Americans and Geography

[VSh]

http://news.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?action=l&board=37138459&tid=aprussiageorgia&sid=37138459&mid=1

First, I thought that it was a joke, but they were serious!

Some real quotes:

"RUSSIA OUT OF U.S. NOW!!!!!!!
… GEORGIA NOW…WHO`S NEXT? FLORIDA ?,…AND THEN WHO??? THIS MUST STOP!!!!"

"NEVER WAS A WORD EVER SAID THAT COMMUNIST SOLDIERS WERE STATIONED IN ONE OF OUR SOUTHERN STATES. HOW DID THEY GET AWAY WITH THIS?"

"NEXT WE'LL FIND OUT CHINESE ARMY IN NYC"

"HAD NO IDEA RUSSIA HAD TROOPS IN GA
THAT IS REALLY SCARY, GOOD THING THEY ARE LEAVING"

[LostCause]

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h49/LostCause2/avatarki/redalert2.jpg

Bwahahaha! :devil:

[Old Ape Face]

Despite, the US is a large country, there are so many different cultures, that it's impossible to understand each other. either that or we're dumber then we think.

[Suiko Eiji]

LOL@ poor geography. I guess if the Red Army (which doesn't exist anymore, which makes them pretty piss-poor at history as well) is occupying Atlanta, now might be the right time to buy my AK-47. I'll check around town for the Russian checkpoints while I'm out to lunch. :lol:

Yes, it is a known fact that Americans are typically horrible when it comes to geography. I blame it on not forcing kids to memorize maps. Of course, then again, I always liked geography and history (which go hand-in-hand at most times), so maybe I'm just the oddball.

[Old Ape Face]

LOL@ poor geography. I guess if the Red Army (which doesn't exist anymore, which makes them pretty piss-poor at history as well) is occupying Atlanta, now might be the right time to buy my AK-47. I'll check around town for the Russian checkpoints while I'm out to lunch. :lol:

Yes, it is a known fact that Americans are typically horrible when it comes to geography. I blame it on not forcing kids to memorize maps. Of course, then again, I always liked geography and history (which go hand-in-hand at most times), so maybe I'm just the oddball.

I'm horrible at Geometry, oh wait this is geography. -_-; oops. I'm dissent with maps. i can easily memorize one. and once i know where i am i'm pretty good with direction.

[ben93085]

School has gotten worse period. 3 months ago, my brother didn't know where europe was.........I wanted to shoot him for it, but realized I should probably shoot the school system, then I realized, schools have been dumbed down, because parenting has been dumbed down. Just sit little timmy in front of the TV. He will learn lots of good things. Like, how to be gay from the wiggles, and how NOT to be a ninja from Naruto.....

American's suck at Geography because most adults in America don't care about anything but but America. They want to stay ion America, and thus dont feel they need to know where Sri Lanka is on the map........

I could go on for an hour....I will stop.....

[DanoruX]

*complete shock*

[Suiko Eiji]

School has gotten worse period. 3 months ago, my brother didn't know where europe was.........I wanted to shoot him for it, but realized I should probably shoot the school system, then I realized, schools have been dumbed down, because parenting has been dumbed down. Just sit little timmy in front of the TV. He will learn lots of good things. Like, how to be gay from the wiggles, and how NOT to be a ninja from Naruto.....

American's suck at Geography because most adults in America don't care about anything but but America. They want to stay ion America, and thus dont feel they need to know where Sri Lanka is on the map........

I could go on for an hour....I will stop.....

Likewise, I could go on forever about where the problems in education lie and what needs to be done to fix them, but that would ultimately turn this thread political and have it shut down.

RE: adults in America don't care; I personally think part of it is from the decline in education but another part of it is from the fact of the size of our own country. Think about it; most Americans probably travel thousands, if not millions, of miles in their lifetime and still never have left the US. Even still, some people probably never leave their home State and the true size of the US is intimidating for many people to even try to comperehend geography on a national or international level. Not to mention, we have two huge neighbors next to us. Sometimes I wonder if people know all of the geo-political or natural bodies within and around thier own States.

In response to my own post above: I didn't see any T-72s and T-80s rolling down Peachtree and no MiGs or Tuplevs in the skies. I think it's pretty safe to say the Russkies haven't invaded Georgia. :lol:

[miko hanyou]

I glad that i'm not one of those people that don't know geography. Sadly i've met people that doesn't know where South America is, or Africa or Canada.

