Geography query
jodivender
Hi, all--
I'm Jodi Vender from Havertown, PA. I'm mom to 1-year-old Caroline,
and haven't yet decided what approach to schooling we're going
to take. I'm also a geographer, finishing a PhD at Penn State; I
used to work at the National Geographic Society; still do geography
education consulting and coordinate the PA state geography bee. See
http://www.personal.psu.edu/jav106 for more about me.
I've done a lot of reading about homeschooling, attended a hs
conference earlier this summer, and am participating in a number of
discussion lists to get a sense of what's going on with various
approaches to homeschooling/unschooling.
I'm working with the Geography Education National Implementation
Project (GENIP- see http://genip.tamu.edu) to learn about how
homeschoolers are "doing" geography, and what resources they'd like
to see to help teach and learn geography.
I'm extremely interested in discussing--via this list or privately--
the following topics (or others I may not have thought of):
*where or how geography fits into your child's day; what resources
do you use?
*how you define geography (subject of much debate even among
geographers!)
*what other geography resources you're aware of, even if you haven't
used them
* what kinds of geography resources you'd like to see/use to help
you do geography with your children
*how you think the community of professional geographers
could/should interact with homeschoolers/unschoolers
In return, I'll be happy to share a list of some of my favorite
geography resources and/or try to answer questions you might have.
Thanks in advance for sharing,
Jodi
I'm Jodi Vender from Havertown, PA. I'm mom to 1-year-old Caroline,
and haven't yet decided what approach to schooling we're going
to take. I'm also a geographer, finishing a PhD at Penn State; I
used to work at the National Geographic Society; still do geography
education consulting and coordinate the PA state geography bee. See
http://www.personal.psu.edu/jav106 for more about me.
I've done a lot of reading about homeschooling, attended a hs
conference earlier this summer, and am participating in a number of
discussion lists to get a sense of what's going on with various
approaches to homeschooling/unschooling.
I'm working with the Geography Education National Implementation
Project (GENIP- see http://genip.tamu.edu) to learn about how
homeschoolers are "doing" geography, and what resources they'd like
to see to help teach and learn geography.
I'm extremely interested in discussing--via this list or privately--
the following topics (or others I may not have thought of):
*where or how geography fits into your child's day; what resources
do you use?
*how you define geography (subject of much debate even among
geographers!)
*what other geography resources you're aware of, even if you haven't
used them
* what kinds of geography resources you'd like to see/use to help
you do geography with your children
*how you think the community of professional geographers
could/should interact with homeschoolers/unschoolers
In return, I'll be happy to share a list of some of my favorite
geography resources and/or try to answer questions you might have.
Thanks in advance for sharing,
Jodi
Fetteroll
on 8/16/04 9:45 PM, jodivender at jvender@... wrote:
and so on, is one approach to homeschooling. But unschooling is unique among
homeschooling approaches in many ways. For one, we don't separate "subjects"
from life. To an unschooler -- as with adults who are learning by reading
novels and watching TV and pursuing hobbies and learning what they need as
they need it for their jobs and so forth -- geography isn't a topic to be
studied (unless it's a hobby or an interest! :-). Geography is a tool that a
child may (unconsciously) pick up to explore whatever interests them or a
parent may use to help a child understand something they're curious about.
For instance, I don't pull out a map because it's good for my daughter to
know more about geography. I pull out a map to help her understand where
we're going or where we are or a relationship between two places. A map is a
tool.
resources *for* geography. But we use geography (without separating it) as a
tool *for* real life.
My daughter is interested in following sports. Sports teams exist in real
cities. They play in real weather appropriate (though sometimes unseasonal!
;-) to the cities the Boston/New England teams are in which impacts the game
and comes up naturally in discussion. Teams have to travel between cities
and that impacts the schedule. Games played on the west coast at 7PM start
at 10PM for us on the east coast.
