Hero Wanted
I have a world map and a map of the US on my bedroom wall. They're pretty big.
I'll take a picture... See?
"A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism." -Carl Sagan
"Am I cruel? Probably. Is she an idiot? Yes." -jane s.
Well, I seem to remember having to memorize the entire map of the world, pinpointing all of its capitals and such. I believe we really did have to study it. The problem is there's no staying power, because Europe is... kind of far. People rarely apply what they learn in World Geography so it's more easily forgotten. I mean, I can pinpoint the major countries on a map, but I can't guarantee that I know the capitals. I certainly wouldn't expect a European to know the capital of Idaho, or know all of the Mexican states, or even that Mexico's full name is Estados Unidos Mexicanos.
Europe is kind of far?
Dude, my country is in the middle of fucking NOWHERE, I mean, you can't get any more far than NZ, and we still know about other countries and conintents.
(Although I have less faith in our educaton system these days.)
I agree, people outside of the USA probably don't know much about the different states and their capitals though.
You do learn more world geography as you get older and pay attention to world news and as you meet people from across the world.
Well, I seem to remember having to memorize the entire map of the world, pinpointing all of its capitals and such. I believe we really did have to study it. The problem is there's no staying power, because Europe is... kind of far. People rarely apply what they learn in World Geography so it's more easily forgotten. I mean, I can pinpoint the major countries on a map, but I can't guarantee that I know the capitals. I certainly wouldn't expect a European to know the capital of Idaho, or know all of the Mexican states, or even that Mexico's full name is Estados Unidos Mexicanos.
Europe is kind of far?
Dude, my country is in the middle of fucking NOWHERE, I mean, you can't get any more far than NZ, and we still know about other countries and conintents.
(Although I have less faith in our educaton system these days.)
I agree, people outside of the USA probably don't know much about the different states and their capitals though.
You do learn more world geography as you get older and pay attention to world news and as you meet people from across the world.
Don't you mean people *inside the US? Our 10th grade Geography teacher made us learn all the countries' capitals by heart.
That's cool Irina! Your schools sounds like good stuff.
She's talking about US states and capitals. If people outside of the US have a better grasp of that than we do, that would be a new low.
They just sound good, but aren't really. We have lots of compulsory classes and nothing practical. Sometimes a school offers one or two elective courses, but not all the time. So what we are supposed to know and what we know are two very very different things, at least for most people.
I'm sure I posted about how half our 12th grade students failed their graduation exams last summer. That's the consequence.
Oh. I know most of those too. I also know there's a town called Romania in Pennsylvania. That's pretty cool.
Oh yes I was, but then I didn't read Irina's post properly and thought that's what she meant too.
I actually meant all the world states and capitals. We had tests on that stuff and all.
Obviously I don't remember all of them, but I know all of Europe and most of the Americas' at least.
Someday, there will be things called countries where we think of things called states. Maybe after that, those will go away too.
"They sold you hippies grunge, hip hop, now liberty activism."
I've always had a pretty good grasp on where most countries in the world are, and if I don't know exactly I know the general section of the globe and can locate it easy enough.
I didn't have a typical public education though. Montessori, art charter school and Waldorf were the main bulk of it. It concerns me often when I find out my children aren't learning things I thought were basic parts of education. Like this stuff with geography. I stuck a map of the world on the wall when I found out my 12 year old couldn't remember all the continents off hand easy as pie.
I am geographically illiterate. Yes. I. Am. 
Whatever Whore!
Geography was my worst subject by far. I'm a "Jist"er in general. I know certain countries are on certain continents and the relative sizes of those countries. I am just as bad at the U.S. I can point and name maybe 12 states, but know the general area (such as Mississippi is somewhere in the southern middle of the continental US and Montana is towards the top of the middle).
If I had needed to "point and name" to graduate, I don't think I would have. Rote memorization has never been something I could do easily. I could study a map of someplace for an hour, and still not be able to point to a country or a state if you wiped off the names, unless it had some sort of personal significance to me.
But the funny thing is that I could tell you about the culture of the people, funny genetic quirks of the indigenous populations, a small amount of history, what the climate is like and the types of animals and the type of government that is there or likely to be there given the area for pretty much any country.
Mom's gonna fix it all soon.
About an hour from here. Nothing there.
I'M JEALOUS
I may buy one. I was so awful at it. And fuck letting a Leap Frog game get the best of me.