I guess the geography study wasn't that important back then or it was just poor education. I blame the teachers because they talk about the country in history classes but they never bother to pull out a map and show the students where it is.

[Evil_Koala]

If Russia did have troops in our Georgia...Georgians would so kick their *****. They'd turn the wal-marts into fortresses.

[Leader Desslock]

If anyone really wants a laugh, here's the results of a Roper / National Geographic survey on geographic knowledge and literacy:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/pdf/FINALReport2006GeogLitsurvey.pdf

Before anyone gets TOO cocky about themselves, here's a similar test:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/question_01.html

Edit: I missed two questions, one on the percentage of population growth in the US due to immigration, and the other on exports.

[Mort]

I missed two questions but one was about CSI, and I have never seen the show. The other one was were colombia.

[MythicQilin]

It makes me proud that I am able to say I knew exactly what they meant by georgia when I saw the article. I suppose it helps to have a friend I chat with in neighboring azerbajin....although it does nothing to help my spelling since I'm certain that's not how you spell that lol.

[Joeshie]

I missed the percentage of population growth, exports, and the Muslim questions.

And it's not suprising that Americans know so little of what goes outside of our borders.

[Animematt55]

I missed the percentage of population growth, exports, and the Muslim questions.

And it's not suprising that Americans know so little of what goes outside of our borders.
i misse dthe export one. Since every product i see on the shelves of stores a Chinese product, i assumed it the answe was Chinese.

[superplough]

i am told many americans dont know where new zealand is.. but that doesnt really suprise me because its tiny lol

[master terrence]

that is where Froddo Baggins and Aragon live, isn't it? joking

[Joeshie]

New Zealand = Middle Earth, at least in my eyes

[superplough]

oh yeah, well Pre-LotR, they didnt know where New Zealand was. Now they associate it with LotR, but still dont know where it actually is. :P

[Evil_Koala]

If anyone really wants a laugh, here's the results of a Roper / National Geographic survey on geographic knowledge and literacy:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/pdf/FINALReport2006GeogLitsurvey.pdf

Before anyone gets TOO cocky about themselves, here's a similar test:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/question_01.html

Edit: I missed two questions, one on the percentage of population growth in the US due to immigration, and the other on exports.

On that second quiz there I got all them right cept the CSI one.

[superplough]

i got 3 wrong, the US population one, the national boundary one, and the muslim one. yay.

[Leader Desslock]

i am told many americans dont know where new zealand is.. but that doesnt really suprise me because its tiny lol
I've always known where New Zealand was, but I never knew where OLD Zealand was. I asked a New Zealander at work and he confessed that he wasn't sure either. But he had an answer for me that afternoon. ^_^

[{NG}Fidel]

I am no geinus at geography either but to think as badly as the people on that site...Yeah thats a shame.

[Evil_Koala]

Wouldn't Old Zealand be in Britain? :O Iono why.

[Leader Desslock]

Nope. Denmark.

I'm from New England. We're not kiwis.

[Evil_Koala]

Bah. The Northeast. >_>

[sailornyanko]

Only got the US immigrant population growth one wrong, the Mississpippi river one wrong too and the exporter one too (damn, US actually beat China somewhere?!)..

God, don't tell me most people got the Indonesia answer wrong!! OMG!!!! Idiots! idiots!!! It was so easy as hell, I didn't even look at the other answers. That was a no-brainer. ^^'

Or the most spoken language. Lol Gringos must learn that english isn't spoken by that little savage boy living in the Pakistan mountains no matter how "globalized" the world is.

---

When I was a kid living in the US, my geography sucked. I couldn't even locate Texas on a friggin' map. Go America's great educational system.
Moved down here and actually learned basic world geography in just 2 years. I can make fun of Mexico's elementary school level educational system when it comes of monografías with info made 50 years ago, but the maps are good forever... except in Africa where the border change constantly.

Mexican newspapers OMG!! actually talk about real international news of even oddball places like kygysgistan or however you spell that country. Lately they talk a lot about Bolivia and the poorer regions of Colombia. Did you guys know Brazil is divided by 27 states? Wow.

I'm also continuously learning new things about world geography because I love reading the travelling section on the Sunday news. They love covering Spain a lot. Wanna know where the city of Santander is? It's on the right of Bilbao silly! :P

However I can't pinpoint Japanese geography even if my life depended on it. I'm lost there.