We don't use sports to learn geography. Geography (without specifically
separating it) gets used in various ways as she explores what interests her
(sports and Japan and creating her own worlds and cat breeds and ...)
it's shaped that way.
pictures and type text into. It might be important in school for a map to
show what the major exports and imports of Peru are (so kids can forget them
after the test ;-), but it would be more interesting to note that this
week's potatoes came from Peru. And to see pictures of cousins and sports
team emblems in various parts of the US.
recreating school at home. Even nonunschoolers are often approaching
learning from an individual point of view rather than a mass education point
of view. It takes different resources and approaches to help one child be
the best her she can be than to help a whole class learn what it's scheduled
to learn. So geography for homeschoolers won't necessarily be approached as
a subject to be learned but as a collection of tools to help kids explore
their interests.
Joyce
> am participating in a number ofUnschooling, like unit studies and school at home and eclectic and Sonlight
> discussion lists to get a sense of what's going on with various
> approaches to homeschooling/unschooling.
and so on, is one approach to homeschooling. But unschooling is unique among
homeschooling approaches in many ways. For one, we don't separate "subjects"
from life. To an unschooler -- as with adults who are learning by reading
novels and watching TV and pursuing hobbies and learning what they need as
they need it for their jobs and so forth -- geography isn't a topic to be
studied (unless it's a hobby or an interest! :-). Geography is a tool that a
child may (unconsciously) pick up to explore whatever interests them or a
parent may use to help a child understand something they're curious about.
For instance, I don't pull out a map because it's good for my daughter to
know more about geography. I pull out a map to help her understand where
we're going or where we are or a relationship between two places. A map is a
tool.
> *where or how geography fits into your child's day; what resourcesIt fits into my daughter's day as it fits into an adult's day. I don't use
> do you use?
resources *for* geography. But we use geography (without separating it) as a
tool *for* real life.
My daughter is interested in following sports. Sports teams exist in real
cities. They play in real weather appropriate (though sometimes unseasonal!
;-) to the cities the Boston/New England teams are in which impacts the game
and comes up naturally in discussion. Teams have to travel between cities
and that impacts the schedule. Games played on the west coast at 7PM start
at 10PM for us on the east coast.
We don't use sports to learn geography. Geography (without specifically
separating it) gets used in various ways as she explores what interests her
(sports and Japan and creating her own worlds and cat breeds and ...)
> *how you define geography (subject of much debate even amongWhere towns and people are, the shape of the land and to some extent why
> geographers!)
it's shaped that way.
> *what other geography resources you're aware of, even if you haven'tThe only thing that comes to mind is surveyor's tools.
> used them
> * what kinds of geography resources you'd like to see/use to helpI'd like to have a map -- maybe a computer program -- that I could import
> you do geography with your children
pictures and type text into. It might be important in school for a map to
show what the major exports and imports of Peru are (so kids can forget them
after the test ;-), but it would be more interesting to note that this
week's potatoes came from Peru. And to see pictures of cousins and sports
team emblems in various parts of the US.
> *how you think the community of professional geographersBy being flexible and understanding that homeschoolers won't necessarily be
> could/should interact with homeschoolers/unschoolers
recreating school at home. Even nonunschoolers are often approaching
learning from an individual point of view rather than a mass education point
of view. It takes different resources and approaches to help one child be
the best her she can be than to help a whole class learn what it's scheduled
to learn. So geography for homeschoolers won't necessarily be approached as
a subject to be learned but as a collection of tools to help kids explore
their interests.
Joyce
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/17/2004 12:10:24 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
jvender@... writes:
I've done a lot of reading about homeschooling, attended a hs
conference earlier this summer, and am participating in a number of
discussion lists to get a sense of what's going on with various
approaches to homeschooling/unschooling.<<<<<<
Wwlcome, Jodi! You're about to miss THE biggest unschooling conference this
year----and it's in your neck of the woods: the Live and Learn Unschooling
Conference will be held in Peabody, MA August 27-29. If you're seriously
considering unschooling, this is a MUST-attend!
