Students wonder where in the world is Carmen Pacific?
by Derrick Ayres, Reporter

    Young adult Americans are finding themselves lost without even leaving their own living rooms.
    An article concerning National Geographic's 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey, which analyzed the general geographic knowledge of 18- to 24-year-old students from nine industrialized nations, revealed that the United States was ranked the lowest in almost every category of the study.
    In fact, almost 30 percent of the American participants failed to identify the Pacific Ocean, which is not only the world's largest body of water, but also the westernmost natural border of the United States of America.
    Perhaps even more surprising, the results indicated 11 percent of the American students polled could not locate the United States on a world map, and more Americans knew last spring's Survivor series was filmed in the South Pacific than could point out Israel on a map.
    But this lack of knowledge cannot be blamed on television.
    Even with all of the news coverage of the United States' recent involvement with various countries of the world (Iraq, the war on terrorism), nearly 83 percent of the Americans could not find Afghanistan on the world map.
    Moreover, the survey determined that American students were least likely to know that the Taliban and al Qaeda terrorism networks were both based in Afghanistan.
    "The lack of knowledge about world events and geography is disturbing," a TCC developmental instructor said. "These are the future leaders of the free world."
    Who could tolerate a president who could not discern India from Pakistan? Who would trust an investor who does not know the countries that use the euro from those that use rubles, bahts, or yen?
    "If our young people can't find places on a map and lack awareness of current events, how can they understand the world's cultural, economic and natural resource issues?" John Fahey, National Geographic Society president, said.
    The TCC instructor said, "I could not believe what I was reading. I know that most college degrees don't require world geography credits, but this is frightening."
    When asked, the instructor agreed to survey a sample of developmental students to see how they fared in comparison to the American students involved in the National Geographic study.
    The results showed that the TCC students answered fewer questions concerning populations of countries or world events correctly.
    For example, just over 14 percent of the TCC developmental students knew that the U.S. population is between 150 million and 300 million people, while 25 percent of those involved in the survey were aware of the U.S. population.
    Overall, the TCC students were 10 to 20 percent less likely to answer questions accurately.
    However, the TCC sample did fare better on several questions targeted at locating foreign countries or knowledge of world religion.
    In fact, the TCC students were 28 percent more precise when pointing out Afghanistan on the map than their National Geographic study counterparts.
    "I am pleased that my students were able to locate Afghanistan on the map, but I wish they were more knowledgeable of current events," the instructor said.
    Several different variables were determined to have factored into the results of the National GeographicÕs 2002 Global Literacy Survey, including international travel, educational experience (such as studies in foreign languages and social studies) and use of various media.
    Most notably, the survey indicated that students who had used the Internet within 30 days of the survey fared 65 percent better than participants who had not recently logged on.
    "Geographic literacy is more important than ever and is vital to the understanding of global events and cultures," the TCC instructor said.
    What is being done to combat the general lack of knowledge and interest in the world? National Geographic has responded by planning an international organization of education, policy and business leaders to help generate more interest in world geography.
    Early delegates to the coalition include the American Federation of Teachers, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Markle Foundation and the National Education Association.
    Furthermore, the National Geographic Society is accepting donations from individuals to help fund the fight against "geographic ignorance."