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Congratulations on your wonderfully diverse and globally conscious upbringing. I do not think it was representative of most Americans experience in recent histo
by op00to 3y ago
Congratulations on your wonderfully diverse and globally conscious upbringing. I do not think it was representative of most Americans experience in recent history. I remember reports in the news after 9/11 that most American children surveyed were unable to locate Afghanistan on a map, with only 17% being able to find the country. Similar abysmal numbers for identifying Israel and Iraq. America was next to last, Sweden had the highest geographic literacy. Basic geographic literacy is key to understanding world events.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/geography-survey-illiteracy https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/geography...
- eesmith 3y agoGeography knowledge is a very different topic. Most people in the 1980s couldn't have pointed to Ethiopia on a map, but they knew of the starving children there. Most people in the 1980s couldn't have pointed to Afghanistan, but they knew Rambo went there in Rambo III, and that Reagan supported the "freedom fighters" there. Most couldn't have pointed out South Africa on the map, but they knew who Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela were. Why do you need to know where Palestine and Israel are on a world map in order to be aware of what's going on there? > I do not think it was representative of most Americans experience in recent history. Is your understanding of the global consciousness of the 1980s based solely on your perception of geographical knowledge of the era? Do you really think modern geographical knowledge is significantly better?