Heck, I'm lost with Mexico City geography. Where in the heck is the delegation of Álvaro Obregón anyways? Is it near Tláhuac or Benito Juárez? Or maybe neither. ^^' On the other hand I can pinpoint the dangerous niehgborhoods of my city on a map on a whim. Iztapalapa? Piece of cake. Tepito? :lol: Neza? Come on! Easy!

[Evil_Koala]

I knew where Texas was when I was 3.

America beats China in alot of things.

[Suiko Eiji]

Or the most spoken language. Lol Gringos must learn that english isn't spoken by that little savage boy living in the Pakistan mountains no matter how "globalized" the world is.

I blame that on a lack of subtitled news casts. I mean, if all of these places used to be British colonies (like Pakistan), we expect them to speak English - just like the US.


Mexican newspapers OMG!! actually talk about real international news of even oddball places like kygysgistan or however you spell that country.

Are you kidding? I have a friend of mine who has been there and I had to tell him which one it was. "We went to one of those K-stans north of Afghanistan..." he told me and I narrowed it obviously to Kyrgyzstan (which it was) and Kazakhstan.

I took the quiz; missed the CSI and Mississippi River, maybe one more.

[sailornyanko]

... Kazakhstan...

:lol: I actually met the national figure ice skating champion (back in 2001) of that country when I visited Washington DC. She looked like a stereotypical russian lady. Very nice person though.

[CrossboneGundam]

The first poster in the yahoo board in question also just happened to blame Jimmy Carter for the supposed presence of Russian soldiers in "his state." :lol:

[Haro!]

Yay I got them all right on the second quiz! Anyway, actually I think the fact that they don't teach kids geography (at least public schools don't) and just try to get them to pass standardized reading and math tests is a major factor why these a lot of people here don't know their stuff. I owe alot of my knowledge to the fact that I looked through textbooks on my own and read the Times, National Geographic and stuff like that since I was a kid. There's no incentive for kids to learn on their own I think, and as a whole we have this sort of just pass whatever work is given to you mentality in grade school. Partially 'cause we're forced to partially from lack of interest.

[LostCause]

RE: adults in America don't care; I personally think part of it is from the decline in education but another part of it is from the fact of the size of our own country. Think about it; most Americans probably travel thousands, if not millions, of miles in their lifetime and still never have left the US. Even still, some people probably never leave their home State and the true size of the US is intimidating for many people to even try to comperehend geography on a national or international level. Not to mention, we have two huge neighbors next to us. Sometimes I wonder if people know all of the geo-political or natural bodies within and around thier own States.

You realise that USA is not the biggest country there is? Seeing as you like history and geography you should know which one is. And I dare to say you wouldn't get things like the one in original post there. I blame it on decades of free education on all levels. Yeah, things were reeeal bad. Thank you wonderful "democracies" for showing us the error of our ways.

In response to my own post above: I didn't see any T-72s and T-80s rolling down Peachtree and no MiGs or Tuplevs in the skies. I think it's pretty safe to say the Russkies haven't invaded Georgia. :lol:

<Yes, Sir! They were completely fooled by our maneuvers, Sir! All is proceeding according to plan,Sir!> :P

As for the test, I got the percent of population growth, export one and the CSI(how is watching american sitcoms is indicatory of my geographic fluency is beyond me) one wrong, oh, and the L.A. time one too (how many of you can tell the time difference between Sydney and Perth?)

[superplough]

Nope. Denmark.
Really? I thought it was a province in the Nertherlands!

[{NG}Fidel]

You realise that USA is not the biggest country there is? Seeing as you like history and geography you should know which one is. And I dare to say you wouldn't get things like the one in original post there. I blame it on decades of free education on all levels. Yeah, things were reeeal bad. Thank you wonderful "democracies" for showing us the error of our ways.

He or She never said it was....
I missed The Export One and thats it.
I dunno maybe I am better than I thought but those questions were brainless.

[Bernard_Monsha]

Nope. Denmark.

I'm from New England. We're not kiwis.

Yeah your from up close to Canukistan, but we forgive you and your crustacean tortureing ways. People from Maine invented rubber bands as a trump card in their war against Lobsters which has been waged since 1327 when William Jennings Bryant sailed south from Antarctica to establish a hallucinogenic useing socialist commune. The commune was soon burned to the ground by Lobster raiders but they failed to realize that the Mainers would come back in droves. The first lobster war ended when the lobsters set off a bomb turning all the Mainers remaining in Antarctica into penguins and some sort of big mean seals.

[LostCause]

He or She never said it was....

