Is it because not all schoolkids (or students) have to learn geography? or is it because they only learn national geography and not world geography?
thank you (and Hi America!)
Answers:
I am in my 30's so I can't speak for younger people but I was never taught Geography as a separate subject in school. It was incorporated into Social Studies (History).
Incidentally, I lived in England for 5 years and am well aware at the cheap shots people in the British media like to take at "stupid" Americans. I don't think I went one day in 5 years without hearing a joke or comment either on the radio or television about the stupidity of Americans. (Apparently we're also all obese and lazy as well.) So anyway, take whatever statistics you hear with a grain of salt. Yes, there are stupid Americans (as well as stupid Europeans...Jordan and Jade Goody immediately come to mind) but I think the average school kid in America can find America on a world map.
More likely the same reason why there is Illiteracy is a problem in the country. Lack of education meaning they may not have attended school. In our school system yes they are taught Geography. Not everyone makes it to school. That falls on the parents. Of the situation of the child, person, we do have homeless in our country. I am sure in your country you have people that don't know how to read or write. It's not isolated to the USA only.
I am not sure if you are referring to primary, secondary or higher education.
Most primary and secondary education cover the basics on geography, (i.e. these are the continents, this is where we invaded Vietnam) but it is not compulsory at most universities. The system there is that you have to take 1-3 of a cluster of classes that cover a subject (i.e. world civilizations) and therefore you may graduate without much knowledge of geography (unless that is your major!).
In my college geography class (in the US), a fellow student pointed to a map we had all been given, so our professor could assess our level of collective ignorance, and the guy next to me pointed to Australia and asked me if that was South America.
Most people in this country can't determine which way is North, or point to an American state on a blank map.
So, expecting us to know where to find the Canary Islands, though reasonable, is unlikely.
Very sad, and very true.
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