[MSP]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/05...est/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After more than three years of combat and nearly 2,400 U.S. military deaths in Iraq, nearly two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 still cannot find Iraq on a map, a study released Tuesday showed.

1/3 couldn't identify Louisiana! We're doomed...

[bbsmitz]

Yeah, but no one cares about Louisiana anyway.

[basketofkittens]

This doesn't come as a surprise to me at all.

Rhetorical question: What do you think is one subject that is not required (or even widely offered) in high school?

[GOG427]

hmm i love history got to keep that, i like bio and math hmm i say kill home mech. if the kids want to learn how to bake a cake have there mommy teach them.

[thadood]

I never had to take Geography, but I at least know where all 50 states are, as well as a good portion of Europe.

Ignorance is bliss..

[Jamsan]

I've never heard/seen of a geography course in high school -- not knowing where all 50 states is totally ridiculous though. We had to know all 50 states and their capitals in the 4th grade.... I guess the standards are starting to get lowered

[MSP]

A few year ago they did a poll, and something like 2/3 of all graduating high school seniors could not identify Florida on a map. GRADUATING seniors! We're talking the single most distinct land mass in the Western hemisphere.

[Coleman]

I think this is MSP trying to say he's smarter than all of us youngin's

[MSP]

Originally Posted by Coleman

I think this is MSP trying to say he's smarter than all of us youngin's

Nah, just that our schools appear to be failing big time. I mean, you can identify Florida I assume...

[Pope John]

our schools are failing because people don't know geography?


what the fuck?

how is it important knowing where everything is? Not like you'd travel by foot to get there...

I consider myself smarter than a great portion of the highschool I went to, but I couldn't fill in a map of the US. It's really useless information to me.

Quick, somebody tell me the southernmost country of South America!

[Pope John]

our schools are failing because people don't know geography?


what the fuck?

how is it important knowing where everything is? Not like you'd travel by foot to get there...

I consider myself smarter than a great portion of the highschool I went to, but I couldn't fill in a map of the US. It's really useless information to me.

Quick, somebody tell me the southernmost country of South America!

[ivanolo]

That's a stupid attitude. I think that, along with the educational system, is the problem. When you go to school, you're supposed to learn stuff to make you a well rounded person. Whether you think you're never going to need that stuff is not important, because at some point, I guarantee you that you will.

[Sparky]

Originally Posted by Jamsan

We had to know all 50 states and their capitals in the 4th grade.... I guess the standards are starting to get lowered

Same here. I can't imagine them changing that.

[Cr@cKpiPe tE@sEr noOb!]

No Child Left Behind. From my understanding, this act just makes the tests dumber instead of making the students smarter.

[Sweatervest]

I dunno. I have a hard time believing some of these statistics are very accurate. Maybe I just live in a really sheltered community.

[Bear]

This reminds me of an episode of Jay Leno when he did Jay Walking asking history questions. The answers were absurd. I couldn't believe some people were so dumb. Then I realized he was interviewing them outside a bar/lounge.

Statistics are shady.

[super_Chris]

MSP, remember the old statistic, 90% of all statistics are made up.

Also, I don't remember any geography class in highschool, but I did have a World History teacher who forced his students to learn all the European countries and their locations, same with Asia, and Africa, we never got around to South America.

[ivwshane]

The problem with schools as some have alluded to, is that they are too easy and do not challenge our kids.


And I'm not only talking about high school and middle school, I'm specifically talking about elementry school.

Untill america get's it's schools to be better we will continue our decline as leaders in technology and innovation.

Smarter citizens = innovation = higher standard of living.

[saint seiya]

this country has the most idiots in the world because of our dumb ass public schools, blame it on immigrants

[Pope John]

well, I remember learning all my 50 states and their capitals. I remember learning Europe, and I remember learning Central/South America (in my Spanish classes)

regardless, I did not retain the information moreso than to pass the test. As soon as I was done with it, it got filtered right out of my mind.

I'm not saying I couldn't find Iraq on a map (assuming it had its name printed on it). But if it weren't a labeled map, then the best i could do is point to the general area.


This sorta thing gets brought up on these forums a lot it seems, or at the very least has been brought up before. And I always argue the same point, that it is not relevent to ~80% of the population. If for some reason I need to know this stuff, say I was on The Amazing Race, then I'd re-learn it. But as I stand now, it's absolutely useless to me.