Are YOU geographically challenged?

A 2002 poll of American students -- 18 to 24 years old -- has shown that two-thirds could not find or identify Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries on a map. Furthermore, most of the respondents to this poll were unable to identify relationships; trade, political and ideological, between many countries. Second to last among a list of nations' students, polled, young Americans have proved themselves to be among the worlds' most ignorant or (sic) uneducated whereas geography was concerned.

If young Americans are so uneducated or downright ignorant of geography and the political relationships between countries, how is it even possible that these very same young people are able to form intelligent political views? If young Americans aren't even able to find Iraq on a map or to understand basic information on Iraq's trade, ideology, history or geographic importance how can they develop "informed" opinions on the events that take place in that country or, for that matter, anywhere else on this planet?

Are young Americans simply being "swept along" a path of political activism because it's the "cool" thing to do. Are young Americans being guided by and equally misguided and ignorant movement for or against political and/or military action in places that they can't even find on a map?

link to CNN article regarding the 2002 poll of America's students

This reminds me of a video I watched on the net a few months ago - an Australian TV station walks around in the US asking random folk which countries they most want to go to war with. The presenter wrote 'Iraq' on the island of Australia, and not one of them noticed the mistake and boasted about how great it would be to blow the country up! I'll go a huntin' for the video now...

Thank goodness i am not! Hearing people say they are going down to Maine, or up to Florida really gets on my nerves!!!

I constantly have to tell my kids and daughter in law where places are - School failed on this one!

Originally posted by jimi
This reminds me of a video I watched on the net a few months ago - an Australian TV station walks around in the US asking random folk which countries they most want to go to war with. The presenter wrote 'Iraq' on the island of Australia, and not one of them noticed the mistake and boasted about how great it would be to blow the country up! I'll go a huntin' for the video now...

Wow! I'm aghast but certainly not surprised. I'd love to see this video but, at the same time, I'm reluctant to see just how ignorant and uneducated young Americans are....again. Frankly, I can readily see more examples of what I believe to be a deliberate process of the "dumbing down" of Americans and, yes, Canadian youth every time I go to a McDonalds. If it weren't for the computerized cash registers, I'm certain that these young people would be totally unable to make change or complete a transaction without aid. All in all, it's a pitiful situation.

Marge: "It took the children 40 minutes to locate Canada on the map."
Homer: "Marge, anyone could miss Canada. All tucked away down there."

Related thread:

Young Americans Geographically Illiterate

Young adults in the United States fail to understand the world and their place in it, according to a survey-based report on geographic literacy released today.

Take Iraq, for example. Despite nearly constant news coverage since the war there began in 2003, 63 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 failed to correctly locate the country on a map of the Middle East. Seventy percent could not find Iran or Israel.

[edit on 3/5/06 by Souljah]

Well, BT, being a Canadian resident I'm sure you've watched at least one Rick Mercer show. For our southern neighbors, one of his regular and most favorite gags is Talking to Americans . Aside from being utterly hilarious, it goes to prove a point. I could spit on America from where I live, and yet Americans are congradulating us on legalizing the VCR.

DE

One aspect of this poll that really got to me was that there was a sizeable number of respondents who could not locate Louisiana on the map. Think about it. American teens and young adults were unable to find the location of one our own United States! Frankly, it's almost amazing that these kids are able to find their way home.

Perhaps it would be beneficial for these kids to stop worrying about what they are going to wear to school and, instead, concentrate on studying what they teach in schools.

I'm tempted to blame the education system but I also recognize that the educational system is hamstrung in the sense that it is almost impossible to impose discipline, structure and a proper atmosphere for learning into the schools. School is NOT a social club, it's a schoo, that is, a place for learning. It would seem that many kids in our high schools and universities aren't aware of this fact.

Here's the video I was referring to in my previous post:

media.putfile.com...

Whats more amazing is that most of the people in this video are ADULT Americans, not even young students!

One of the 'adults' in this video:
"We'll make a big glass crater out of the ****ing middle-east!"
But then how will you GET THE OIL, HUH!?

As appalling as the lack of geographical knowledge is among young Americans...Public school curriculum in general is woefully lacking.
The conservatives are fond of blaming the teachers but the teachers are given guide lines as of what to teach by the administration.

It is a broad and far reaching conspiracy as to the dumbing down of American youth; a concerted effort to create unquestioning consuming sheep/warriors at the beck and call of the elite to fight and die and never ask why.

For some reason America has decided that it isn't important to compete in the global search for knowledge except in select technological areas, usually associated with the consolidation of power.

I saw a documentary where they asked kids which town a sport team was in; they all new the correct answers but they didn't know which state the towns were in. Priorities, eh.

Well, that's my opinion and we all know what they say about opinions.

[edit on 3-5-2006 by whaaa]

I think the girl who said Iran was right on.

Maybe she knows about the Iran Oil Bourse.

As for judging a whole population from extracts like these... Did he say how many he interviewed in total? (I'm referring to the Auzzie Video, not the CNN article)

I should point out that the couple who was debating if the US should attack Australia (aka Iraq) for the East or the West was hillarious. Thanks for putting it up!


[edit on 3/5/06 by ConspiracyNut23]

Jay Leno had his regular segment on last night of "Man on the Street" where it is set up like a game show with three "contestants". He put up a pic of Dick Cheney and two of the three didn't know who he was. The third one said, "He works for the President... I think."

Leno also put up a pic of Tony Blair and no one figured out who he was. The only one that came anywhere close was the guy in the middle that said Blair had to be British because of his (lack) of dental work.

The saddest and most ironic part of the whole thing for me was that one of the two girls was in school to be a teacher.

Blind leading the blind.

JDub

Its funny how som ppl when they finish or quit school they put their brain at off or put it on on automatic, they got their routine and everything going outside their routine become mentaly painful. I live in Canada and its not better here, its weird but it seems that alot of girls completly doesnt care about Geographics. I must say that i had good teaching at history and geo tho so school is not to blame in those cases, at least up here in canada in QC.
My only explaination for such dumbness could be like when u try to calculate som equation and you dont have any calculator and used to have one, its gonna take a while b4 your brain works as you were on the school bench cause your not use to mentaly calculate since a bunch of year.

Being that I am an avid backpacker who ventures off the beaten path quite often in Yosemite, I have become quite the map nut. Google maps, Terra Server, you name it.... I love me a good topo map and GPS is definately the next toy for my backpacking arsenal!! =)

Originally posted by dgtempe
Thank goodness i am not! Hearing people say they are going down to Maine, or up to Florida really gets on my nerves!!!

I was never so upset by that because down and up are measures from the center of the Earth out to space. Even if you were looking at a map, if you turned it upside down the map wouldn't be wrong, just seen from another perspective. Maybe the real way to view it is with the sun in the middle, and the planets circling verically.

Here on Earth however, it is upsetting that this country is getting sicker, shorter,fatter, and dumber