Korean Job Discussion Forums

[itaewonguy]

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer
Tue May 2, 10:06 AM ET



WASHINGTON - 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.

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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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[Satori]

Yeah, explain that for me too y'all!

[Bulsajo]

"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."


WTF?
Isn't that akin to not being able to identify Big Bird in picture of Sesame Street characters?
Pretty hard to miss!

[Fredbob]

I'm usually not ready to jump in the fire to justify the wanton ignorance of the majority of Americans when it comes to world affairs but -come on 510 respondents. Hardly a representative sample.

[Hanson]

[krats1976]

Did this thread just get trimmed or something? I swear I just posted here.

[Fredbob]

It did just get trimmed, while I was posting actually. Can't really figure out why though.

[Wangja]

There is a huge gap - no posts between 6:29 this morning and 2:03 this afternoon.

Replay!

[krats1976]

huh... how odd. I actually thought it was an interesting thread. I've been perusing that ABC article about school choice all day. I'm still not sure I'm won over to it, but it's making me think.

I mean, as a certified teacher, I don't care to teach in American public schools again. I'm looking at private schools for when (if) I go back. I suppose if I'm so opposed to working in US public schools, I can't go around saying it's a good system, now can I?

[Privateer]

[Fredbob]

Schools are a microcosm of a society. It's not the school, its the society. Throwing money at the problem doesn't work, bringing up teacher accountability only solves part of the problem. You can make teachers and students accountable through legislation, you can't really make them actually care about and embrace learning/teaching beyond the test requirements that way.

To say whether the US public education system is a failure or not I think we need to define the goal of it. I'm not exactly sure what I think the goal is and might need a few bottles of soju to really clarify it in my own mind. I am curious to see what others think. I believe there is some kind of disjoint between peoples perceptions of the role of teachers and the role of the educational system in society.

For example, maybe schools in the US aren't teaching this information because there is some belief that the information has little practical value for the average American.

[riley]

Can't answer right now, too busy pounding my head in despair over my country.

Seriously, how do other countries compare in this area, or are we Americans special in our ignorance?

[Hotel Cheonan]

As an American there's nothing really to explain-it's pretty piss poor.
However, here are some reasons that this has occured.
When I was in high school, Geography was only taught in the first year. After that it was two years of history and a combined Govt./Economics class.
The emphasis on assessment tests is focused on English and/or Math. Not one teen worries about whether or not they can find Louisana on a map. They worry about what the quadratic equation is.
These are just two things in my opinion.

[krats1976]

[RACETRAITOR]

I don't ever recall being thoroughly drilled on geography in the Canadian school system.

My guess is that when you have 50 states to memorise and most of them have piss-poor little capital cities, geography doesn't look so fun. Anyone know the capital of Kansas? Well it ain't Kansas City.