Why do young Americans have poor geography skills?

Question

I found this National Geographic servey which sarteled me.
Americans are far from alone in the world, but from the perspective of many young Americans, we might as well be. Most young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 demonstrate a limited understanding of the world, and they place insufficient importance on the basic geographic skills that might enhance their knowledge.

Young Americans answer about half (54 percent) of all the survey questions correctly. But by and large, majorities of young adults fail at a range of questions testing their basic geographic literacy.

Only 37% of young Americans can find Iraq on a map—though U.S. troops have been there since 2003.
6 in 10 young Americans don't speak a foreign language fluently.
20% of young Americans think Sudan is in Asia. (It's the largest country in Africa.)
48% of young Americans believe the majority population in India is Muslim. (It's Hindu—by a landslide.)
Half of young Americans can't find New York on a map.

Answer 1

Because Americans are taught from birth that America is the "greatest nation on earth." We're taught that America is the only superpower. And the richest nation. I'm not talking about just at school - we get this from our leaders, our media, and our parents.

We only hear about other nations when something bad happens to them. Or when we invade them. Or they do something to insult America's perceived greatness. And this interest quickly fades as we move on to something more shiny and interesting.

Americans are self-reliant, but also self-interested. We don't care about anyone else unless we are getting something out of it. Or maybe if MTV does a special on it.

Maybe this is a cynical response, but it goes beyond geography. American students are slipping in most subjects, mostly because students don't care and most parents believe that their job doesn't include educating their kids beyond what they learn in school.

I think geography is the most fascinating subject - it intertwines history, social studies, civics, meteorology, geology...and it's changing, every day. There's always something happening in the world. But America just seems too busy to notice.

Answer 2

Well coming from a 14 year old herself. i have always been good in pretty much all subjects but geography has always been hard for me. Mas of the U.S. are easy btu if you give me a map of the world i couldn't probably tell you where anything is. Part of this reason i beleive is that it is not taught alot in schools. It is touched upon a little each year but never in depth. Honestly there is no true answer maybe our generation uses less of that part of our brain perhaps due to technology doing a lot of work for us. Also to touch upon the statistics you presented itis alittle pathetic tha6t 1/2 of America's youth can't find New York. But to give a little credit it is tiny on the map and mixed in with many other states. But i bet if you asked Americans to find Texas or Florida they probably could. And about tghinking that most of India's population is Muslim. Taht is i know obviously incorrect but if you went to the South or similar Inland places even adults might think that. I remeber I was at the Museum of Tolerance and read about a Sikh who was killed because they thought he was terrorist simply because of his turban. Eart o People 9/11 had nothing to do with Sikhs or India at all. So that is all I have to say I hope I was of soem help.

Answer 3

I'm white and I didn't realize this until I read your question. That's bulls**t. I think what's happened is far worse than being in denial--it's become a societal norm. When people are in denial about things, it means that at least someone is questioning something. When something becomes a norm, that means we accept something without questioning; ergo, nothing will get done unless someone decides to push the status quo which throws everyone into a panic for some reason or another. And I think that undermining this problem by saying "well other countries have it worse" doesn't help at all. Yeah, other people do have it worse, but that doesn't mean that our own problems should be ignored or put aside. Aren't humans about progress and innovation? How can we move forward if we stick to that kind of mentality.

Answer 4

When I was in Austria, some 15 year olds thought Austria was maybe 1/3 the size of the USA. These are the same kids who in the next year needed to memorize every major and minor geographic feature in their entire country and associated natural resources, etc.....

In the USA there is much less emphasis on rote memorization than in other cultures. Schools seem more interested in producing kids with high self esteem than high skills. IMO, the recent focus on test scores will only push more money to the under-performing students and away from the kids who are performing near grade level or above, causing a further dumbing down of America.

Where the US unquestionably shines is in post secondary education. The problem is that this education goes increasingly to those in higher socioeconomic classes, due to the continued cuts in school funding causing double digit annual tuition increases.

College tuition should be largely paid for students who achieve high primary and secondary school grades, high test scores, or both. Giving kids a tangible reason to study, and giving parents a strong financial motivator to encourage their kids to study, should help to change the apathetic educational culture in the USA.

Answer 5

I think its because american schools mostly focus on America and nowhere else, but i have no idea why they dont know where new yorkl is. I think not all young adults speak a different language is because they werent taught till later, someone realy smart once told me that children have the capabilty of catching a laguage till they become 6. So if a child is surrounded by more than one language he/she will be able to speak both. So i guess most of their families only talk one language. But some families are different like me I speak english arabic french and spanish because im surrounded by the language

Answer 6

it's not just geography, they have bad history skills as well. The other day at work we had some take a test "would you pass the citizenship test" and most of them failed miserably.

UPDATE: it doesn't have anything to do with learning more than 1 language. I speak 4 languages and i was taught all subjects in 3 different languages at the same time and i did better than fine.

Answer 7

Folks from the US are ever more isolated from the rest of the world. news from other parts of the world is virtually never broadcast; language skills beyond English and Spanish are non existent; most Americans do little if any traveling abroad.
George Bush (the younger) had never been outside of the US
even one time prior to his election as president.

Answer 8

Not just geography is suffering from neglect in American schools. History, literature, spelling, grammar, penmanship... you name it. When you confront the teachers, they whine about having to "teach for the tests"... math and reading.. so they will continue to get federal funding. But they don't seem to be doing all that great in those two limited areas, either.

Frankly, I don't know what the heck they actually ARE teaching in schools these days.

Answer 9

I don't know, but I always gathered they only learnt about the USA, because most of them seem so ignorant of the world outside of the USA, but now you say that half of them can't find New York on a map - that is really tragic!!

Answer 10

I don't know, but I'm 23 and I can say I have only have 2 geography classes my whole life. One in 4th grade and one in 11th. And I don't remember anything about it except coloring in countries and making map keys.