Where In The World Is Iraq?

Maybe the reason that Americans think we’re so superior is because we don’t take time to realize we’re not actually alone and that there are actually whole other countries and cultures beyond our borders. Then again, we aren’t all that good with figuring out what’s in our own borders, are we? I recall my mother telling me that some friends of hers were on one of those game shows like The Price Is Right and it took them a year to get their prizes shipped to them because they lived in New Mexico and the show wouldn’t ship outside of the country — kid you not.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — After more than three years of combat and nearly 2,400 U.S. military deaths in Iraq, nearly two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 still cannot find Iraq on a map, a study released Tuesday showed.

The study found that less than six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, 33 percent could not point out Louisiana on a U.S. map.

The National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs 2006 Geographic Literacy Study paints a dismal picture of the geographic knowledge of the most recent graduates of the U.S. education system.

“Taken together, these results suggest that young people in the United States … are unprepared for an increasingly global future,” said the study’s final report.

“Far too many lack even the most basic skills for navigating the international economy or understanding the relationships among people and places that provide critical context for world events.” [“Study: Geography Greek to most young Americans (CNN.com)]

tags: Iraq, education, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, Gulf Coast, National Geographics, CNN

One comment

1. on May 2, 2006 at 4:44 pm

   Andy said:

   I was in a diner in Delaware a couple of years back and the placemat had one of those puzzles - fill in the names of US states based on how many started with each letter - It gave you how many “N’s” there were (for example) and you had to list them. I got them all except for this single ‘N’ which I was struggling with - bearing in mind I’m from England - and just as the waitress came with the order I got it - New Mexico. She witnessed me writing this final state name and said ‘ Oh yes - New Mexico - that’s one of the new ones - I think they joined about 5 years or so ago’.
   Priceless! But…. I wonder how many English schoolkids could put the county of Rutland on the English map with any degree of accuracy.

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