I know, but the size of your country is not an excuse.

[Haro!]

Yeah your from up close to Canukistan, but we forgive you and your crustacean tortureing ways. People from Maine invented rubber bands as a trump card in their war against Lobsters which has been waged since 1327 when William Jennings Bryant sailed south from Antarctica to establish a hallucinogenic useing socialist commune. The commune was soon burned to the ground by Lobster raiders but they failed to realize that the Mainers would come back in droves. The first lobster war ended when the lobsters set off a bomb turning all the Mainers remaining in Antarctica into penguins and some sort of big mean seals.
But weren't lobsters originally furry? And the lobsters of today's Maine were actually sent up there from NY by Tedy Roosevelt.

[CrossboneGundam]

I know, but the size of your country is not an excuse.

How is that relevant? You're still basing your argument on claiming a person said something they didn't.

Anyway, I aced the geography test, of course.

[Suiko Eiji]

:lol: I actually met the national figure ice skating champion (back in 2001) of that country when I visited Washington DC. She looked like a stereotypical russian lady. Very nice person though.

I'd love to take a quick vacation there - just to see some a Kosmodrom or two.

You realise that USA is not the biggest country there is? Seeing as you like history and geography you should know which one is. And I dare to say you wouldn't get things like the one in original post there.

Of course I know that geographically speaking, both the Dominion of Canada and the Russian Federation are still larger. As far as the general knowledge of geography goes, I'm interested to see how they score. The Russians, too. I also wonder how many miles or km the average person from either of those two places may travel in thier lives and whether or not some even leave their own country.

<Yes, Sir! They were completely fooled by our maneuvers, Sir! All is proceeding according to plan,Sir!>

Careful when on manuevers up around the area on Jimmy Carter (affectionately called Jaime Carter) Boulevard - if your tanks stop too long you'll turn around and they'll be up on blocks. When you go to radio the general, that'll be missing, too.

I blame it on decades of free education on all levels. Yeah, things were reeeal bad. Thank you wonderful "democracies" for showing us the error of our ways.

I didn't want this to get too political, but all I have to say is that our contemporary educational model is modeled more like the USSR than anything.

The first poster in the yahoo board in question also just happened to blame Jimmy Carter for the supposed presence of Russian soldiers in "his state."

I laughed at that, too. Hey, CBG, you folks in Oregon want him? We've been sick of him since he was govenor but he's too nice a guy to send to Cuba or North Korea where he'd really fit in, so I figured Oregon or California are the next best options...

[LostCause]

As far as the general knowledge of geography goes, I'm interested to see how they score. The Russians, too.
yeah, me too.

I didn't want this to get too political, but all I have to say is that our contemporary educational model is modeled more like the USSR than anything.

I won't lie. I don't know much about US educational model. If it is anything like canadian or australian, then I highly doubt your claim, albeit, can't refute it.

[Suiko Eiji]

I won't lie. I don't know much about US educational model. If it is anything like canadian or australian, then I highly doubt your claim, albeit, can't refute it.

They're not entirely dissimilar in the inherent mission of education, but some of there are structural differences. Like Canada, the US has Federal, State/Provincial, and Local control levels of schooling. However, the quick Wiki I read, did not mention anything about the roles and responsibilities of the differing levels of government in schooling. Where Canada differs, and I think there is a strength in their system, is the public funding of Separate Schools to provide parents with more choices. The main difference I noticed in Australian schools is that there is no Federal involvement, which is the way schools in the US were run at least before 1977-1979, perhaps even earlier.

In the US, parents and students are extremely limited in thier choice of schooling; if you can't afford private schools and can't make the sacrifice of homeschooling, then you're stuck in a public school. If you don't like your public school, it is damn near impossible for a student to move. Compulsory attendance laws only strengthen the grip a school holds over a child. This lack of choice is what makes our education like the USSR; aside from the needs of the elite, the unwashed masses are stuck in government education.

It was mentioned earlier in this thread, I believe, that the US holds some of the best Univeristies in the world (8/10 according to a study in China, the other two were Caimbridge and Oxford in the UK) but we have abysmal education previous to that. I think it best to change the funding aspect to a three-tier system: completely private, independently funded, and state/independent funded, as it is with University but expanded to all levels of education. What's more important is that schools should be open to competition on both an athletic and academic level. Ultimately, the parent's and child's wishes for which school they would like to attend are the foremost concern - after all, if you can't get customers to believe in and purchase your product, you go out of business.

