Missouri is now South Dakota...WHAT?

I planned for my first issue to be about Earth Day, and what our family was doing to help "save the Earth." Then, I looked through my son's school folder and almost had a heart attack. Evidently, South Dakota is now Missouri. WHAT?


There was a small map of the US with numbers 1-6 marking different states. There was a multiple choice list of the "correct" states from which to choose, and he was to fill in the blank with the correct choice. #6 was right in the middle of South Dakota, yet South Dakota was not among the choices. All of the other options were relatively close to the listed choices, but Missouri was the only option left for #6, which was clearly South Dakota. 


As I was looking at the page, Connor quickly told me that he knew it was wrong, but didn't have any other choice but to use that as the answer. He made 100 on the page, but clearly, the teacher did NOT! And he knew it. I circled her error in red, corrected the incorrect option, and sent it back to school with Connor for him to ask her about it this morning. 


And we wonder why our children do so poorly on tests, and why they are so far behind the rest of the world in education. And this page came from a teacher who's experience spans 30 years already. There is a map of the US right on the wall in the classroom, and there are about 5 globes at the back of the class. I am not a teacher, but I'm smart enough to know to check my work before handing it to the kids to use as a learning tool. 


So far this year, Connor's teacher has been great. There haven't been any other instances like this one, but I'd say this one was a "biggie."


Here's my real issue. We are the only country in the world that does not truly promote "travel outside or inside" our country. Yes, we promote vacation hot-spots, we promote going on cruises, and to the beach or Disney World. But, we do not promote hopping in the car, or on a plane, and visiting as many states as we can; seeing as many things in each state as we can. We don't even have enough time to do that, even if we wanted to. Parents only get between one and two weeks of vacation each year, and no one wants to take both at the same time. We work so hard, and we don't want our vacations to be learning experiences for us or our children, we just want to relax and do nothing. And I don't blame anyone for needing that "time off." We all do. But, in most European countries, people get between 4 and 8 weeks of vacation a year, and Italians typically get the entire month of August to do nothing, or travel the world. If you don't believe me, just plan a trip to Italy in August and see how many stores are closed for the month; and just try to find a place to have lunch...there aren't many. 




Luckily, I have traveled all over the US and through most of Europe, so my knowledge of geography is based on experience and not just classroom chatter. It was my travel experience that fueled my "want" to learn about where everything is, and how I could get there. Unfortunately, we are content in this country, for our children to stay close to home and never get too far away. And frankly, that is to their detriment. In an article from CNN education news, Fewer than three in 10 think it is important to know the locations of countries in the news, and just 14 percent believe speaking another language is a necessary skill. Really? They don't think it's necessary to know what country the news is referencing? WOW!


My plan to combat this geographic ignorance is to take my children everywhere I possibly can. I want them to have fun on every vacation, but I also want them to learn something as well. I plan to let them choose the things and places they'd like to explore, and make it an adventure. I don't want them to simply know where South Dakota is located on a map, I want them to see Mout Rushmore, and explore the Glacial Lakes region, and everything else that South Dakota has to offer. (And every other state for that matter.)


     


It might be more expensive, it might not be quite as relaxing as laying on the same beach every year, but they will grow up loving to travel. They will always have the desire to see more, go more places, and experience more things. I still have that desire, and it's because I have seen a lot, but not everything. There are so many countries I still want to visit, so many amazing things I want to see and do. That desire is what will teach my boys, without them even knowing they're learning, and that's incredible.