|
|
| GeoCommunity Mailing List |
| |
| Mailing List Archives |
| Subject: | RE: GISList: Ouch! What timing.... |
| Date: |
11/20/2002 10:14:11 AM |
| From: |
Anthony Quartararo |
|
|
Lest ye forget, the US is not the only country that was surveyed.
My guess is that 99% of Iraqis, Iranians and perhaps even N. Koreans,
know where the US is on a map and may even know where Washington DC is,
and where NYC is as well. It's not a matter of money per se, because
per capita there is a lot more cash spent on education in those surveyed
countries that in the above mentioned countries. It's a matter of
perspective in some sense. We (yes, Canada too) have the luxury of not
knowing, or even worse, not really caring, what happens in places like
Ethiopia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Iraq, etc, because for the most
part, it does not have a direct impact on daily lives, unless and until
it costs more to heat our homes, drive that monster truck, takes longer
to wait in line at airport security because an ex-con is frisking
grandma, or that venti low-fat cinnamon vanilla frappucino mocha to-go
is no longer affordable. There is a cause and effect, however loosely
coupled and however distant, it exists in a very fundamental geographic
way. Waking up to that is more important and more powerful than coming
in first in the NGS Geography Bee.
Regards,
Anthony
-----Original Message-----
From: Glenn Letham (GeoCommunity) [mailto:editor@geocomm.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2002 10:52 AM
To: ajq3@spatialnetworks.com: gislist@geocomm.com
Subject: Re: GISList: Ouch! What timing....
Cool.. thanks for that heads up Anthony...
not totally surprising I guess, however, it does indicate that the US
educational system may have some serious issues to sort out!
Unfortunately, it's always been discussed in the International arena
that the level of geographic understanding, when it comes to areas
outside the continental US, is severely lacking for many Americans,
particularly the youth .... (do I dare even open this can of worms!)
Cheers
Glenn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
----- Original Message -----
From: "Anthony Quartararo" <ajq3@spatialnetworks.com>
To: <gislist@geocomm.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2002 9:28 AM
Subject: GISList: Ouch! What timing....
> This came out this morning...
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATION/11/20/geography.quiz/index.html
>
> Not very high marks for the country where the world's leading GIS
> vendors are based, and to be released on "GIS Day", ouch. Strange
> that the NGS would release this today, given their involvement with
> GIS Day, but perhaps it is strategic in nature, attempting to draw
> attention to the need for even more education in geography (while not
> necessarily GIS). Granted, rattling off the names of all 50 states
> and their respective capitals is not a very high standard for
> understanding geographic issues, the article makes the point that
> given the current global environment (and future likely trends), not
> knowing about basic geographic fundamentals can truly be harmful. The
> only consolation is that no country received and "A", but that's not
> really a consolation now is it. Albeit, the survey's population of
> 300 people ranging in age from 18-24 and from various countries is not
exactly rock-solid social
> science, but even anecdotally, this is a dismal showing. My guess
is
> that without the continued efforts of the major GIS vendors involved
> in education in one form or another, these numbers would be even more
> distressing. All the more reason to nix "social studies" and
> reinstitute "geography" as required curriculum throughout K-12 and
> undergraduate programs.
>
> Regards,
>
> Anthony
>
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe, write to gislist-unsubscribe@geocomm.com
> ______________________________________________________________________
> __
> GeoCommunity GeoBids - less than $1 per day!
> Get Access to the latest GIS & Geospatial Industry RFPs and bids
> http://www.geobids.com
>
> Setup a GeoCommunity Account and have access to
> the GISDataDepot DRG & DOQQ Catalog http://www.geocomm.com/login.php
>
>
>
To unsubscribe, write to gislist-unsubscribe@geocomm.com
________________________________________________________________________
GeoCommunity GeoBids - less than $1 per day!
Get Access to the latest GIS & Geospatial Industry RFPs and bids
http://www.geobids.com
Setup a GeoCommunity Account and have access to
the GISDataDepot DRG & DOQQ Catalog
http://www.geocomm.com/login.php
|
|
Sponsored by:
For information
regarding
advertising rates
Click Here!
|