[VSh]

Some joke:

Q: What is American university?
A: The place where Russian professors teach Chinese students.

Yes, American universities are good.

But American school system is one of the worst in the world. I know one newcomer family with two daughters (4th and 7th grade). So, many things that younger sister learnt last year in Russia were new material in older sister's class.

[Suiko Eiji]

^You don't know how much I agree with that joke. XD

[Leader Desslock]

In the US, the governing principle has traditionally been that education is handled at the local level. The states can step in and set criteria for a HS diploma, the federal government can withhold funding from schools that don't meet its "suggestions", but ultimately, schooling is controlled on the local level. As long as a school ensures that its students can pass standardized testing in some manner for a GED, a school is free to teach whatever it wants.

Try to take that away, and there'll be parents rioting in the streets.

To be fair, the rioters would have some legitimate concerns. The federal government has never demonstrated the capacity to effectively standardize the educational curriculum; it always gets rolled up in the politics du jour. Keeping education locally controlled ensures that it's one step farther away from the lobbyists and their agendas than it would be otherwise. That's a good thing. If it had been up to the lobbyists, the Whole Language folks would have gotten their way and there'd be a whole generation of barely literate kids out there. ^_^ The immigration issue would cause Spanish to be added to the national curriculum - even in the large portions of the US where Spanish is neither spoken, required, nor as important as other foreign languages (back home = French & Latin). History books would be subject to a lot more historical revisionism and propaganda than they are presently. Of course, nationally standardizing education would likely also require dumbing it down to the level where it could be monitored, and we hardly need that in the US.

The US educational system has a lot of flaws, but it generally provides an effective medium for kids who want to learn. The problem I see with a disturbing number of US students is the complete and utter lack of motivation to learn. Lots of parents shout at their kids about how they have to get a good education, but how many parents try to foster a child's INTEREST in education? Why should kids take an interest in education when they can see that sports figures and celebrities get millions of dollars for activities that don't seemingly require a great deal of education?

American culture applauds "getting to the top", but it doesn't really go out of its way to applaud "making yourself a better person in the process". That needs to change, I think.


...um... Haha... end of rant.... -_-;

[{NG}Fidel]

I agree with you 100% Desslock I loved that last bit. Allthough simple it was bluntly powerful.

[Old Ape Face]

Nope. Denmark.

I'm from New England. We're not kiwis.


hey mr. i live in Connecticut.

:lol:

[Samurai Drifter]

:lol: Whoa...

[Alice Catherine]

If anyone really wants a laugh, here's the results of a Roper / National Geographic survey on geographic knowledge and literacy:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/pdf/FINALReport2006GeogLitsurvey.pdf

Before anyone gets TOO cocky about themselves, here's a similar test:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/question_01.html

Edit: I missed two questions, one on the percentage of population growth in the US due to immigration, and the other on exports.


I missed the CSI question. That and another one.
Remember that I'm 13 years old. Which makes me smarter than more than half the American population.
My mom DID say I could give interns at her job (which is a corporate-suit type job) a run for their money....

[Pickie]

If anyone really wants a laugh, here's the results of a Roper / National Geographic survey on geographic knowledge and literacy:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/pdf/FINALReport2006GeogLitsurvey.pdf

Before anyone gets TOO cocky about themselves, here's a similar test:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/question_01.html

Edit: I missed two questions, one on the percentage of population growth in the US due to immigration, and the other on exports.

Don't watch CSI, so got that and the question in immigration wrong.

[Evil_Koala]

Don't watch CSI, so got that and the question in immigration wrong.

Same here!

But the immigration didn't count the ILLEGAL immigration :(

I don't watch CSI :(

[Undrave]

Instead of a pointless CSI question (WTH?) they could have maybe asked a question about Canada XD

[Suiko Eiji]

Instead of a pointless CSI question (WTH?) they could have maybe asked a question about Canada XD

I'm pretty sure I know why the CSI question was thrown in. Just as sure as typical Americans are known for poor geographical skills, Americans are also known for promoting pop- and celebrity culture above other aspects of society that actually matter, such as education or government, for example. To show a contrast, look at the large number of people who got the CSI question right, versus all of the geography questions. There was a survey not too long ago that showed a much larger percentage of the populous can name 2 of the 7 Dwarves rather than 2 of the Justices on the Supreme Court of the US; I mean, we just named 2 new ones last year if anyone would care to remember.

[Alice Catherine]

^I figured as much.

