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steva11
Posts: 1687
Phone Model:
w810i/pearl
Service Provider:
Rogers |
 
Tue May 02, 2006 7:21 pm |
| Quote: | WASHINGTON (AP) - 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.
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 move comfortably and confidently in a global economy as adults."
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isolationist nation?
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justin22
Posts: 213
Phone Model:
Samsung D807, Moto KRZR K1 Red
Service Provider:
Rogers Wireless |
Tue May 02, 2006 8:11 pm |
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new rules permit us ccr's to disclose our location, prior to the changes if asked where we live we'd have to say Western Washington.. now i say i'm in regina saskatchewan, people are like.. what state is that in? lol
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steva11
Posts: 1687
Phone Model:
w810i/pearl
Service Provider:
Rogers |
Tue May 02, 2006 8:21 pm |
I know, we used to say "we're based out of Paramus, NJ" wtf!? it seem slike people hate people from NJ more than they hate canadians!
I always say i'm from nova scotia. I've had people ask what state that's in, some people just go "oooohhhhh, uh, yeah..." and you know they have no idea what i'm talking about. some people think it's cool, think canada rocks and want to come visit nova scotia.
common reply "I hear it's so nice up there. but you must be so cold!"
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Jadall
Posts: 389
Phone Model:
Nokia 3300,Nokia n-gage, SEt290a
Service Provider:
Cingular |
Wed May 03, 2006 4:38 pm |
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haha.. when i lived in texas. a friend of mine had a friend that lived out east up in the new england states i think and they were convinced that people rode horses and stuff just like a western movie from 1800's rolling tumbleweed. wagons the whole lot.. people are really ignorant even of how they percieve places in their own country. I still have the perception that it is really primitive in places like iraq when for the most part it's just cities and towns just like here just parts of it all rubble and blown up.
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steva11
Posts: 1687
Phone Model:
w810i/pearl
Service Provider:
Rogers |
Wed May 03, 2006 4:54 pm |
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I know what you mean, 'cause that's all they show on TV. it's like korea. I kinda think of huts and rice paddys...poor people. eventhough that's part of it, you also have some of the most advanced electronics coming out of there.
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mr2gobyby
Posts: 35
Phone Model:
AT&T Tilt
Service Provider:
AT&T |
Thu May 25, 2006 8:22 am |
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I was in Iraq in 90-91 (desert Storm) in the army and I spent a year there with the 101st as a civilian in 03-04... (Mosul Iraq) There is alot of money that has gone into and out of that country, but 98% of that money stayed within the top 3 tiers of governmental bureaucracy. Almost all of the general population exists in abject poverty. It is and has been, since well before Desert Storm, lower quality/standard of living than Korea ( been there to).
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TipiCrawler
Posts: 617
Phone Model:
Nokia
Service Provider:
Cingular |
Thu May 25, 2006 12:40 pm |
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I think the reason young people don't know anything about the world we live in is simple......the parents aren't around and the teachers are spread too thin.....tv and video games and computers have raised a bunch of flower childre(i.e. blooming idiots)
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Bjoern
Posts: 3615
Phone Model:
Nokia E61
Service Provider:
o2 Germany |
Thu May 25, 2006 4:04 pm |
Same situation here in Germany... we've got only 16 states... and some kids and young adults are not able to show them properly on a map...
Once there was West Germany and there was the German Democratic Republic... until 1990 when they joint and became Germany... German Democratic Republic was also called "East Germany"... they asked people to roughly draw a line on the map where the border was... some even draw a line and parted Germany in north and south... some even had the idea Poland was in the middle of Germany...
Also many of them couldn't proper name the neighboring states of Germany...
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Jadall
Posts: 389
Phone Model:
Nokia 3300,Nokia n-gage, SEt290a
Service Provider:
Cingular |
Fri May 26, 2006 5:59 pm |
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I think i read a headline somewhere. i wish i accessed the article but the headline is kid wins contest finds(something) on map... I think someone was going to people on street etc asking people where a place was. man i wish i coulda done that i'm geographically literate for the most part. I pick out states countries. some river's mountain ranges anywhere in the world on a map i don't see why it's so hard... I guess it's the way my brain works. I was going to be on a map reading team or something teacher had us all look at maps and identify places and i did well better than the "smarter" kids than me. but i moved and never got to do whatever it was like a school event. but it was cool anyways..
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BigRUSS
Posts: 2105
Phone Model:
two cans ( del monte) and some string,
Service Provider:
RussCo |
Fri May 26, 2006 6:09 pm |
yea they need to bring back the world domontation games like the 3rd world war for sega cd
learned geography
economics
and government skills
or you could just cause a nuklear war whatever floats your boat
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