GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

“Parenting magazine released its annual list of the best and worst places to raise a child this week, once again naming the Mariana Trench—an undersea chasm located 36,000 feet beneath the western Pacific Ocean—as the least desirable location for rearing children. The periodical’s staff reportedly selected amongst thousands of locations, weighing a diverse range of criteria such living costs, air quality, and local amenities, categories for which the pitch-black, silt-covered abyss unanimously received an ‘F’ rating.”

Source: www.theonion.com

Now this is funny.  True to form, the Onion is mocking how obsessed our society is about ranking neighborhoods and valuing social prestige.  Underlying this satirical humor are some real, social and spatial issues.  Buying a house or renting a place is in part an analysis of the structure itself, but value is ascribed to the geographic context of the home (as real estate agents say the three most import factors are: location, location, location).  Many parents are especially concerned about choosing the ‘right’ neighborhood and that drives the housing market.  Local amenities, schools, shopping, demographic profiles, income, crime rates, land use mix…a play a role in shaping the context in how people perceive the neighborhood’s desirability.   

Tags: housing, neighborhood, cultural norms, culture.

About three-quarters of eighth grade students—the only grade for which trend data are available—were not “proficient” in geography in 2014, according to GAO’s analysis of nationally representative data from the Department of Education (Education). Specifically, these students had not demonstrated solid competence in the subject, and the proficiency levels of eighth grade students have shown no improvement since 1994 (see figure). Geography is generally taught as part of social studies, but data show that more than half of eighth grade teachers reported spending a small portion (10 percent or less) of their social studies instruction time on geography. Further, according to a study by an academic organization, a majority of states do not require geography courses in middle school or high school.

Source: www.gao.gov

The convergence of three state borders, or tri-points, offers a chance for out-of-the-way exploring.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Kentucky and Tennessee is the tri-point hearth of the United States, but they are fairly evenly distributed on the interior otherwise.  Are you close to one of these tri-point geographical oddities?  Go on a field trip!  And if you think I used the phrase ‘geographical oddity’ just so I could reference one of my favorite movies quotes of all time, then you would be absolutely correct. 

Watch how the Syrian civil war became the mess it is today.

Source: www.youtube.com

“Understanding global trade and economic data can feel overwhelming, but fortunately there are online tools that help us to visualize complex economic data. The data in these charts was incredibly easy to gather, thanks to the Atlas of Economic Complexity.”

Source: geographyeducation.org

Before these tools existed, my first observations of economic geography and industrial development came when I left the US and was living in Central America.  I wrote this article to use the example of the shifts in the Costa Rican economy to demonstrate how to use the Atlas of Economic Complexity (which uses complicated data, but super easy to use).  

Tags: development, statistics, economic, Costa Rica, mapping.

While researching a book on ‘Why the Dutch are Different’, Ben Coates realised that an amazingly large number of the things which an outsider might think of as ‘typically Dutch’ could be explained at least in part by a single factor: water.

Source: www.dutchnews.nl

Cultural, political and economic patterns of a region are heavily influenced by the environmental settings.  Occasionally though, geographers can get overly-cautious when discussing how the environment can shape culture, worried about straying into realm of environmental determinism.  However, environmental factors can profoundly influence cultural attributes.  This article shows how Dutch cultural attributes such as diet, history, politics and landscape are influenced by their maritime physical setting. 

Tags: Netherlands, culture, place, water, environment.

We sometimes describe this mingling as ‘‘cross-pollination’’ or ‘‘cross-fertilization’’ — benign, bucolic metaphors that obscure the force of these encounters. When we wish to speak more plainly, we talk of ‘‘appropriation’’ — a word now associated with the white Western world’s co-opting of minority cultures.

Source: www.nytimes.com

The distinction between cultural diffusion and cultural appropriation can get very blurry, and I doubt that there is a ‘final word’ on the topic.  What is perceived as culturally inappropriate or exploitative is not clear cut.  In addition to this NY Times article about the concept of cultural appropriation, below are a few articles that can be used to discuss this idea.  These topics are by nature controversial, and you can use your discretion to know which articles are appropriate for your students given their maturity level.  I don’t agree with all the authors of these articles; I also don’t think these issues are perfect examples of cultural appropriation, but that is why they are helpful for a discussion. 

• Indigenous Art
• Amish-labelled goods
• Redefining the N-Word
• “Why I hate White Belly Dancers”
• US ambassador to Nigeria speaks Pidgin
• Urban Outfitters using South Asian motifs
• Rap and African-American culture

Questions to Ponder: What pushes something from cultural diffusion to cultural appropriation?  What makes these examples inappropriate or okay in your estimation? When do you feel cultural commodification is ‘crossing the line’ or is everything marketable fair game?  What are other examples of cultural appropriation that you can think of? 

Tags: culture, popular culture, folk cultures, economic, unit 3 culture.

Refuse to share a pencil, reject a boy, say no to your imprisoned dad — all of these can get a teen girl killed in El Salvador’s gang war.

Source: www.npr.org

Central America has the highest homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere, with violence being embedded into political and social institutions and norms (see this map to analyze the spatial patterns–see crime rate tabs).  Navigating this cultural status quo leads to incredibly difficult situations for young people, and especially girls, trying to gain stable employment and plan for a safe, secure future.  This is a very sobering article/podcast, with some graphic materials.  This podcast is the first in the new series, #15Girls, exploring global health issue for teenage girls.       

Tags: podcast, gender, place, cultural norms, culture.

“The 2015 Earth Science Week theme is ‘Visualizing Earth Systems.’   Esri’s Earth Science GeoInquiries help educators show and explore critical content in earth science.”

Tags:  physical, mapping, geospatial, ESRI.

Source: blogs.esri.com