[Salainen]

First, I thought that it was a joke, but they were serious!

Some real quotes:

"RUSSIA OUT OF U.S. NOW!!!!!!!
… GEORGIA NOW…WHO`S NEXT? FLORIDA ?,…AND THEN WHO??? THIS MUST STOP!!!!"

"NEVER WAS A WORD EVER SAID THAT COMMUNIST SOLDIERS WERE STATIONED IN ONE OF OUR SOUTHERN STATES. HOW DID THEY GET AWAY WITH THIS?"

"NEXT WE'LL FIND OUT CHINESE ARMY IN NYC"

"HAD NO IDEA RUSSIA HAD TROOPS IN GA
THAT IS REALLY SCARY, GOOD THING THEY ARE LEAVING"


:lol: ...They ought to begin a mass evacuation of Texas before the entirity of its population are turned to Bolshevism by means of force! :lol:

Ah, America...Land of freedom and the geographically-challenged :P

[regus 5000]

Likewise, I could go on forever about where the problems in education lie and what needs to be done to fix them, but that would ultimately turn this thread political and have it shut down.

RE: adults in America don't care; I personally think part of it is from the decline in education but another part of it is from the fact of the size of our own country. Think about it; most Americans probably travel thousands, if not millions, of miles in their lifetime and still never have left the US. Even still, some people probably never leave their home State and the true size of the US is intimidating for many people to even try to comperehend geography on a national or international level. Not to mention, we have two huge neighbors next to us. Sometimes I wonder if people know all of the geo-political or natural bodies within and around thier own States.

In response to my own post above: I didn't see any T-72s and T-80s rolling down Peachtree and no MiGs or Tuplevs in the skies. I think it's pretty safe to say the Russkies haven't invaded Georgia. :lol:

you had better check again eiji. the russians are very much invading here in austell and are on there way to kennesaw. watch your step :P

on a less serious note. i was in history going over the civil war (we all know the one, i hope) and this girl burst out with "who won the war" and when we all start laughing at her obvious stupidity she give the excuse "shut up, alot of people dont know that" (keep in mind we are both black so the outcome had a LARGE affect on out social status) <_< i have to check. how many people dont know the outcome of the civil war.

[ben93085]

oh yeah, well Pre-LotR, they didnt know where New Zealand was. Now they associate it with LotR, but still dont know where it actually is. :P

I did. :P

I have a pretty photographic memory. If someone tells me something, I rarely remember it. But if I see it, or am there while it's happenening, I will remember >_<

[Haro!]

on a less serious note. i was in history going over the civil war (we all know the one, i hope) and this girl burst out with "who won the war" and when we all start laughing at her obvious stupidity she give the excuse "shut up, alot of people dont know that" (keep in mind we are both black so the outcome had a LARGE affect on out social status) <_< i have to check. how many people dont know the outcome of the civil war.
If asked in an abstract way it would have been a valid question.. or not, hey I tried...

[Alice Catherine]

Kids aren't being taught as much geography because most of the state tests are aimed at Math, English, and Science.
In 7th and 8th grade at my school, you don't even have to pass geography to be moved to the next grade. Same thing with History.
It's a shame. Rappers should put more geography in their songs.


"Uhh..yeah...uhh...yeah...uhh...yeah...uh h...here we go...Georgia is a state in the USA. But there's also one in Russia....!" Yeah it sucks...

[regus 5000]

If asked in an abstract way it would have been a valid question.. or not, hey I tried...

not at all in an abstract way. she asked the question "who won the civil war". nothing abstract about that unless im confused

[{NG}Fidel]

Because our Standardized tests are based on those basic things. Math, English, and Science. As a result the emphasis is on those things. Allthough in my school that isnt the case. We are required to take three years of foreign language (Ie German 1 German 2 German 3), 4 years of history, 4 years of english, 4 years of Math, and 3 years of Science.
Then agian I live in one of the best school districts of the US.
I think 8th best?

[Salainen]

Kids aren't being taught as much geography because most of the state tests are aimed at Math, English, and Science.

Even if it is not on as many tests...It seems that it would be a better use of time to learn where Georgia is, then to memorize that the Sine of 30 degrees is 1/2...It is certainly more useful in life after school. :P

I do not think years should be spent studying geography because the specific details of it are really not so very important (if you asked me what the capital city of Bangladesh is, I could not tell you XD), but it is worth taking a small amount of time from the school year to learn at least the general location of things...If for no other reason so that you can understand what people are speaking of when they say "Russia had soldiers in Georgia" :P

[Alice Catherine]

...I already knew that. I've known that since I was eight?

