Our own Danny Edelson, vice president for education at the National Geographic Society, recently authored an op-ed for Education Week. In his commentary, Edelson makes the case that restoring geographic education in the K-12 curriculum is necessary to prepare the current generation of students for an increasingly globalized world. Read the full text article, titled “Geography and Generation G.” What do you think of the … Continue reading Preparing ‘Generation G’
In January, President Obama appointed the young superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, Arne Duncan, to be the next United States Secretary of Education. (Well, I’d call him young; we are very nearly the same age and I’d feel pretty youthful to be heading the US educational system.) Although never a teacher, Duncan is an experienced administrator and he embodies Barack Obama’s educational goals. What does his appointment mean for Geography education?
First off, Duncan would not likely have gotten much geography in college at Harvard. While he made it to be co-captain of the varsity basketball team, his Ivy League alma mater doesn’t even field a geography department. In fact, of all the Ivys, today only Dartmouth retains a geography program. This is a terrible situation for the country, since many of the emerging leaders who graduate from these august institutions are underexposed to the spatial perspective and tools.
However, Secretary Duncan does have a lot of hard-won experience about the importance of “space and place,” as geographers say. His senior thesis was based on research conducted in the Chicago inner-city Kenwood neighborhood. After college, he lived abroad and played ball in Australia. And, as past CEO of Chicago’s Public Schools, Duncan has an acute understanding of the import of where schools are placed, which communities they serve, and how geographic issues such as demographics, tax base, and racial distribution affect a school system.
A new President means new policy, and the Obama administration has hit the ground running. This week we highlight national education news that we hope President Obama will take into consideration, as well as featuring some exceptional work by individuals in the field. *After receiving a grant from the National Geographic Education Foundation, My Wonderful World Public Engagement Coordinator and University of Colorado (Colorado Springs) … Continue reading Five for Friday: Updates in Education
“Poll: 37% of Americans Unable to Locate America on a map of America,” reads the headline of a recent Huffington Post article. Outrage followed on the article’s comment board with reactions that the statistic was, “simply unbelievable” and, “as big a problem to our national security as Iraq.” While the Editor’s Note at the top clearly states that the article was a satire (proving that … Continue reading Huffington Post Geography Satire All Too Real
As President-elect Obama continues with the pre-Inauguration transition process, selecting secretaries for every cabinet office under the sun, a few appointments stand out as particularly significant to those of us in the geography education community. One is Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; we’ll have more on him in coming weeks. Another of these executives, the one who will have particular influence on sun-related matters, is … Continue reading Climate Chronicles: Poznań Conference, Secretary Chu, and a Climate-controlled Beach
