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Kellie Pickler and some insight into America's geographic ignorance
I had a good laugh this morning when I saw that World Hum had created a category on their weblog entitled "Hot Americans on Television Botching Geography Questions", thanks to Miss South Carolina and more recently American Idol Kellie Pickler. She appeared on US television game show "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader" and was asked what country Budapest was the capital of. She had never even heard of Hungary, and she thought Europe was a country.Out of amazement and sheer shock, I decided to dig around a bit to get some sort of explanation for the general level of geographic ignorance in America -- the world's most powerful, ethnically diverse and wealthy country.
I came across a report on the American Geographical Society's website addressing this issue in the US and it all seems to boil down to the American education system that doesn't pay much attention to geography as a subject of study.
According to the paper, the ranks of Americans who have ever taken geography class in high school or university is low; most of the people who teach geography and set the content standards haven't studied geography at a university level and don't understand why they are even teaching it (!) Although the paper doesn't give more details, it is an interesting read and talks about how the American government needs to embark on a "No American Left Geographically Ignorant" campaign.
I don't have the answer, but something definitely has to be done. Do watch the video when you get a chance.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eva Dec 3rd 2007 12:21PM
I think there must be something more going on than just the lack of formal schooling, because in Canada we don't have much in the way of geography classes either - I think we had one required course in grade 9 that dealt only with physical geography: cumulus clouds, etc, not political geography - but I still know that Europe is not a country. Then again, I've never seen any data to compare geographical knowledge in the States to any other country. I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't much better lots of other places, Canada included. Every country has their share of Kellie Picklers...
Abha, I am curious if you've ever been to the States? You seem to post a lot about American culture.
Abha Dec 4th 2007 7:33AM
Eva: Yes, I have been to America - twice. Once when I was 6 (doesn't count), and once when I was 14 -- I stayed there for two months.
I think my perception and reaction on American culture comes out in a certain way because I tend to compare the situations with India.
Although we have a high illiteracy rate, majority of educated Indians can point out their country on a map, and know that Europe is a continent -- of course, there are always exceptions. But, let's not forget that although Kellie Pickler doesn't represent everyone in America, she is not just anyone either. She is a celebrity / "idol" that people look up to, the "best of the best" in her category and has tremendous international exposure -- so I think whether she studied geography at school or not, she really should know that Europe is not a country. So, the fact that she didn't, and the previous case of Miss South Carolina leaves me befuddled.