As a teen, instead of posters of bands like Bon Jovi and Duran Duran I had dozens of National Geographic maps on my bedroom walls. This love of geography has been passed down to the children, if I can gauge by their enthusiasm for MCP's Map Skills book. We pull out the globe and atlas almost daily, especially during history reading. I am sure that the older ones know exactly where the US is, as well as the 7 continents, and the 4 oceans. All I can say is that if Miss Upton was a honor student and a future college student it doesn't say much about academic excellence in today's public schools.
"After being stumped by a Miss Teen USA pageant question on live television Friday night, Lauren Caitlin Upton's confused, mangled response has been drawing a lot of attention.
The 18-year-old got a chance to redeem herself Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show when she was again asked why one-fifth of Americans can't locate the U.S. on a map.
...her previous response included "U.S. Americans" and mentions of South Africa and "the Iraq."
... many (have) harsh remarks for the Lexington High School graduate who plans to attend Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.
Upton's former principal Creig Tyler remembered her as a well-rounded student.
"She took college-prep and honors courses and performed well," Tyler told The (Columbia) State newspaper. "
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4 comments:
I can't believe the lack of understanding for a nervous girl on stage. Of course, given the chance to blog it, for example, she could get her head straight and not be distracted by the lights, camera and audience; she could correct her typos while wiping the pb & j and smeared chocolate off her Bible. Too many bloggers give themselves way too much credit for intelligence.
You are entitled to your opinion, a I am to mine. However, the question itself, "Why can only 1/5th of Americans locate the US on a world map?" proves my point. I am using this event to criticize the school system, not an individual who perhaps did get flustered.
Public schools fail children in many ways, the longer they are in them the worse off they are in comparison with the rest of the world's children. Most college freshmen require remedial classes, teaching ideas and facts they should have learned in the previous 12 years.
I am certainly no Einstein, just an average mom who wants better for her children. Currently I am learning history, Latin, and phonics alongside my children - all things I didn't learn in public school, college, or grad school!
You're right. I think one of the most powerful arguments for homeschooling, as we parents consider it in an ongoing way, is the fact that our own traditional-school educations are so full of the most shocking gaps. Part of why I love homeschooling is that it's giving me another chance at actually learning the stuff I was just getting A's on without remembering, in my own school days.
Homeschooling is an affront to liberty. The only reason your children seem to be excelling is because of your authoritarian rule in the home. When you eliminate their ability to grow and develop normally, they will have nothing to do but conform to your tyrannical whims.
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