Why, In Some High Schools, Is Geography Not Seen As An Important Subject?

Discussion in 'Education & Learning' started by Silvia Benoit, Nov 27, 2020.

  1. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    All it takes is to have a great passion for teaching as opposed to those who just seem to be there to take care of someone else’s kids.
    I had a professor in seminary that was very similar to the teacher you are describing. He also traveled extensively and among his many degrees, he had a degree in archaeology so all of his lectures really brought the Bible to life.
     
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  2. Silvia Benoit

    Silvia Benoit Veteran Member
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    Columbus was from Genova...today part of Italy and "worked" for the Spanish crown...but this is not the most important. No, what counts is that many History teachers didn't' / don't know Leif Erickson, a Norse, discovered what we know today as "The New World" about 500 years before CC. See, if people look at the map the possibility of such achievement is evident....
     
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  3. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    There are relics that show that Europeans were here long before that. There are signs of ancient European settlements on Newfoundland.
     
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  4. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Or that Christopher Columbus never set foot on what was to become the continental United States.
     
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  5. Silvia Benoit

    Silvia Benoit Veteran Member
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    Indeed. In La Pampa (central Argentina) archeologists found samples (stones) written in runic (Danish alphabet).
     
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  6. Silvia Benoit

    Silvia Benoit Veteran Member
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    Exactly. The first Spaniard to set foot on the Continental US was Juan Ponce de León.
     
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  7. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    or perhaps that the Phoenicians were here in the 1st millennium B.C. long before Leif?
    The point I was trying to make about Columbus is that I doubt if anyone cares any longer about where he originated or who financed his journeys hence the ??’s.
    As far as I know, the school system just doesn’t teach it and the possibility is that a majority of teachers do not know it either. There are some lights to be lit up with today’s youth but very few know where the switch is and even if they know where it is, they do not know how to work it. In other words, how can the unknowing teach those who are willing to learn?
     
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  8. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Yes, and he might have also accompanied Columbus on his 2nd voyage to the “West Indies” in 1493.

    Whilst going to school in Florida in the early 60’s I found that Florida history, not U.S. history was mandatory. The basics of U.S. history were naturally covered but Florida was mighty proud of it’s own history so I learned, begrudgingly but I learned. I mean, there was so much more to learn about the Louisiana purchase but noooooo......gotta study about Florida, Ponce, the Seminoles and come to think of it, why isn’t there a Juan Ponce de Leon, Florida?
     
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  9. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    There is a Ponce De Leon, Florida.
     
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  10. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    In all my school years I was never interested in geography but I did the required assignments. Watching movies got me interested in geography and the history of cities, countries, continents, etc. Reading the Bible too.
     
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  11. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    I’m going to have to consult with the grand cartographer, “google” for that one. There are a lot of streets, counties and such bearing the Ponce or de Leon moniker but I’ve never heard of a city with that name.
    Okay......off to google.

    Yup, you’re mostly right Beth.....Holmes county, a “town” with a population of around 600. Kinda like “who done it” Iowa, pop. 6. Uh....,don’t look it up, it no longer exists.
     
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    Last edited: Nov 29, 2020
  12. Silvia Benoit

    Silvia Benoit Veteran Member
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    Because the one with the most power decides what goes and what doesn't ....Anyway, Florida has the oldest US city: San Agustine.
     
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  13. Silvia Benoit

    Silvia Benoit Veteran Member
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    Regardless of "" how old" is the event or under which government it took place...its importance rests on how said event changed humanity. Additionally, any l teacher who doesn't know these "small pieces of info." shouldn't be teaching...specially those who don't see the relationship between the different subjects.
    Trust me, the kids recognize / appreciate those teachers with knowledge "outside" their areas of certification.
     
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  14. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Yup, lived there for about 6 months.
     
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  15. James Hintze

    James Hintze Very Well-Known Member
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    The wiki article (L'Anse aux Meadows) is good about the settlement in Nova Scotia; well worth a visit. Over my career Medieval Germanic language studies) I've argued with others who didn't agree, but I'm convinced that Columbus knew about the Norse settlements in Greenland and Canada, although the latter was history during his time.
     
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