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Very good observation. amongst European schoolchildren, the ability to find countries on a map is almost as bad.

Amongst teachers, geography is generally dismissed as a waste of time subject, taught by the PE teachers as it's the only thing they can manage an refered too by the dismissive term 'Colouring in'.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 07:06:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
A few years ago, in another NatGeo study, Britain was nearly as bad as the US, while other EU countries were better, best were Scandinavian countries and France IIRC.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 07:11:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Thanks for the information.  I was not aware of that study.

Bitsofnews.com Giving you the latest bits.
by Gjermund E Jansen (gjans1@hotmail.com) on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 07:14:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I diffed up what I recalled. The complete survey (from 2002) is here [pdf!].

Of 56 quiz questions (not difficult ones), average correct answers were:

Sweden 40
Germany 38
Italy 38
France 34
Japan 31
Great Britain 28
Canada 27
U.S. 23
Mexico 21

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 07:28:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I see that the U.S. and Mexico are almost tied...given what is being spouted in the American news about immigrants who are coming into America as illiterate/school drop-outs etc by Lou Dobbs and others makes this statistic ironic in a sad sort of way.

When I was in school(oh here we go-with the old person remembering way back when)which happened to be Catholic school we had a specific Geography Class/Geography books. What I do remember is that I liked it and it was pretty cool-we had to draw maps from memory of other countries-the easiest and most fun being of course Italy-the Boot.

After 9 years in Catholic school I went to public school and there was no Geography Class but something called Social Studies and almost no emphasis on actual maps and where countries were.

When my nephew got to school I know that geography was simply non existent -social studies weren't much better.  Then again the whole education system here is broken as far as I'm concerned.  When I went to the Community College here what I was basically learning is what I had already learned in Catholic grade school.

"People never do evil so throughly and happily as when they do it from moral conviction."-Blaise Pascal

by chocolate ink on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 08:17:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
...did you see in the Appendix that only 31% of the questioned British could identify the Netherlands whereas France, Germany and Italy have at least twice a higher percentage than that, with France topping the chart with 71 percentage? (Perhaps in France people know where they need to get their pot?)

I had no idea the differences would be so large within Europe itself. Good stuff, DoDo.

by Nomad on Fri May 5th, 2006 at 05:59:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Still, I have to admit that geography is a subject that's being down graded even here in Norway.  This is a subject that is being neglected all over the Western world I fear.  

 

Bitsofnews.com Giving you the latest bits.

by Gjermund E Jansen (gjans1@hotmail.com) on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 07:20:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I know I am kind of a "Johnny One Note" on the fossil fuel thing, but I suspect this might just have something to do with hypermobility and ubiquitous cheap air travel etc.

geography -- distances, borders, distinct cultures -- is  "so yesterday."   as Friedman clownishly proclaims, the world is flat (at least in the presently prevailing collective fantasy).  everywhere is at most 12 hours from anywhere else.  and if it isn't, then it's a place that just doesn't count.  NYC is closer to Paris than it is to Nowhere, Kansas -- virtually speaking.  an affluent burb is closer, by electronic and financial ties, to another affluent burb a continent away than to the slum on its physical border.

ironically the feverish global churning of finance and trade, increasing vastly the interconnection between us all, does seem to have diminished people's interest in or awareness of the actual physical geography...  it does seem strange.

The difference between theory and practise in practise ...

by DeAnander (de_at_daclarke_dot_org) on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 07:34:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ceebs, may it as it be - and I doubt that our kids historic's consciousness has already evaporated to the point that they don't know anymore about the West-East conflict - the fact is that no European country - and much less the joint EU will attack Iran with conventional or nuclear weapons.

Here's the learning point:

Everyone in Europe knows where Iran is. There won't be war.

But:

Well, of course, there will be war - but it won't be ours. It will be yours. (Are you US?)

PS. We will follow it on KOS and support Jerome's opinions against the new war! We can also have a new Daily War Shit Thing on this site and light virtual candles. Thousands if need be! No problem - it's a vitual exercise. Is it?

"The USA appears destined by fate to plague America with misery in the name of liberty." Simon Bolivar, Caracas, 1819

by Ritter on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 07:41:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
No I'm UK not US, just feeling generally depressed by the lack of knowledge in the young, Tabloid nusepapers,the culture of celebrity, and that it seems that America is heading for a religious dark age.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 07:47:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
nusepapers

Teach me to think i didn't need to run a spell check. ;-)

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 07:49:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
From: "nuisance"?

"The USA appears destined by fate to plague America with misery in the name of liberty." Simon Bolivar, Caracas, 1819
by Ritter on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 07:53:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
having looked it up nuse is a food aditive for working horses!

takes me back to Animal Farm

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu May 4th, 2006 at 08:09:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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