*where or how geography fits into your child's day; what resources
do you use?
we travel. maps, internet, other people's input
*how you define geography (subject of much debate even among
geographers!)
study of earth
*what other geography resources you're aware of, even if you haven't
used them
physically being in a new place is the best resource
* what kinds of geography resources you'd like to see/use to help
you do geography with your children
more money for travel! <G>
*how you think the community of professional geographers
could/should interact with homeschoolers/unschoolers
be open to those asking questions
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
jvender@... writes:
I've done a lot of reading about homeschooling, attended a hs
conference earlier this summer, and am participating in a number of
discussion lists to get a sense of what's going on with various
approaches to homeschooling/unschooling.<<<<<<
Wwlcome, Jodi! You're about to miss THE biggest unschooling conference this
year----and it's in your neck of the woods: the Live and Learn Unschooling
Conference will be held in Peabody, MA August 27-29. If you're seriously
considering unschooling, this is a MUST-attend!
*where or how geography fits into your child's day; what resources
do you use?
we travel. maps, internet, other people's input
*how you define geography (subject of much debate even among
geographers!)
study of earth
*what other geography resources you're aware of, even if you haven't
used them
physically being in a new place is the best resource
* what kinds of geography resources you'd like to see/use to help
you do geography with your children
more money for travel! <G>
*how you think the community of professional geographers
could/should interact with homeschoolers/unschoolers
be open to those asking questions
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Elizabeth Hill
** * what kinds of geography resources you'd like to see/use to help
you do geography with your children
*how you think the community of professional geographers
could/should interact with homeschoolers/unschoolers**
Pam S. once posted a great story about how much California geography her
daughters learned from going on family trips. When one of them was in
junior college she recognized all of the professor's geography-related
slides. (Someone please correct the details.)
I would go further and say that memorizing the locations of cities that
you've never been to, that you've never seen pictures or video of is
truly meaningless. I think really geographic understanding comes from
being on the ground somewhere and walking, biking or driving through the
place and *seeing* it.
I am a visual learner, so I am biased. But knowing that Frankfort is
the capital of Kentucky (if in fact it is) is not knowledge, it's trivia.
Betsy
PS For a song about state capitals, I like the one done by the cartoon
Animaniacs. <g> If you have to memorize tidbits about US geography,
music is a powerful way to do it.
PPS I papered my front entry hall in maps because I think they are
beautiful. Mostly recycled ones from National Geographic, with a theme,
like biodiversity. I had a bedroom decorated with maps when I was a kid.
you do geography with your children
*how you think the community of professional geographers
could/should interact with homeschoolers/unschoolers**
Pam S. once posted a great story about how much California geography her
daughters learned from going on family trips. When one of them was in
junior college she recognized all of the professor's geography-related
slides. (Someone please correct the details.)
I would go further and say that memorizing the locations of cities that
you've never been to, that you've never seen pictures or video of is
truly meaningless. I think really geographic understanding comes from
being on the ground somewhere and walking, biking or driving through the
place and *seeing* it.
I am a visual learner, so I am biased. But knowing that Frankfort is
the capital of Kentucky (if in fact it is) is not knowledge, it's trivia.
Betsy
PS For a song about state capitals, I like the one done by the cartoon
Animaniacs. <g> If you have to memorize tidbits about US geography,
music is a powerful way to do it.
PPS I papered my front entry hall in maps because I think they are
beautiful. Mostly recycled ones from National Geographic, with a theme,
like biodiversity. I had a bedroom decorated with maps when I was a kid.
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/17/2004 5:31:44 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
kbcdlovejo@... writes:
*how you define geography (subject of much debate even among
geographers!)
study of earth
------------------------
--graphy isn't "study," it's images, charting (photoGRAPHY, calliGRAPHY)
Here a geography question is a history-of-English (and Greek roots) matter.
