When I was in high school we had a foreign exchange student from France. We were going to take a trip, just a long weekend type thing, from our home in Dallas. We asked if there was anything in particular he wanted to see while he was here and he said "Carlsbad Caverns and the Statue of Liberty".

"If the man Shane described had been Caucasian, would Shane have told the story "I had a very nice white guy...""

Perhaps if Shane was black he may have included race in the description w.r.t. discussing a white guy.

I'm white as are most of my friends, and if I'm talking to them about people they don't know and they are of a different race/nationality sometimes I'll describe them as such just to add some more descriptive terms...nothing implicit about it. I assume people of other races do the same thing. Just a few days ago my fiancee was talking about a ride on the subway where an "Asian" couple got into a huge argument with each other and almost got into a fight...while telling me about it she mentioned that they were Asian --had nothing to do with the argument and I'm sure she wasn't implying that Asian people are prone to argue, it was just an added description to the story. If the couple were white she probably wouldn't have mentioned that they were white, as white people our natural inclination is to have assumed that (some people might find that in itself racist, whatever, as Avenue Q tells us "everyone is a little bit racist"). People need to relax.

Anyway, biggest travel misconception I've seen is that New York is such a dangerous city. I feel more comfortably walking around anytime here than I did in my parents' hometown of 40,000 people.

Agreed, Marilyn.
It is a bad habit that I have been guilty of... we should all be more aware.
Where I find it is crazy that the local evening news will not say someones race when they are describing a criminal at large. They'll say 5'10, brown hair, brown eyes, heavy set BUT they won't say his race. Very stupid!
Anyway... I don't want to drag this post down. Sorry.

Don't get all worked up. He was a friend. And for his lack of geographic skills, I blame the Trenton, New Jersey school system wher he grew up, and the teacher's unions as well, especially the misnamed National Education Association.

In fairness, an older woman friend of my mothers' who is white can not grasp the concept of an ethnic group called Indians living on the continent of Asia.

This reminds me of the time friends from Italy came here to the Bay Area from Italy. Their first visit to the U.S. After about 2 days we were discussing plans for the next day. When I asked what they would like to do one friend said "lets go to Lake Tahoe in the morning and San Diego in the afternoon. That was toooooo funny!

Why most of the americans assume I'm a russian only because I was born there? The former soviet union has over 100 nationalities, and this fact is an eye-opener (literally!) for my co-workers, doesn't matter the age, race, or education.

FainaAgain, When you say "the americans" you are saying you are not American. It sounds like someone living in another country would call us. BTW since when was the entire Soviet Union only composed of Russia??? Who's that dumb!

Patrick, after reading your post I just had to respond. You may or may not know that the St. Johns river in Florida does indeed flow from south to north. But do you know why?

Its because Georgia sucks!!!! Sorry could not resist. By the way all you Georgia folks, its just a joke. Go Gators.

gmoney, I heard that joke 25 years ago about the Mississippi River flowing from Minnesota to Iowa!

JJ5 - we live in Massachusetts. And kids have always had social studies as part of their curriculum- even in kindergarten. Our school likes to "spiral" its curriculum whenever possible. This means that they touch on the same subjects in each grade but the topics get progressively more challenging and broader with each year. In math the 2nd graders get a tiny little exposure to algebra and again in the 3rd but a little more and so on and so on. So with geography, the kids may focus on cute little maps of their classroom when in kindegarten. By 6th grade, its full blown, all out, name every state capital, river, desert, mountain range, and available natural resources type of geography.

Our school participates in the National Geographic Geography Bee each year also. One year my daughter won by answering the question - Name a river that has its origins in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in northern Massachusetts? She had a puzzled look on her face, then got a big smile and answered correctly "The Merrimack River." Why was she smiling? Because she looked out the window of her school and saw that very river flowing by down in the valley. Sometimes its better to be lucky than smart!

Your daughter was smart.

My son, on the other hand, answered "Florida" when asked what the southernmost state was! And he had even BEEN to Hawaii! He came home and sorta banged his head against the wall in frustration. (I think his teacher did, too -- he was a star pupil when not burdened by stage fright! This was a class where, like bennie's kids', they were learning state capitals etc.)

I think the southernmost state is Alabama. Hawaii? are they nuts?

I find it amusing that when NJ family members visit the burbs of NYC they must pack an overnight bag because they are going to "the country". When I visit them, it is considered a day trip!

Shaz60, I have observed many social studies teacher frantically preparing 5th graders for the November assessment. You are correct, high-stakes testing does diminish valuable learning opportunies for students and frustrates teachers in the process.

So, what's clearly needed is high-stakes testing in geography! Perhaps we can make a case based on promoting national security, there's lots of money for that!

Just curious -...........

Do you think all of us Lovers of travel know our geography better than most because we love to look at maps of where we would like to go, read lots of books on our wish lists of places to visit, etc...?
I am also a map nerd and when I was little I always won the Geography Bee! I find it fascinating!!

Hi anne, given the evidence above, I think everybody on this board must know more geography than average!

I also find myself wondering whether childhood geography/social studies lessons make one more interested in travel, or at least more open to it, as an adult. My kids (now teens) had lots of geography, and are much better-equipped to make sense of everything from current events to vacation planning, compared to neighbors their age, who did not have geography (we moved here a couple of years ago).

I have a very smart friend who went to a prestigious NYC high school, Harvard, and top 10 law school (law review, to boot). She could not tell you where the states were in the middle of the country - she had the West Coast states, and most of the East Coast states, but beyond that, they were a jumble of "I states" (i.e., states that begin with "I").

Another story: my husband's family is from Egypt, and my husband has travelled there often (but I have not). I never knew that the Pyramids were right next to Cairo - I thought tourists had to travel a couple of hours into the desert to get to the Pyramids. In my defense, the National Geographic and geography textbooks never showed a picture with both the city and the Pyramids in them, only the Pyramids alone. But, still, I felt quite foolish when I learned otherwise.

In our district, geography is very much part of the core curriculum.

In Kindergarten & grade 1, it is discussed on the most basic level - the self and families, both current and long ago.

In grade 2, students explore their community and others within the U.S.

In grade 3, students study communities around the world.

In grade 4, the emphasis is placed on local history and local government.

Grade 5, is a biggie in geography with the emphasis on the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

Finally, grade 6, the Eastern Hemisphere.

Regardless of the 'stage fright' lots of kids experience while particpating in those geography bees :), they are more equiped (or I would like to think) and able to understand relationships that exist in our global society. It is a much different learning experience than when I was a kid in elementary school.

Now map reading skills is a whole other story...!

If any of you want to have a "fun time" with friends try this.
Give everyone a piece of paper and pen and ask them to list all 50 states in the USA. You can put a time limit on this or let it go until one person has listed all 50 states or however you want to do.
Think you will be surprised how few people can list all 50 states. No matter what their education is, their occupation, their travel experience etc.
Of course, this has to be among friends, perhaps over a glass of wine.
I have done this serveral times (and not one to pull out cards, gameboards etc.).
We always end up going "oh no, I can't believe I am so ignorant" and "how could I forget Nebraska, I have a cousin who lives there" and on and on.
It really is fun.

It's not unusual for us - we're Canadians from Toronto - to meet otherwise intelligent and reasonably educated people in the US and elsewhere who believe that we have snow all year round and that everybody speaks French rather than English. Some (perhaps less intelligent or educated) have asked if we live in igloos, and remark on the fact that our English is pretty good - we don't even sound foreign! A number of travellers arrive at Toronto International Airport every year during the summer months with heavy jackets and sweaters, and are shocked to discover that it's actually hot in July.