Ginevra Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I plan to use Mapping the World with Art for my ten year old next year. She'll be in fifth grade and the final is to draw a map of the world free hand. :) I think it'll be a lot of fun. We just had a class on this in our co-op and I thought that was awesome! I plan to use it next year, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 And the tallest mountain is Mt McKinley (Denali) in Alaska or Mt Whitney in CA if one wants the continental US. (Yes, trivia.) The Ike one I can understand - esp if the person were younger. Perhaps less so if they were old enough to remember "Ike" as mentioned in the post. There are more and less academically inclined kids in every class, every age, every situation. This is true. However, those who are in "advanced" classes whether in ps or hs generally aren't those on the "less" scale. Learning disabilities are not an issue here. I just found this doing a seach for something else. I have a couple of comments. First, I'm not shocked. When I was growing up in the 1960s & 1970s we were continually shocked by the ignorance we found in world history, culture & geography in American schools because of all the amazing myths we heard about my home country (where I grew up) from Americans (even things like my country is not a free country, isn't a democracy, etc.) For any of you who don't know me here, this amazingly foreign country we found so many people, particularly kids ignorant of is..... (scroll down, don't want to give it away too soon.) Canada. Shocking, eh? Having lived in both countries I can say that even today amongst educated people there are some surprising myths that exist on both sides of the border about each other, although not necessarily as much about geography. I can honestly say that while I've known that Mt. McKinley is the tallest mountain in NORTH AMERICA :001_smile: since I was 14 and slept in a tent at the base of Mt. McKinley, I have no idea what the tallest mountain is in Canada, but will find out before I post this. Aha, it's Mt Logan which, incidentally, is the second highest peak in North Amerca. Who knew;)? I want to also state that as a mature 15 yo who loathed my geography teacher one year, I didn't learn this in social studies. I got an A in the history portion, and F in the geogprahy part (I didn't go to class or do any of the work or tests) and got a P for pass. However, I still managed to grow up knowing where the tallest mountain in the world was (Asia). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanie Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 This thread reminds me of my dds who were heard a commercial with Beethoven playing in it. They exclaimed, "Hey, this is Beethoven!" Their little friend from the local "elite private school" responds, "I thought Beethoven was a dog?" (From the movie, Beethoven, of course):lol: My girls just giggled.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 This thread reminds me of my dds who were heard a commercial with Beethoven playing in it. They exclaimed, "Hey, this is Beethoven!" Their little friend from the local "elite private school" responds, "I thought Beethoven was a dog?" (From the movie, Beethoven, of course):lol: My girls just giggled.... :lol::lol::lol: Just curious; how did this thread come to your attention today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossFitMama Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I knew someone who had just graduated from high school and was in a remedial college English course. He asked me to help proof his paper. I discovered that he didn't know what a question mark was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I do not know the OP or the son, and so am not directing this at them. It sounds to me like he and his friends were having fun, and I don't see a problem with that.... So - OP - not directed at you or anyone here... It just got me thinking.... I can't stand know-it-all kids.... and I really can't stand the parents that think their little genius is cute walking around quizzing everyone - including other adults. It is one of the most obnoxious behaviors I think a child can exhibit. I love shooting them down. I give them five minutes to ask me a question I don't know the answer to... and they never can. Usually shuts them up. We all have gaps in our knowledge. Many of the non-homeschoolers I know are quite shocked at the lack of science that is taught to hs'ed kids... . Not all hs kids, of course, but it is out there. I have met plenty of homeschoolers who have atrocious gaps in their knowledge as well. Education is what you make of it. I do think the PS system is not doing its job - and we live in a VERY well off area. NO issues with money here... and the kids are woefully under educated, IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeslieAnneLevine Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 This has been an interesting thread. I don't think the boy in the OP was rude at all. Ragging on eachother a bit is what kids that age do, at least his was enlightening. I am also fairly sure it was done good-naturedly. I doubt he did it the way Judge Judy corrects people's grammar. What bothers me most about this kind of ignorance is that so often people don't just say or think, "I don't know". They instead fill that empty space with some sort of nonsense and are convinced it's the truth. I was really annoyed one time at a museum in Paris (musee du Quai Branly for those who know Paris) where the Great Lakes were marked incorrectly. Lake Winnipeg was labeled Lake Superior! At a time when high-profile individuals are revising history and standing by their version no matter what, I don't think a 9th grader calling some of his friends out on Mt. Everest blowing its top in the U.S. is a bad thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emeraldjoy Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Well, I just asked my kids what the highest mountain in the US was and they all looked at me blankly. Oldest then said, "Mt. Rushmore." Oldest did know where Mt. Everest was though......because we just got back from Disney and rode Expedition Everest several times and read all the material in the museum part before the ride! ;-) I then asked where the Amazon Rain Forest was and my oldest said, "Africa." So, I guess you can make fun of my kids now too. I think this is an incredibly brave post that has sufficed to inspire me for the day; truly. Thanks. e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 IMy 17yo is considered 'a genius' by the kids at his high school. Believe me, he's not even close. He is just motivated to learn about science and history on his own! Doing anything outside of texting, facebook and gaming is considered positively geeky. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 Wow, interesting to see this thread come back to the top! A nice reminisce... And yes, to anyone reading the first page, then skipping to the last (not that ANY of us would ever do that, right? ;)), this was all good natured among a group of friends who like quizzing each other on detailed things - not a know it all situation. Kids were equally surprised that my guy didn't know what a Tic Tac was. (Santa brought him some for Christmas last year!) The reason this one stuck out for both of us is that we expect a "normal" 9th grader to know Mt Everest is not in the US. But hey, where there was a gap, there isn't now. ;) These guys and gals are doing a good job coming up with various questions and filling in gaps IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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