Importance of Geography Education

Every day, we see new evidence of the importance of geographic education. A couple of recent examples are mentioned below; we encourage readers to watch for other stories that exemplify the value of geography in daily life, employment, international affairs, and other arenas.

My Geo-STEM article describes recent attention at the national level to the place of geography in STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). More recently, GeoWorld reported on the use of geotechnology to improve the efficiency of coffee processing in Rwanda. Using GIS to select better locations for coffee washing has played an important role in the dramatic improvement of the economy in what had been one of Africa's most troubled countries.

Geography Education Hearing

The Joint Committee on Education will be considering Senate Bill 182, a measure that promotes geography education in Massachusetts. As written, the bill would reinstate geography licensure, require geography at all grade levels, add geography to MCAS, and add geographers to the committee that oversees social studies education.

A public hearing on a suite of 26 education bills will be held in Room A-2 at the State House on Tuesday, June 14, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. SB 182 is item #25 on this busy agenda, so although it is important to show up, most of us will not have an opportunity to speak during the hearing. If you are attending the hearing with prepared remarks, please bring 15 copies, which MGA leaders will put into folders for the committee.

Facebook users may wish to use our hearing invitation to encourage friends and colleagues to attend. Since EarthView (our 20-foot, inflatable globe) was instrumental in fostering this legislation, we encourage supporters to bring more modest-sized globes to the hearing.

Whether you can attend the hearing or not, please contact your legislator and/or Joint Committee members to let them know your thoughts on this legislation.

Connecting Our World

Please see my post on Environmental Geography about Connecting Our World, a site dedicated to the promotion of international education. The organization has a lot to offer advocates of geography education.

Google Geo Teachers Institute

This September, Google is offering an institute for geography educators in two locations -- one in Washington, DC and the other in Lewiston, Maine.

The Google Geo Teachers Institute will highlight educational uses of Google's various geographic technologies, such as Google Earth.

Participation is free, but transportation and lodging are not covered. Attendees will be selected by August 15, from among those educators who complete an online application.

Details are provided on Google's LATLONG blog.

Singapore and Indonesia

Singapore - a city state of 5 million people - is an island off the southern tip of the Malay peninsula, it is a fascinating place with futuristic high rise buildings and a bustling economy.

From Singapore it's on to Indonesia, an archipelago of about 17,000 islands. We took a great 3 hour train ride from Jakarta to Bandung with the train going between incredibly terraced padi rice fields.

Viewing the world from different perspectives

As I live and travel through southeast Asia, I am reminded of how a geographer views the world - the earth is seen as a a globe and one can stand at different places around the globe to view it. We value the idea that we have a planet of varied cultures, peoples, and viewpoints. This strikes me forcefully when I watch television here in southeast Asia and as I read local newspapers - the world is seen here in significantly different ways from how it is seen in Framingham or Westfield, or Scituate. Following Middle East events on the BBC or Al Jazeera television compels one to consider that the perspectives presented on CNN or CBS are not the only ones that exist and that have validity. This is an important issue for geography teachers as we work to help our students better understand our planet, its people and places. We should not hesitate to seek alternative views on world events and present these to our students for this is where true learning can take place, as we analyze not one perspective, but differing viewpoints on the same event or place.

This issue was brought home to me very dramatically when I visited the "Museum of War Remnants" in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam. The perspective on that war is very different from the one that Americans normally see and have accepted.

     

Here is a link to a site that has some photos of the museum exhibits.

http://downtheroad.org/Asia/Photo/3Vietnam_Pictures/3War_Remnants_Museum.htm

And the impact of Agent Orange on present generations is something that people outside Vietnam give very little thought to. Here in Vietnam, it is a daily weight, impacting health in disfiguring ways.

A reminder that one of the tasks of the geography teacher is to look beyond the surface and explore how and why particular issues are viewed differently and seen as important in varied parts of our planet. 



Travels in Vietnam

Spending a few days in Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) leaves many images in your mind - mostly of a bustling, energetic city. The hundreds of thousands (millions?) of motorbikes are a sight to behold; and there are no traffic rules!

And then there is the Mekong Delta - an area of 15,000 sq miles (larger than Massachusetts) and with a population of about 18 million, most of whom are involved in fishing and farming.

The delta is a geographer's delight with all the issues of physical geography (stream action, erosion, precipitation, and of course, temperature) intersecting with cultural adaptations, using local knowledge to create a thriving region. This is a common scene on the delta, taking agricultural produce (rice, vegetables, coconuts) to market.

With so much to take in, this scene of kids swimming in the Mekong, reflects the commonalities that all share.