Raise your hand if you know where I am...

Okay, I've just read the results of the National Geographic 2006 survey, which measures geographical knowledge of people within different countries, and the US has once again scored dismally low. No, make that, appallingly low. Click on the title above to see the article.

Some of the most frightening highlights from the survey of 18-24 year olds in America:
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.

Fewer than three in 10 think it important to know the locations of countries in the news and just 14 percent believe speaking another language is a necessary skill.

On the positive side, the study noted, seven in 10 young Americans correctly located China on a map, even though they had a number of misconceptions about that country.

(I highlighted this bc I thought it was funny that they highlighted this as positive considering that given the sheer size of China on a map, you got a 50% chance of hitting it with your eyes closed!)

Okay, who doesn't know that Louisiana is the state shaped like boot??? Who could miss that one? And after Katrina, it didn't occur to 33% of people between 18-24 that they had no idea where it was that all this mess was taking place?

Okay, ranting aside though, this does raise some interesting questions. Like IS it really important to know the physical location of a country on a map, without being able to look for the name? And what about speaking a second language? Well... honestly? Yes and no. No because if you want to know the physical location of a country, you can type it in to google and find out... But YES, it's still important. Both of these things are important so that people gain a better general awareness about the world around us. What happens in our country every single day, affects people in every corner of the globe, every minute of the day. That alone, to me, means that we have an absolute responsibility to know a lot about the world around us. The reverse however, that events outside America directly affect us everyday, is not always true (in the immediate sense, in the long run, they absolutely do, but often we fail to see the connection). This may very well be, why we don't get a better grasp on these things. However, that has already begun to change, and continues to change to the detriment of those who fail to get a better grasp on what is truly taking place outside of our country. In Malaysia, the average person speaks 2 to 3 languages, and most of my friends are studying a 4th, just because. This is actually becoming the norm, not the exception. English is seen as a universal language in almost every country in the world. that means people who want to work in business, economics, academics of any kind, government, anything that deals with people from abroad, have no choice but to learn English. In major urban centers, us mono-lingual Americans will get by if we visit, or even live in a foreign country. But where we don't get by is in our competitiveness for jobs. A candidate who is bi-lingual in a multinational, government job, and in some regions of the country, like my former home, a candidate for any job, even one at Burger King, who is bi-lingual is going to win out over someone who is not. That alone should make us more cognizant of the fact that learning another language should be considered a vital skill. I love my country, I do, but our basic education system has to change if people want to stay competitive with the rest of the world. We not only have to teach things like geography, we have to teach kids WHY it's important to know these things, and how it's relevant to their lives. Yes, folks, it's not an MBA, but it's important.

And another thing...

Well, I'll get to that tomorrow...