In the words of PETER Griffin: "But do you know what really grinds my gears?"


Almost everyone in America knows who Brad Pitt is and who he's currently...dating?
...less than half of those people know where...let's say...Louisiana is.

[superplough]

In the words of Steve Griffin: "But do you know what really grinds my gears?"
that would be peter griffin. i dont believe there IS a steve griffin..

[The Million Dollar Prons]

Almost everyone in America knows who Brad Pitt is and who he's currently...dating?
...less than half of those people know where...let's say...Louisiana is.

Who cares where Louisiana is, though?

[Alice Catherine]

that would be peter griffin. i dont believe there IS a steve griffin..
...yeah I was thinking of my friend Steve and that came out.

Corrected. I'll go edit that.

@Prons: Well, who cares about Brad Pitt?

[Undrave]

not at all in an abstract way. she asked the question "who won the civil war". nothing abstract about that unless im confused

Unless she was asking for specific persons and not a side there's no other way to interpret this question :p.

[The Million Dollar Prons]

@Prons: Well, who cares about Brad Pitt?

He's been in some pretty decent movies.

[Undrave]

Obviously more people care about Bratt Pitt or the latest version of Bennifer than they do about where their own state or coutnry is in the world.

[Joeshie]

Even if it is not on as many tests...It seems that it would be a better use of time to learn where Georgia is, then to memorize that the Sine of 30 degrees is 1/2...It is certainly more useful in life after school. :P

I do not think years should be spent studying geography because the specific details of it are really not so very important (if you asked me what the capital city of Bangladesh is, I could not tell you XD), but it is worth taking a small amount of time from the school year to learn at least the general location of things...If for no other reason so that you can understand what people are speaking of when they say "Russia had soldiers in Georgia" :P

Schools do teach geography. They just don't spend as much time on the subject as math, science and other areas.

[Catalyst-40]

Even if it is not on as many tests...It seems that it would be a better use of time to learn where Georgia is, then to memorize that the Sine of 30 degrees is 1/2...It is certainly more useful in life after school. :P


Really? I mean math concepts build upon each other from course to course, whereas geography is pretty straight forward. I wouldn't say that geography is more important or as important as math. It's not like I (and I think most other Americans) plan on leaving the country (as previously stated), so most of what geography is not going to be that useful in the long run. Math on the other hand . . ..

BTW, I missed only three questions: The one on exports, the one on immigration's effect on population, and, embarrasingly enough, the one on the most spoken language in the world.

[Chousho]

Am I the only one who noticed this?
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/5964/russianinvadingvf1.jpg

[CrossboneGundam]

Am I the only one who noticed this?

You didn't notice it's a photoshop, maybe...

[Suiko Eiji]

You didn't notice it's a photoshop, maybe...

I can tell because of the pixels....

... though, that does remind me of a Yankees-Tigers game I was watching the other day or two, I think they were in New York, but I saw an ad for Yomiuri or Asahi Shinbun - IN JAPANESE - on the outfield wall. I guess Matsui's really been feeling the love in New York.

[Chousho]

You didn't notice it's a photoshop, maybe...
You didn't notice that maybe I took an hour of my time out to give people a chuckle.

Sheesh.

[Undrave]

You didn't notice that maybe I took an hour of my time out to give people a chuckle.

Sheesh.

I noticed. Nice job!
Hehehehe.

[Salainen]

Really? I mean math concepts build upon each other from course to course, whereas geography is pretty straight forward. I wouldn't say that geography is more important or as important as math. It's not like I (and I think most other Americans) plan on leaving the country (as previously stated), so most of what geography is not going to be that useful in the long run. Math on the other hand . . ..

Actually, only very basic math is used daily, unless one intends to be an engineer, or mathematicien or something in those fields...I never understood why mathematics is concidered so much of a higher form of education to some people then humanities...

[sailornyanko]

Actually, only very basic math is used daily, unless one intends to be an engineer, or mathematicien or something in those fields...I never understood why mathematics is concidered so much of a higher form of education to some people then humanities...

What I'd like to know is why in the hell do schools make it such a big thing to teach kids integrals when few of them are ever going to use them in the university careers yet they don't teach useful things like: basic car repairs, house building, agriculture, making your own clothing and cooking.

[Evil_Koala]

Taks Test Omg!!!

