Poll: 1/3 of Youths Can't Find La. on Map

[Gato_Solo]

yeah it's amazing how little americans know about the world around them.

I wonder how many of those polled thought it was a joke.

i'm afraid to see the results of math and science testing.

tom friedman's latest book (the world is flat) talks a lot americans falling behind in education.

pretty sad.

butt hey, we don't need no learnin' when we's just waiting for the rapture.

And the predictable slap at religion at the end. Nice. Looks like respecting the views of others is okay except for religion, correct?

 

[Gonz]

butt hey, we don't need no learnin' when we's just waiting for the rapture.

Thar ain't no time fer lernin...we's got PC rhetoric to be lerned us

As Prof stomps off I yell HEY, WAIT....what do the studies say aboot Canuck kids? (seriously curious but it's really late)

Without knowing more, you can't draw conclusions. They might have put the outline of Mississippi on a map and asked 'What state is this?'

My kid could do that in 3 notes

 

[Gonz]

Without knowing more, you can't draw conclusions. They might have put the outline of Mississippi on a map and asked 'What state is this?'

Now, if they had a map, circled Louisiana, circled NY, and circled Cali, one should be able to identify each.

My kid could do that in 3 notes

 

[Professur]

As Prof stomps off I yell HEY, WAIT....what do the studies say aboot Canuck kids? (seriously curious but it's really late)

I haven't seen any studies relating to Canuck kids. Wish I could. But you've already heard me rant about the kids coming home singing Martin Luther King songs, and not being able to do simple math yet.

 

[unclehobart]

I'm sorry Altron, but Americans really should be able to sit down with a blank map of the world and fill in the names of all 50 states and at least half of the countries if not more. You say it is an unneeded skill.. but I disagree. Calculators have made math skills obsolete; spellcheckers have made linguistics obsolete; who the heck needs english lit and art history anyway; medicine can keep with me so lets ditch gym as well.

If school only taught relevant things, then there would only be classes in Tivo, driving, and home brewing. A diploma wouldn't mean shit. It matters not how intelligent you are if you don't have anything to apply it against.

 

[Winky]

Fuck that, we are Americans.
We invented the internet (well Algore did)
we put a man on the Moon
(12 actually)
and if a kid wants to know where a place is in the United States he's got Mapquest fer Christ’s sake!

As for religion and edumahcation

I sent my atheist Son to Jesuit Catholic school
not to improve his love of Gawd, ya buncha sinners.

Yep these silly-assed surveys come out every year
and America is still number one in every category regardless of the liberal whining

get over it and get to werk ya slacker bastards

 

[rrfield]

an amierican, 5th grade and up, should be able to identify a state based on its shape. allowance given for colorado/wyoming (50/50 shot on those).

 

[Winky]

and what job or profession requires this knowledge?

 

[Altron]

Yeah, because, y'know, they make maps that don't have the state's names on them.

Not having any idea where a state is is unacceptable. You shouldn't hear 'Louisiana' and think 'What country is that in?'

But other than 'It's a state near the mississippi delta and the Gulf' you really don't ever need to know the exact location of it by memory.

It's one thing to have a general knowledge of locations of every state and the major cities in it, but being able to tell exactly which one is which is incrediably useless.

 

[Winky]

And that advanced calculus you learnt has far greater
utility in everyday life doncha think?

(never mind think ha ha ha jus kiddin' thar)

 

[SouthernN'Proud]

it's pretty well known that level of education and religiousness are inversely correlated.

Source please.

those making sure they're not "left behind" really don't have a need for wordly learning, now do they?

I won't be left behind, and am college educated. It does happen.

certain forms of religion in america reject science and instead hedge their bets on faith. that breeds ignorance of the natural world and critical thinking. that holds back education. not that this is the only - or the most pressing - problem in american education. but is is an issue. and it's obvious to everyone but us.

Again, cite a source. I think critically daily. I will compare IQ scores with you anytime you're ready.

There are other problems in our educational system that are obvious to a lot of people that you would deny as well. Perspective counts.

if you don't like my opinion, ignore it

*edited - Leslie* My original salvo to you in another thread stood, and you didn't make the cut. But for now, ** , you entertain me.

I'll wait for your source.

 

[TexasRaceLady]

I'm really not surprised that young adults have no map skills.

Geography was one of the subjects deemed "not high priority" years ago here in Texas when the pressure to pass the skills test became overwhelming.

I can't imagine looking at a map and NOT know where you are, or where you are going. I guess I'm a map-a-holic.

I enter a contest every fall called "The Great Maltese Circumglobal Trophy Dash." You follow instructions and go around the world on a set of maps. It is a real brain strainer.

I'd love to see some of you join me
http://home.earthlink.net/~oldmaltese/TrophyDash.html

 

[HomeLAN]

You're right, Altron. Americans are not stupid. They are, however, by and large woefully under-educated. The very fact that you argue that you don't NEED this very basic knowledge underscores that fact pretty well.

The public school system in this country is fucked, and I frankly see no realistic effort to fix it. Any other questions regarding why I'm spending a shitload to send mine the private route?

 

[Professur]

You're right, Altron. Americans are not stupid. They are, however, by and large woefully under-educated. The very fact that you argue that you don't NEED this very basic knowledge underscores that fact pretty well.

Point of discussion. Is it that they're under-educated? Or they're just being educated in the wrong stuff. More precisely, exactly what are they spending 6-8 hours a day in school for?

I was stunned to learn of "study periods". The very idea of being in school and not being in class was unheard of in my experience.

 

[chcr]

Yeah, because, y'know, they make maps that don't have the state's names on them.

Not having any idea where a state is is unacceptable. You shouldn't hear 'Louisiana' and think 'What country is that in?'

But other than 'It's a state near the mississippi delta and the Gulf' you really don't ever need to know the exact location of it by memory.

It's one thing to have a general knowledge of locations of every state and the major cities in it, but being able to tell exactly which one is which is incrediably useless.

Useless knowledge is an oxymoron.

The US public education system would be a joke if it wasn't so pathetic. Oh, and 2minkey, most of the really good schools are run by religious organizations (like Winky's Jesuits). The one dimensional ones are actually in the minority. Public education OTOH, is so busy trying to be inoffensive and all-inclusive that in fact they teach next to nothing.

 

[TexasRaceLady]

The US public education system would be a joke if it wasn't so pathetic. Public education OTOH, is so busy trying to be inoffensive and all-inclusive that in fact they teach next to nothing.

May I buy you a cold one?
That is one of the reasons I retired. I signed on to be an "educator" --- when that was taken away by "the test", I quit.

edit to take away clumsy fingered misspelling.

 

[SouthernN'Proud]

Point of discussion. Is it that they're under-educated? Or they're just being educated in the wrong stuff. More precisely, exactly what are they spending 6-8 hours a day in school for?

The posse is held up by the slowest pony.

But I agree with you in theory. School systems have their priorities out of whack. And by and large, I don't see enough of a difference in the private schools available to me to justify the expense when one looks at curriculum. I guess it'll be what it's always been...let the school teach them what they teach them, and I'll teach mine the rest.

 

[rrfield]

When, God-willing, we have kids we plan on sending them to the local Catholic elementary school...if we can afford it.

 

[unclehobart]

Geography only merely starts with political boundaries. The subfields are massive. There is geographical, topographical, population and demographics, social geography of culture, language, horticulture, watersheds. Its frigteningly complex and useful in everyday life.

 

[Professur]

Can you afford not to?