Is the Lack of Social Studies in Classrooms Affecting Students in Geography and Social Science?

Education

A disturbingly large number of Americans cannot find their own country on a map. Although satirists like Steven Shehori (2008) exaggerate the problem, the truth is that too few Americans are geographically literate. According to Rosenberg (2007), the number of Americans who cannot locate their home country on a map is around three in fifty: or six percent of the total population. Shehori (2008), a Canadian, jokes that "a full 37% of American citizens are incapable of identifying their home country on a map of the United States." Shehori's hyperbole draws attention to the failures of the American education system in providing the most effective possible geography lessons. Even if 96% percent of Americans can identify the United States on a map, a much fewer number can identify other countries. For example, Roach (2006) cites research showing that "63% of Americans aged 18 to 24 failed to correctly locate" Iraq (p. 1). The numbers are even worse for other countries: a full 70% of Americans could not locate Iran or Israel on a map, and as many as nine out of ten could not identify Afghanistan, a nation with which the United States has been at war (Roach, 2006).

There is also a paucity of geographic knowledge in general, and not just map skills. For example, Roach (2006) notes that three-quarters of American surveyed did not know that Indonesia was a Muslim nation, let alone the world's largest. One geographer lamented, "Young Americans just don't seem to have much interest in the world outside of the U.S.," (cited by Roach, 2006, p. 1). The reality is unfortunately that comedians like Shehori (2008) come painfully close to the truth when they say, "The sentiment of many Americans is that there's little intrinsic value in studying a map of a place you're already at," or "I believe if fewer people in this world could spot America on a map, we'd have a much better chance of avoiding national tragedies like 9/11" because "you can't attack a country you can't find."

In Dumbing Down Our Kids, Sykes (1996) describes the reality of American social studies education. One teacher interviewed said that it was more important for students be able to find countries on a map, without understanding the context of those maps. Students claimed they learned all sorts of "irrelevant and burdensome details" about history, rather than the potentially interesting analyses, commentaries, or contextual details that can make geography come to life (Sykes, 1996, p. 4). A shift towards standardized testing as the benchmark for academic excellence has destroyed the ability for social studies teachers to incorporate meaningful knowledge into their geography lessons.

Therefore, even if 96% of students in American public schools can find their country on a map, they might still be unable to qualify why the United States is where it is, and why Mexico and Canada are where they are. Even if 96% of American students can find the United States on a world map, their xenophobic upbringings make them view the United States as the center of the Universe. Finding France, Germany, India, Brazil, or China is just as important, especially if those students hope to find jobs in the global market economy.