<g>
We studied a map of Europe briefly the other day to see how someone could or
would drive from England (or Amsterdam, or France, once they got off the
ferry) to Greece. Not south of the mountains, north of them, we figured. Turned
out though our friends who are going to the Olympics are flying to Greece and
renting a car. So it didn't matter anymore. But that didn't keep each person
involved from making some several new connections in their minds, none of
which needed to be reported to the other three there.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
kbcdlovejo@... writes:
*how you define geography (subject of much debate even among
geographers!)
study of earth
------------------------
--graphy isn't "study," it's images, charting (photoGRAPHY, calliGRAPHY)
Here a geography question is a history-of-English (and Greek roots) matter.
<g>
We studied a map of Europe briefly the other day to see how someone could or
would drive from England (or Amsterdam, or France, once they got off the
ferry) to Greece. Not south of the mountains, north of them, we figured. Turned
out though our friends who are going to the Olympics are flying to Greece and
renting a car. So it didn't matter anymore. But that didn't keep each person
involved from making some several new connections in their minds, none of
which needed to be reported to the other three there.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/17/2004 2:41:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:
*how you define geography (subject of much debate even among
geographers!)
study of earth
------------------------
--graphy isn't "study," it's images, charting (photoGRAPHY, calliGRAPHY)<<<<
OK, but:
ge·og·ra·phy
(https://secure.reference.com/premium/login.html?rd=2&u=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=geography) ( P ) _Pronunciation Key_
(http://dictionary.reference.com/help/ahd4/pronkey.html) (j-gr-f)
n. pl. ge·og·ra·phies
1. The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of
life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity.
2. The physical characteristics, especially the surface features, of an
area.
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
SandraDodd@... writes:
*how you define geography (subject of much debate even among
geographers!)
study of earth
------------------------
--graphy isn't "study," it's images, charting (photoGRAPHY, calliGRAPHY)<<<<
OK, but:
ge·og·ra·phy
(https://secure.reference.com/premium/login.html?rd=2&u=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=geography) ( P ) _Pronunciation Key_
(http://dictionary.reference.com/help/ahd4/pronkey.html) (j-gr-f)
n. pl. ge·og·ra·phies
1. The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of
life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity.
2. The physical characteristics, especially the surface features, of an
area.
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/17/2004 12:59:50 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
kbcdlovejo@... writes:
1. The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of
life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity.
----------------
School did that. Honestly. <g>
Study for the purpose of mapmaking, originally.
-=- 2. The physical characteristics, especially the surface features, of an
area.
-=-
The physical characteristics themselves are (literally speaking, as I seem to
be) geology. There's the "study" ending.
Mapping the surface features, naming them names on the map, that's geography.
Sandra the Literalist Etymology Fan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
kbcdlovejo@... writes:
1. The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of
life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity.
----------------
School did that. Honestly. <g>
Study for the purpose of mapmaking, originally.
-=- 2. The physical characteristics, especially the surface features, of an
area.
-=-
The physical characteristics themselves are (literally speaking, as I seem to
be) geology. There's the "study" ending.
Mapping the surface features, naming them names on the map, that's geography.
Sandra the Literalist Etymology Fan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/17/2004 2:12:50 PM Central Standard Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:
The physical characteristics themselves are (literally speaking, as I seem
to
be) geology. There's the "study" ending.
Mapping the surface features, naming them names on the map, that's
geography.
~~~
What about topography?
Karen
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
SandraDodd@... writes:
The physical characteristics themselves are (literally speaking, as I seem
to
be) geology. There's the "study" ending.
Mapping the surface features, naming them names on the map, that's
geography.
~~~
What about topography?
Karen
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/17/04 4:08:28 PM, tuckervill2@... writes:
<< What about topography? >>
Sounds like math. (No, I guess that's topology...)
OH NO!!!!!! #4 definition on topology ties back to topography, which is one
facet of geography, which no longer is what it was when the term was coined.
