get confused! Im trying to think, i know Kentucky, Tennessee, Lousianna (my husband works in the gulf of MX alot on a drill ship and flys out of LA) I can point out Texas, California, Florida, Alabama, Washington, hmmm not sure which others i know... i could NEVER do the capitals of the states! just Maine... Augusta. |
Dahli | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 02:54 pm     Every week we were given maps of the US with the states outlined but no text and had to be able to identify them, plus the capital cities... and this was in the middle of saskatchewan! Of course Canadian geography was a huge deal and was drilled into us especially in history class. Europe Africa and Asia as well as South America and the Middle East were covered fairly extensively, and it always amazes me how whenever I'm in the states I have to describe my home as north of Montana, North Dakota, and some folks aren't sure where thos are even!!! Sad but true |
Tntitanfan | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 03:26 pm     There will be a geography test soon in the Road Trip thread! Alas, my foreign exchange students used to be totally astonished at how ignorant their classmates were about geography! We learned this in school, but apparently things have changed. I confess I don't know the African countries any more!! |
Abbynormal | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 03:30 pm     My son is in 5th grade and has been studying this since school started. They are up to 40 now. He has to know all the states and capitals, spelled correctly, and they are given a blank US map to fill in. So far he hasn't done too well on the map. |
Tess | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 04:40 pm     Geography major checking in! We learned quite alot of Geography back when I went through elementary and high school and I loved every single minute of it. College and grad school was heaven. We didn't just read maps, we drew them by hand and every line had to be perfect. Then computers started being more available and we made good used of them. The world has changed considerably since I went to school but my fascination with Geography, History and Anthropology will never change. |
Juju2bigdog | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 06:01 pm     Dahli, are you in Greenland?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . just kidding} |
Jmm | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 06:25 pm     In Texas we still require World Geography (which includes the US) for graduation, however until this year it was not on the tests that you had to pass to get a diploma. You had to pass the class, but we all know how easy or hard that can be depending on the teacher. Until recently the kids only had to have exit tests in Math, Writing, and Reading. Starting with last years freshmen they have changed the type of test needed to graduate to include Social Studies and Science. |
Wargod | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 07:09 pm     California here and when I went to school (graduated in '91) we didn't have to take any geography. Sometimes in History we'd look at a map. Sad, very! I still can't find my way around, and other than a few states, I couldn't point most of them out and name them. On the positive side, my mama Tess is forcing me to take a geography class next semester in college. Lucky for me, she's a geography whiz! |
Sia | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 09:14 pm     I'm excellent at geography and can name (with or without a map) the fifty states and their capitals and can write them into a blank map--probably could locate them correctly without the state boundaries drawn in, too. All that aside, I am decent at world geography, but never committed much Canadian geography to memory. Given a little time to think, I can name the provinces, but that's about it; I wouldn't know the capitals, probably. Don't you love the goofballs Jay Leno gets to answer questions when he does his man-on-the-street interviews? I just howl with delight, and them am disgusted that my fellow citizens are so stupid!! These are potential voters, too! Speaking of subjects they no longer teach in schools, how about penmanship? The grade schools where I live can't agree on one alphabet to use in teaching printing to children, and I think cursive writing is taught ONLY in third grade and then NEVER AGAIN! As a result, handwriting is virtually self-taught, there is no uniformity in the formation of letters, and most people's handwriting is illegible. Now that drives me nuts!! I cringe to see my son's teacher's handwriting; the notes she sends home look like a third-grader wrote them--and she dots each letter 'i' with a little heart and signs each note with a smiley-face. I want to send HER back to third grade!!! ARRRGGGHHH!! |
Kaili | Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 09:25 pm     I have a degree in Geography so I have so much fun bringing Geography into classes whenever I can. I am student teaching- my first placement was World History so it was easy but I'm doing Civics now and it's a bit more difficult to tie Geography in with the Bill of Rights....It's sad how little focus there is on Geography. it's such a fun, interesting and USEFUL subject! Yet, an elective.... |
Dahli | Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 06:49 am     funny funny Juju.... it gets kinda green in May...does that count??? |
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