Popularizing geography

how we live — By Bob Riel on May 26, 2006 at 12:35 pm

We know from previous news that many Americans don’t know a whole lot about geography. But some do, as evidenced by the 2006 National Geographic Bee, won by 12-year-old Bonny Jain of Illinois. Interestingly, the top three finishers, and five of the top 10, were Indian-Americans.

Not a lot of attention is paid to this geography contest, particularly when compared with the much more famous National Spelling Bee. But, in this op-ed column, Charles Passy suggests that should change.

For all the attention that continues to be accorded to the National Spelling Bee … the less-heralded Geography Bee is more relevant. After all, we live in a global age, when events in far-flung countries have as much impact as those close to home. It stands to reason that knowing where these places are would be an invaluable skill…

And yet the spelling bee continues to receive all the attention. Perhaps that’s because spelling is a tantalizingly easy concept to grasp. You either spell a word right or you don’t. The answers are all in the dictionary. Geography, on the other hand, asks more. But it offers more in return: to know the world is to know how to make it a better place.

An editorial a few weeks ago in the Arizona Daily Star also touched on this need for geography education:

Geography needs to go pop. Spelling is “in,” thanks to its pop-culture following. Now it’s time for geography to be a pop centerpiece. … We hope the realization that geography matters becomes an urgency for parents, educators and businesses as we prepare to live in the international marketplace.

So let’s do it. Let’s help geography “go pop.”