Geography ?

[AnneBlessedx4]

would you think that a geography curriculum would have to be fairly recent to be effective? My to be senior is not going into a field where an exact knowledge of geography is necessary, this is more for general purposes.  I have the curriculum that my sons used but it is kind of old.  

[Julie of KY]

I personally wouldn't worry about using the same curriculum that I used in the past. How much has it really changed?

[AnneBlessedx4]

I was thinking that Yugoslavia, etc have changed a lot.

[Closeacademy]

If it's that old then yeah, I'd look into something newer.

[charlotteb]

I would say, for the most part, yes.  However if money is an issue, you could easily keep the same books, but you could print off some modification pages.  These could be updated with recent maps of Europe, Africa, etc. Most of the world hasn't changed so it could work. 

[AnneBlessedx4]

Good idea, Thank you.

[AggieMama]

Public schools use the same textbooks for 10 plus years.

[happypamama]

If it involves things that changed in our lifetime (USSR, Yugoslavia, etc.), I use that as an opportunity to talk about what I remember of the change happening.  So that's a plus.

 

I have current maps on the wall, so if the materials are otherwise good, I wouldn't worry about using them if they're slightly outdated.  It might depend on the focus of the materials though and how much you'd have to be correcting regularly.

[merylvdm]

I do think it is pointless to teach something that is wrong. And as Geography is ever-changing it does make it a challenge to teach. I have just been going through my homeschool material and actually threw out one of my favorite Geography books as I realized it was just too old now and too much has changed. I hate throwing books away but it really has no value now to anyone.

 

If you do use old curriculum you will need to point out whenever things have changed to your children. South Sudan is a country that is new so be sure to include that. And Czech Republic is now officially 'Czechia'. Even some capital cities have changed since I was in school. 

 

So - any Geography books are likely to be outdated quickly and one can't replace them each year - so you just have to try to figure out what is new. Digital curriculum and online classes should hopefully be keeping up better.

 

Fortunately, the cultures of countries don't change as rapidly as borders and country names do so that part usually stays the same at least!!

 

[RootAnn]

And Czech Republic is now officially 'Czechia'.

The Czech Republic is still the official long form name just like the Netherlands is the official long form name (vs Holland). While very few English speakers refer to the long form name of the French Republic or The People's Republic of China, it would still be perfectly acceptable to teach and label maps The Czech Republic. I might allow my kids to abbreviate "America" or "USA," but the long form name is still officially The United States of America.