So... Does that mean the whole world is made up of related ideas and
factamajiggers?
Now I need to go to sleep early and dream about other things.
to·pog·ra·phy n
1. the study and mapping of the features on the surface of land, including
natural features such as mountains and rivers and constructed features such as
highways and railroads
2. the features on the surface of a particular area of land
3. a study or detailed description of the various features of any object or
entity and the relationships between them
to·pol·o·gy n
1. the study of the properties of figures that are independent of size or
shape and are not changed by stretching, bending, knotting, or twisting
2. the family of all open subsets of a mathematical set, including the set
itself and the empty set, which is closed under set union and finite
intersection
3. the anatomy of a specific part of the body
4. the study of changes in topography that occur over time and, in
particular, of how such changes taking place in a particular area affect the history of
that area
5. the relationships between elements linked together in a system, for
example, a computer network (formal)
<< What about topography? >>
Sounds like math. (No, I guess that's topology...)
OH NO!!!!!! #4 definition on topology ties back to topography, which is one
facet of geography, which no longer is what it was when the term was coined.
So... Does that mean the whole world is made up of related ideas and
factamajiggers?
Now I need to go to sleep early and dream about other things.
to·pog·ra·phy n
1. the study and mapping of the features on the surface of land, including
natural features such as mountains and rivers and constructed features such as
highways and railroads
2. the features on the surface of a particular area of land
3. a study or detailed description of the various features of any object or
entity and the relationships between them
to·pol·o·gy n
1. the study of the properties of figures that are independent of size or
shape and are not changed by stretching, bending, knotting, or twisting
2. the family of all open subsets of a mathematical set, including the set
itself and the empty set, which is closed under set union and finite
intersection
3. the anatomy of a specific part of the body
4. the study of changes in topography that occur over time and, in
particular, of how such changes taking place in a particular area affect the history of
that area
5. the relationships between elements linked together in a system, for
example, a computer network (formal)
pam sorooshian
On Aug 17, 2004, at 8:44 AM, Elizabeth Hill wrote:
professor showed slides of places all over the state and Roya had been
to every single one of them - knew things about them that he didn't
know - he'd been to Refugio Beach and to Joshua Tree and other places -
sort of as a "tourist" - to take pictures - she'd camped at those
places a bunch of times - knew their "nuances." She had been swimming
in the middle of a bunch of dolphins at Refugio and climbed rocks at
Joshua Tree and so on.
-pam
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
> Pam S. once posted a great story about how much California geographyThat's right. She took California Geography at Cypress College. The
> her
> daughters learned from going on family trips. When one of them was in
> junior college she recognized all of the professor's geography-related
> slides. (Someone please correct the details.)
professor showed slides of places all over the state and Roya had been
to every single one of them - knew things about them that he didn't
know - he'd been to Refugio Beach and to Joshua Tree and other places -
sort of as a "tourist" - to take pictures - she'd camped at those
places a bunch of times - knew their "nuances." She had been swimming
in the middle of a bunch of dolphins at Refugio and climbed rocks at
Joshua Tree and so on.
-pam
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
pam sorooshian
On Aug 17, 2004, at 4:22 PM, SandraDodd@... wrote:
<G>
-pam
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
> to·pol·o·gyThe kind of math where we say things like: coffee cup = donut
<G>
-pam
National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/17/2004 6:26:44 PM Central Standard Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:
So... Does that mean the whole world is made up of related ideas and
factamajiggers?
~~~
I hope so. :)
I know about topography because I was in the Army and you do a lot of map
reading and you always get topographical maps, which show the elevations and
such. I also took a map reading seminar at an outdoorswoman conference, and I
found out you can order topographical maps of every place in the US from the
government.
So I thought what you described that you were calling geography was really
topography. But it's a few posts back now and I can't remember exactly.
Karen
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
SandraDodd@... writes:
So... Does that mean the whole world is made up of related ideas and
factamajiggers?