[Stafal-chan]

What I'd like to know is why in the hell do schools make it such a big thing to teach kids integrals when few of them are ever going to use them in the university careers yet they don't teach useful things like: basic car repairs, house building, agriculture, making your own clothing and cooking.

:P sry but why in the hell would i wanna make my own cloths? :lol: i agree with the rest though :D cooking...i can cook like 10 things!! :lol:...

[Evil_Koala]

Schools need to teach me how to assemble and deassemble a gun and then they need to help build my endurance and such. :O

[Stafal-chan]

endurance in what? :huh:

[Evil_Koala]

Running...

SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED HOW FAST WILL IT GO?! CAN IT HIT ME?! OH VERY QUICKLY! ZERO TO SIXTY!

I need to get buff, ja?

[Stafal-chan]

:D DO CROSS COUNTRY!!!!!!! :lol: bwahahahaha :lol: or do track and stuff ^_^ school P.E classes can't do that much to help you with something like that ;)

[Evil_Koala]

Pfft. I'm in ROTC and...I don't like runnin. It's like "Lol, Athsma" and I'm all OMG! MY CHEST IS ON FIYA!

[Stafal-chan]

:P that's why you get an inhaler so you can run :P i know runners who have asthma ;) it's not an excuse ^_^

[Leader Desslock]

Schools need to teach me how to assemble and deassemble a gun...
I thought that fell under the purview of "home schooling" in Texas. :lol:

Respect for, proper use of, and maintenance of a firearm was something we were taught as soon as we were old enough. Having a marine sharpshooter for a father probably explains that. He said that basic firearm safety was one of those skills everyone should have, but we maintained he just wanted the extra deer meat.

[sailornyanko]

:P sry but why in the hell would i wanna make my own cloths? :lol: i agree with the rest though :D cooking...i can cook like 10 things!! :lol:...

One word: Cosplay. ^_-

Teaching kids how to make their own pasta should be an obligatory topic in the cooking subject. Yummy.

[Evil_Koala]

I thought that fell under the purview of "home schooling" in Texas. :lol:

Respect for, proper use of, and maintenance of a firearm was something we were taught as soon as we were old enough. Having a marine sharpshooter for a father probably explains that. He said that basic firearm safety was one of those skills everyone should have, but we maintained he just wanted the extra deer meat.

We only got a 12 gauge. :( And I live with my grandparents. They're too old to teach me. I'll learn on my own. V_V

[LostCause]

Schools need to teach me how to assemble and deassemble a gun and then they need to help build my endurance and such. :O
We did that. No kidding. We had a shooting room (or whatever its called) in the basement of our school, and had target practice in it. We also had a subject called "Basics of Citizens Safety" and learn about different kinds of gases used in warfare and staff like what to do in case of gas attack and the like. Our instructor was in the rank of major, if I recall correctly. And it wasn't a military school or anything. :ph34r:
Sometimes we had military style games to build up endurance, teamwork etc

[Evil_Koala]

Lucky *****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[VSh]

... We had a shooting room (or whatever its called) in the basement of our school, and had target practice in it. We also had a subject called "Basics of Citizens Safety" and learn about different kinds of gases used in warfare and staff like what to do in case of gas attack and the like. Our instructor was in the rank of major, if I recall correctly. And it wasn't a military school or anything. :ph34r:
Sometimes we had military style games to build up endurance, teamwork etc
Sounds very familiar. RIP USSR

[Mort]

Pfft. I'm in ROTC and...I don't like runnin. It's like "Lol, Athsma" and I'm all OMG! MY CHEST IS ON FIYA!


So shouldn’t your cadre teach you how to do that? Go ask your nco, and if your in jrotc it doesn’t matter its just jrotc.

As for math it is used in any college degree including history so they need to spend time on it. They should teach geography with history so you can tie events to places. That’s what they do at my school and I have a good understanding of geography.

[Undrave]

I learned how to sow in Home Ec... I even made a pair of boxer! (off course all I had left for textile was the red one with white hearts XD... still have those somewhere). I forgot how to make good stitches though :p

I agree they should teach some more basic stuff... how do you fill a check anyway? And cooking pasta and stuff, not just how to make soup from scratch...though I do make a pretty mean vegetable soup and apple crumb pie...when I want to.

They should also teach basic home repair stuff in shop... not how to make a bird house or some other silly thing. make it more grounded in real life you know? My shop class final project was to build a friggin' miniature house! Or rather the wood frame and stuff with windows and door and a roof.