In an ever-changing world, teaching geography can be difficult.
"As a teacher, it's frustrating," Westside High School's Patrick Martin said of the constant changes in borders and names.
He said teachers must rely heavily on the Internet and other outside resources to keep pace.
Memorie Stelter, another Westside teacher, also turns to online resources in her geography classes. She can pull up a map on her computer and project it on the wall for her students.
"It is a challenge," said Garrett Smith, the chairman of the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Kennesaw State University and the director of the Georgia Geographic Alliance. "Here the textbooks have to be revised every three or four years because of all the name changes and all the border changes."
If Chechnya breaks away from Russia, mapmakers must plot the new borders and assign new colors for each country in the region, said Harry Trendell, an associate professor of geography at Kennesaw.
"As soon as that happens, it makes all of the maps in the world obsolete," said Dr. Trendell, who serves as a public engagement coordinator for the geographic alliance.
Teachers and professors continue to use textbooks and traditional paper maps, but digital maps and the Internet have become popular resources.
To keep up on the latest changes in the world's geography, Dr. Trendell subscribed to weekly e-mail alerts through About.com.
Geography isn't mandatory in Richmond County, but Mr. Martin said Westside is emphasizing the subject. About 16 percent of the Georgia High School Graduation Test covers geography.
"Even though it's not required, we feel it's important to give them a fighting chance," he said. "We've seen a slight increase (on test scores) in the years we've had a high emphasis on geography."
Mrs. Stelter has been using geography to show students how America's economy affects those of other parts of the world.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
Of course all of the changes are challenging, but why should that be frustrating. European countries are always coming and going and boundaries have changed every couple of years since maps were kept. African countries act the same way. The internet should make contending with this anomaly easier, not more frustrating.
Why is it teachers are always whining and moaning about something? Nothing is ever right and like churches they always need "a little more".
Someone recently asked me where I was from originally. When told The Netherlands she asked me how long it takes to drive there.....
: ) >>> @>> mgroothsnd
iletuknow I would love to see you try to manage a classroom and one tenth of the workload a teacher has to handle DAILY. Like many in our society, you are clueless about the passion and stamina it takes to be a teacher.
That didn't look like a map of Canada. It looked like North America.
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