~~~
I hope so. :)
I know about topography because I was in the Army and you do a lot of map
reading and you always get topographical maps, which show the elevations and
such. I also took a map reading seminar at an outdoorswoman conference, and I
found out you can order topographical maps of every place in the US from the
government.
So I thought what you described that you were calling geography was really
topography. But it's a few posts back now and I can't remember exactly.
Karen
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/17/04 10:15:55 AM, ecsamhill@... writes:
<< I would go further and say that memorizing the locations of cities that
you've never been to, that you've never seen pictures or video of is
truly meaningless. >>
Unless you really care for some reason about where things are there.
If people care about medieval history, it helps tons to know where Paris is
in relationship to London, and how wide the English channel is, and where
Acquitaine is and which direction Denmark is from Germany, and which direction the
Crusaders were going.
It's trivia if you don't care or have nothing to tie it to.
But with unschooling, if every bit of information is tied to something real a
kid knows or cares about, then it's not trivia. It's material for
understanding the world.
That's not an argument for memorizing the capital of Kentucky if one doesn't
live in Kentucky, has never visited, never intends to go there. It's a
reminder that there can be reasons to care what's where that have nothing to do
with school, schoolishness, geography as a subject area or discipline, or with
trivia.
Sandra
<< I would go further and say that memorizing the locations of cities that
you've never been to, that you've never seen pictures or video of is
truly meaningless. >>
Unless you really care for some reason about where things are there.
If people care about medieval history, it helps tons to know where Paris is
in relationship to London, and how wide the English channel is, and where
Acquitaine is and which direction Denmark is from Germany, and which direction the
Crusaders were going.
It's trivia if you don't care or have nothing to tie it to.
But with unschooling, if every bit of information is tied to something real a
kid knows or cares about, then it's not trivia. It's material for
understanding the world.
That's not an argument for memorizing the capital of Kentucky if one doesn't
live in Kentucky, has never visited, never intends to go there. It's a
reminder that there can be reasons to care what's where that have nothing to do
with school, schoolishness, geography as a subject area or discipline, or with
trivia.
Sandra
Elizabeth Hill
** Unless you really care for some reason about where things are there.
If people care about medieval history, it helps tons to know where Paris is
in relationship to London, and how wide the English channel is, and where
Acquitaine is and which direction Denmark is from Germany, and which
direction the
Crusaders were going.**
Drat. <g> You're right.
When my husband briefly taught 7th and 8th grade social studies, I tried
to read stuff about ancient African civilizations. Because I had holes
in my knowledge where the African history, and particularly the African
geography should be, I would read stuff like the X---- people travelled
up the Y---- river and attacked the Z----- people living in the city of
A-----, I didn't learn much because I couldn't picture what was
happening. (And I was aware that his students probably felt this way
all the time when urged to imagine historic events in far-flung unknown
places.)
**It's a reminder that there can be reasons to care what's where that
have nothing to do
with school, schoolishness, geography as a subject area or discipline,
or with
trivia.**
Right. I think having kids memorize US state capitals in school is
"pointless", but there CAN be a real point or real reason for wanting or
needed geographical knowledge.
Betsy
If people care about medieval history, it helps tons to know where Paris is
in relationship to London, and how wide the English channel is, and where
Acquitaine is and which direction Denmark is from Germany, and which
direction the
Crusaders were going.**
Drat. <g> You're right.
When my husband briefly taught 7th and 8th grade social studies, I tried
to read stuff about ancient African civilizations. Because I had holes
in my knowledge where the African history, and particularly the African
geography should be, I would read stuff like the X---- people travelled
up the Y---- river and attacked the Z----- people living in the city of
A-----, I didn't learn much because I couldn't picture what was
happening. (And I was aware that his students probably felt this way
all the time when urged to imagine historic events in far-flung unknown
places.)
