Teaching about the world, and the broad field of geographic education, must become a required element of teacher preparation programs. (Thornton,1990).

Why is Geography not taught more? Research has shown that:

Teachers rely on their own background knowledge as they decide what to teach and how. (Thornton, 1990).

What a teacher knows and does not know about a subject influences what the teacher includes in the curriculum.(Wilson,et al,

1988)..

Elementary teachers especially see the social studies curriculum as mostly dates and facts to be learned. (Stodolsky, 1988).

The school day and administration put social studies on the back burner as core subjects are given more importance then social studies, which becomes “covered” rather then taught. (Stodolsky ,1988).

Travel, Learn, Teach Creating a Sustainable Future

Teachers and Travel: Making Geographic ConnectionsShari Solberg-Ayers

Kyrene de la Mariposa School

References

The Fulbright Hays grant program has given more than 96,000 Americans the opportunity to travel abroad each year since 1961.

National Research Council Findings (2006):- the Fulbright Hays program is needed due

to pervasive lack of knowledge about foreign cultures and languages in the U.S., a threat to security and global competitiveness. - U.S. students tend to understand less about the beliefs, culture, and history of other nations than their foreign counterparts. - more support is needed for K-12 teaching of area studies and foreign languages. - a Presidentially appointed person should oversee foreign language and international education to provide direction and coordinate with other federal agencies - Only 10% of U.S. College students were enrolled in foreign languages in 2002.

“The U.S. educational system places little emphasis on speaking other languages than English and on understanding culture other than one’s own” (O’Connell), 2007).

1. Annan, Kofi, (November 27, 2001). Intolerance Is Taught and Can Be Untaught, Institute of International Education.

2. Barbieri, AF, Bilsborrow, RE, Pan, WK. (2005). Farm household lifecycles and land use in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Population and Environment ,  27( 1), 1-27.

3.  Buckley, Ralf. (2001). Book Review: Securing the Wet Tropics? Society and Natural Resources, 14, 725–735.

4. Mainville, J. Webb, M. Lucotte, R. Davidson, O. Betancourt, , E. Cueva, D. Mergler. (2006). Decrease of soil fertility and release of mercury following deforestation in the Andean Amazon, Napo River Valley, Ecuador. Science of the Total Environment ,36 (8), 88– 98.

5. Dersch, Eckhart. (2001). Book Review of Feeding the World: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century, by Vaclav Smil (2000). Society and Natural Resources, 14, 725–735.

6. Dirgha J. Ghimire, Paul Mohai. (2005). Environmentalism and Contraceptive Use: How people in less developed settings approach environmental issues. Population and Environment. 27(1); 1-34.

7. Itano, Nicole. (2008). As Tourism Booms, A Push for New Models and In Nearly Enclosed Sea, Untreated Sewage. Sea Under Siege: The Mediterranean.The Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 17, 2008.

8. Kagan, Sharon Lynn and Stewart, Vivien. (2004). Putting the World into World-Class Education: Introduction. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(3), 195-198 .

9.  MacFarland, C. and M. Cifuentes. (1996). Case Study: Galapagos, Ecuador. Human Population, Biodiversity and Protected Areas: Science and Policy Issues. 135-188.

10.O’Connell, Mary Ellen, and Janet Norwood. (2007). International Education and Foreign Languages: Keys to Securing America’s Future. Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press

11.Suárez-Orozco, Marcelo M. (2005). Rethinking Education In the Global Era. Phi Delta Kappan, 87(3), 209-212.

12.Stodolsky, S. S. (1988). The subject matters: Classroom activity in math and social studies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

13.Thornton, Stephen J. & R. Neill Wenger. (1990). Geography Curriculum and Instruction in Three Fourth-Grade Classrooms. The Elementary School Journal, 90 (5), 515-531.

14. Walker, RT, EFMoran, L.Anselin. (2000). Deforestation and cattle ranching in the Brazilian Amazon: External Capital and Household Process. World Development 28(4), 683-99.

15. Wilson, SM, SS Wineburg. (1988). Peering into history from different lenses: The role of disciplinary perspectives in the teaching of American history. Teachers College Record. 89, 525-539.

In looking at deforestation, conservationists (World Heritage) thought the economics of logging could be replaced by the tourism sector. This turned out to be true, as tourism brought in at least ten times as much revenue as logging had done. (Buckley, 2001)

In the Galapagos Islands the tourist industry has been helpful and brought a lot of interest to the area, but as in many places, the infrastructure is not in place to handle the high numbers of people and their needs.(MacFarland, 1996).

"The Mediterranean is really a place that is used, that is sometimes abused, and for which there is not a lot of concern or support by the rest of the world."(Itano, 2008).

Deforestation research in the Amazon proposes a link between soil erosion, deforestation and the leaching of mercury into the fish supply. Volcanic ash soils have high levels of mercury, and a parallel study has shown high levels of mercury in certain fish species. (Mainville, 2006).

The rainforest region in northern Ecuador, one of the areas of highest biodiversity in the world, has patterns of clearing that are different than the Brazilian models. (Barbieri, et al, 2005)

People living in dire circumstances in LDC’s, specifically Nepal, showed that with education about environmental issues comes a change in behavior, even to having fewer children. (Dirgha et al, 2005).

Creating a sustainable future for our children and the children of the world means becoming a cooperative, caring planet, where people work together and teach empathy and tolerance for others. (Dersch, 2001)

Teachers need to help students make meaningful geographic connections in their studies. By learning about the world themselves they will feel more excited about what they are teaching and will make those connections easily.

International exchange is the contemporary currency, offering people a new way to think and bringing different groups together, often helping to dissolve misunderstandings and misperceptions. (Suarez-Orozco, 2005),

“There appear to be no insurmountable biophysical reasons why we could not feed humanity in decades to come while at the same time easing the burden that modern agriculture puts on the biosphere”. (Dersch,2001)

Teacher Preparation Teaching Human and Physical Geography

“Indeed, without reorienting education, successfully confronting issues like water and climate change, among many others, will not be possible. Moreover, introducing sustainable development issues into all areas of education will help to make education more relevant. Engaging students and learners in contemporary questions related to development brings education closer to life and enhances the learning experience by stimulating motivation and interest.” (UNESCO , page 1, website)

Chart 1: Infant Mortality Rate, 1980 and 1998 (deaths per 1,000 live births)

World Bank

“We live in a truly global age. To solve most of the major problems facing our country today — from wiping out terrorism to minimizing global environmental problems to eliminating the scourge of AIDS — will require every young person to learn more about other regions & cultures”, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, (Kagan,2004)

Kofi Annan “No one is born intolerant but people learn intolerance from experiences they’ve had… It is far easier to teach tolerance at a young age through experiences and education, which help them become open minded....It is important that we build understanding between cultures at the individual level and through international exchanges contributions are made to societies by assisting schools and communities…. People can and should take pride in their particular faith or heritage, but we can cherish what we are, without hating what we are not…” (Annan, 2001)

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