GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

“This 18-stanza poem by Kit Salter, beautifully captures the importance of geographic thinking in any history/social studies curriculum.  This was shared by Dr. Vernon Domingo and the slides of his keynote address titled, Integrating Geography and History are available here.”

Source: rigea.org

“Secession movements seem to be everywhere: from the Kurds in Iraq, to pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists, to Scotland’s aim to break up the UK. How does secession actually happen? Let’s look back to South Sudan’s successful secession effort to see exactly how new countries gain independence.”

Source: www.youtube.com

What does it take to actually secede from a country?  This video takes the example of South Sudan to highlight the necessary requirements to successfully secede and then gain full independence. 

Tags: South Sudan, political, sovereignty, Africa, states, unit 4 political.

“Though it may come as a surprise to outsiders, the journey to Mecca is a manifestation of globally moderate Islam.”

The Mecca region of Saudi Arabia has recently been in the midst of Hajj season. The Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, is strongly encouraged of all Muslims who have the means to undertake it. Importantly, by bringing together 2 million to 3 million people from across the globe, the Hajj pilgrimage is a manifestation of the diversity and moderate nature of global Islam. This image of the Muslim world as cosmopolitan and reasonable stands in stark contrast to the militant Islamist fundamentalism we more regularly hear about in media coverage — with the Islamic State and Boko Haram being the most recent manifestation of this.

Tags: Islam, Saudi Arabia, culture, religion, Middle East.

Source: www.startribune.com

“Some great geography education resources that can be found on Twitter.”        

Source: geographyeducation.org

While I might wish to write posts about everything pertinent to geography education that I find on social media, I just don’t have the time to do it all.  Too many good tweets, not enough time.  Periodically I will share a list of tweets that can link you to good resources and help you expand your personal learning network.

Tags: geo-inspiration, geography education, social media, teacher training.

“It has taken between 50-300 million years to form, and yet we have managed to burn roughly half of all global oil reserves in merely 125 years or so.“

Source: www.oildecline.com

Many who research natural resources and their production believe in peak oil.  Peak oil is defined as the maximum rate of the production of oil in any area under consideration, recognizing that it is a finite natural resource, subject to depletion.  In essence, oil will run out some day because it is a non-renewable resources; so oil production will peak, and then permanently decline.  Some are skeptical of these claims and feel that the oil industry is in a much stronger position than peak oil proponents suggest.

Tags: energy, resources, environment, environment modify, climate change, political ecology.

“More than 168 million Americans now live in states where marriage for same-sex couples is legal following the Supreme Court’s decision Monday to not hear five states’ appeals.  That number represents about 53.17 percent of the U.S. population, according to data from the Census Bureau and visualized on the map above.”

Tags: sexuality, USA. regions, map, political.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

“Growing Power is a national nonprofit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds, and the environments in which they live, by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities. See other videos on this organization here.”

Source: www.youtube.com

The story behind the failure of the world’s health organizations to stop the Ebola disaster.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

We have witnessed the terrifying dispersal of the Ebola virus in West Africa.  Cultural practices have facilitated the spread of Ebola in West Africa, and a distinct set of cultural practices is one reason why many experts do not expect it to spread in the United States.   The videos in this TIME article answer some basic questions about how the disease is spread while this data interactive has a useful timeline, map and charts to show the data behind the outbreak.  

Tags: Ebola, medical, development, diffusion, Africa.

“Once the fourth-largest lake in the world, Central Asia’s shrinking Aral Sea has reached a new low, thanks to decades-old water diversions and a more recent drought.” 

Source: blog.education.nationalgeographic.com

I have posted many times in the past about the Aral Sea, but this recent event has been the most dramatic update in years.  The Eastern portion of the lake has been receding for decades, but it is now officially gone.  This fantastic set of satellite images of the region painfully chronicles the decline of the Aral Sea as irrigation in the region diverted all the sources of the lake.   

Tags: environment, Central Asia, environment modify.