**It's a reminder that there can be reasons to care what's where that
have nothing to do
with school, schoolishness, geography as a subject area or discipline,
or with
trivia.**
Right. I think having kids memorize US state capitals in school is
"pointless", but there CAN be a real point or real reason for wanting or
needed geographical knowledge.
Betsy
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/18/2004 6:48:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
ecsamhill@... writes:
Right. I think having kids memorize US state capitals in school is
"pointless", but there CAN be a real point or real reason for wanting or
needed geographical knowledge.<<<<
Memorizing the states is bad enough. The school Cameron attended required
the seventh graders to memorize all the countries of AFRICA!
And the point is....?
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
ecsamhill@... writes:
Right. I think having kids memorize US state capitals in school is
"pointless", but there CAN be a real point or real reason for wanting or
needed geographical knowledge.<<<<
Memorizing the states is bad enough. The school Cameron attended required
the seventh graders to memorize all the countries of AFRICA!
And the point is....?
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Game-Enthusiast
I have one dd (9) that is a geography nut. From the time she was only four
years old she was just drawn to maps. One of her favorite things is our
globe. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many hours that thing has
spent in her hands. A couple years ago we were playing at the elementary
school that I went as a child and we peeked in the windows. There on the
top shelf was a globe, in each classroom. I remembered seeing those globes
up there when I was a child but we never got to hold them or play with them.
My 9 yo dd has a better understanding of the world as a whole (as opposed to
being broken down into small maps that don't seem related to each other)
than most adults, by a LONG shot. It was her interest in geography that got
*me* interested in it and I've done my best to keep up with her, but her
memory works much better than mine does these days. Her favorite geography
tools are maps, globes, and games. We all like Take Off and Where in the
USA is Carmen Sandiago is o.k. For a while she enjoyed playing the map game
(match capital to the state) at http://www.yourchildlearns.com/megamaps.htm
My other dd (7) has very little interest in geography. She is great at
spinning a yarn though. Look out Stephen King! LOL!
Angela
game-enthusiast@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
years old she was just drawn to maps. One of her favorite things is our
globe. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many hours that thing has
spent in her hands. A couple years ago we were playing at the elementary
school that I went as a child and we peeked in the windows. There on the
top shelf was a globe, in each classroom. I remembered seeing those globes
up there when I was a child but we never got to hold them or play with them.
My 9 yo dd has a better understanding of the world as a whole (as opposed to
being broken down into small maps that don't seem related to each other)
than most adults, by a LONG shot. It was her interest in geography that got
*me* interested in it and I've done my best to keep up with her, but her
memory works much better than mine does these days. Her favorite geography
tools are maps, globes, and games. We all like Take Off and Where in the
USA is Carmen Sandiago is o.k. For a while she enjoyed playing the map game
(match capital to the state) at http://www.yourchildlearns.com/megamaps.htm
My other dd (7) has very little interest in geography. She is great at
spinning a yarn though. Look out Stephen King! LOL!
Angela
game-enthusiast@...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/18/2004 5:37:57 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
kbcdlovejo@... writes:
The school Cameron attended required
the seventh graders to memorize all the countries of AFRICA!
---------------
I did that in 8th grade. Every nation in the world, all major ports and
rivers.
Lots of those countries I memorized don't exist anymore.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
kbcdlovejo@... writes:
The school Cameron attended required
the seventh graders to memorize all the countries of AFRICA!
---------------
I did that in 8th grade. Every nation in the world, all major ports and
rivers.
Lots of those countries I memorized don't exist anymore.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Elizabeth Hill
** Memorizing the states is bad enough. The school Cameron attended
required
the seventh graders to memorize all the countries of AFRICA!**
Well, I wish I knew them, but I guess I can learn.
Even sillier than that, I think, it the Well Trained Mind thing where
they memorize the pharoahs of Egypt. Those guys (and gals) are ALL dead.
My seventh grade social studies was pretty Eurocentric. We learned all
the European countries and capitals. But now there are new ones! I
want at least a partial refund of the time that I spent sitting in that
plastic chair because what I learned didn't last!
Betsy
PS The capital of Finland is Helsinki, but there isn't a Yugoslavia
for Belgrade to be the capital of any more.
required
the seventh graders to memorize all the countries of AFRICA!**
Well, I wish I knew them, but I guess I can learn.
Even sillier than that, I think, it the Well Trained Mind thing where
they memorize the pharoahs of Egypt. Those guys (and gals) are ALL dead.
My seventh grade social studies was pretty Eurocentric. We learned all
the European countries and capitals. But now there are new ones! I
want at least a partial refund of the time that I spent sitting in that
plastic chair because what I learned didn't last!
Betsy
PS The capital of Finland is Helsinki, but there isn't a Yugoslavia
for Belgrade to be the capital of any more.
velvet jiang
my dd learned to read maps really early because we went on alot of road
trips by ourselves. i would hand her the map and tell her "your the
navigator". when we went on a road trip with my niece to visit a college
(after 12 years of school) she didn't know how to read one. she had never
been on road trips and the school map lessons didn't stick. the next road
trip i went on with her i handed my dd the map and my niece said "i can do
it. i know how to read a map now". amazing what you can learn when it
applies to the real world.
velvet
trips by ourselves. i would hand her the map and tell her "your the
navigator". when we went on a road trip with my niece to visit a college
(after 12 years of school) she didn't know how to read one. she had never
been on road trips and the school map lessons didn't stick. the next road
trip i went on with her i handed my dd the map and my niece said "i can do
it. i know how to read a map now". amazing what you can learn when it
applies to the real world.
velvet
>From: "Game-Enthusiast" <game-enthusiast@...>
>Reply-To: [email protected]
>To: <[email protected]>
>Subject: RE: [UnschoolingDiscussion] Geography query
>Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 19:53:00 -0400
>
>I have one dd (9) that is a geography nut. From the time she was only four
>years old she was just drawn to maps. One of her favorite things is our
>globe. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many hours that thing has
>spent in her hands. A couple years ago we were playing at the elementary
>school that I went as a child and we peeked in the windows. There on the
>top shelf was a globe, in each classroom. I remembered seeing those globes
>up there when I was a child but we never got to hold them or play with
>them.
>My 9 yo dd has a better understanding of the world as a whole (as opposed
>to
>being broken down into small maps that don't seem related to each other)
>than most adults, by a LONG shot. It was her interest in geography that
>got
>*me* interested in it and I've done my best to keep up with her, but her
>memory works much better than mine does these days. Her favorite geography
>tools are maps, globes, and games. We all like Take Off and Where in the
>USA is Carmen Sandiago is o.k. For a while she enjoyed playing the map
>game
>(match capital to the state) at http://www.yourchildlearns.com/megamaps.htm
>
>
>My other dd (7) has very little interest in geography. She is great at
>spinning a yarn though. Look out Stephen King! LOL!
>
>Angela
>game-enthusiast@...
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/18/2004 8:35:27 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
ecsamhill@... writes:
I
want at least a partial refund of the time that I spent sitting in that
plastic chair because what I learned didn't last!
==========
Plastic!?
We had wood.
It's not true that what you learned didn't last.
Your kid's home, right?
Choosing his own chair?
Standing up to stretch his butt any time he wants to?
<g>
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
ecsamhill@... writes:
I
want at least a partial refund of the time that I spent sitting in that
plastic chair because what I learned didn't last!
==========
Plastic!?
We had wood.
It's not true that what you learned didn't last.
Your kid's home, right?
Choosing his own chair?
Standing up to stretch his butt any time he wants to?
<g>
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Dawn Adams
Velvet writes:
Dawn (in NS)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>my dd learned to read maps really early because we went on alot of roadThe best tool we've had for learning to read maps and develop compass skills have been computer role playing games.
>trips by ourselves.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dawn (in NS)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]