Africa is a CONTINENT--Yikes!

[nova mama]

I will share from a letter to parents from "The First Grade Team" at DS6's school:

 

"Your child will be boarding the pretend 'Holiday Express,' beginning on Monday, December 15 to December 18. He/she will be traveling to Japan, Africa (!!), India, Mexico, and many other exciting countries!"

 

Oh dear. The four of us (DS and DDs) are actually memorizing all the nations of Africa right now. So fortunately, DS knows that it is a continent. I'm sure that once the classes get into the activities, the teachers will clarify, right? Surely all the teachers know better? It was probably just easier than writing "traveling to Japan, India, Mexico, and the continent of Africa," right? But why couldn't they just name the African country they're visiting? It's not as if all African countries celebrate the same holidays, or all in the same way. I guess I'm asking whether I should say anything to the teacher or just let it go. *sigh*

Edited December 10, 2008 by nova mama
changed one word, added three

[stripe]

So many people talk like this, even sometimes naming CITIES, as in "We'll travel to Paris, Berlin, Sydney, Beijing, and...Africa!" It is really hard to point out that this is idiotic, but I salute you for at least wanting to. Maybe if your child has a particular country of interest and starts talking about Egypt, Mali, Somalia, or Botswana, it might make a dent, but probably not. Alas.

[BabyBre]

I guess I'm asking whether I should say anything to the teacher or just let it go. *sigh*

 

 

Feeling your pain.

 

I'd let it go. I can't see anyone completing a higher education degree without knowing that Africa is a continent, not a country. Surely it's a typo.

[Barb_]

You know, considering the choice of places to visit on their world tour, it seems they are more concerned with multicultural correctness than Geography. Notice it wasn't Egypt, Korea, and Denmark :lol:

 

So it stands to reason that if Geography wasn't foremost in the mind of the person typing up the handout, substituting with word "country" for "culture" was probably an honest mistake.

 

Barb

[Hillary in KS]

Wow. I'm kind of surprised that New Mexico wasn't included on their list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KIDDING! I'm kidding. :)

[Hannah]

While I was travellling, someone asked me if I knew their friend in Kenya....because she's also white. I guess we'd be the only two on the continent then. It would have been hilarious if I did know her!

 

A friend recently flew to the USA and overheard the people (Americans by their accents) behind her discussing whether Poland was another name for the North Pole. They decided that it was!!

[Laura Corin]

. I guess I'm asking whether I should say anything to the teacher or just let it go. *sigh*

 

"What fun! What countries in Africa will you be concentrating on?"

 

Laura

[Guest Lorna]

This morning the BBC here in the UK were discussing the postal system and a new scheme to get postmen walking faster. It was called 'Pegasus'. The interviewer and interviewee agreed it had something to do with wings on heels; the other presenter interrupted and said 'No, that's Achilles' and then finally someone came in with, 'No, you mean Mercury'.

I wouldn't mind if I overheard this in the supermarket, but these are supposedly crème de la crème of the UK's intellects and we trust them to discuss and pick apart the most important issues in the news, including education. They frequently talk about billions when they mean millions and it isn't even corrected - as if it really doesn't matter, 'all it means is a big number, right?'

[SquirrellyMama]

This reminds me of when i was in college. I would get so nervous before my Spanish oral exams. In one class I had an oral exam at midterm and then again during finals. One question he asked was the same each time. He asked which classes i liked and I would answer with a history or geography class saying that we learned about all sorts of countries including Africa. I knew better but I was so nervous. I did it both times and each time he chuckled and said, "I didn't know Africa was a country". I was so embarassed that I did it twice. I wanted to crawl into a hole.

 

I liked the suggestion by another poster of asking which African countries they are going to talk about.

 

Kelly

[Testimony]

Do they say that Egypt is not a part of Africa even though it sits on the continent of Africa?

 

Why am I not surprise that this is how geography is taught.:crying:

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Lovedtodeath]

We just studied Africa. We studied Egypt, Morroco, Mali, Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, The Republic of Congo and Cameroon. DD is very proud of her geography knowledge. It was a lot of fun. Egypt was last and we were starting to get burnt out, we didn't do much with it at all.

 

Now we are starting on Asia. Asia is fascinating. I am learning so much. ;) There are 6 countries that are in Europe and Asia. How cool is that?

Edited December 11, 2008 by Lovedtodeath

[Laura in OH]

called Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight. The librarian, when she read the title, said "It's not?". :001_huh:

[Lovedtodeath]

It's the second largest continent in the world. How could people not know that there are many countries on it?

[cin]

Wow. I'm kind of surprised that New Mexico wasn't included on their list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KIDDING! I'm kidding. :)

 

[unsinkable]

This reminds me of when i was in college. I would get so nervous before my Spanish oral exams. In one class I had an oral exam at midterm and then again during finals. One question he asked was the same each time. He asked which classes i liked and I would answer with a history or geography class saying that we learned about all sorts of countries including Africa. I knew better but I was so nervous. I did it both times and each time he chuckled and said, "I didn't know Africa was a country". I was so embarassed that I did it twice. I wanted to crawl into a hole.

 

I liked the suggestion by another poster of asking which African countries they are going to talk about.

 

Kelly

 

OK, I apologize for the hijack...but your story reminds me of when I was in a college Spanish class and I brought my bl. Lab, Manny, in for show-n-tell. I talked about him in Spanish and I was graded both by the teacher and my classmates...one classmate gave me a D b/c "her dog doesn't listen to her."

 

But, Kelly, I also have been so embarassed and flustered that I keep repeating the same mistake. I felt like a record with a skip. It was awful.

[unsinkable]

"What fun! What countries in Africa will you be concentrating on?"

 

Laura

 

I think this is great advice.

[Lovedtodeath]

When I really think about it, I am pretty sure that when I was in grade school I was only really aware of very few countries. Spain, Portugal, Germany and France... That is about it. And France was because my Grandma is from there. The only exposure I got to other countries was learning where explorers came from. And that was later in grade school, not in K and 1st.

[nova mama]

Thanks for the input everyone. I think asking about the specific country was a great suggestion. I meant to email the teacher about that, but my son and two first-grade classmates were talking about it after school today. I asked where they were "going" and their responses included Italy, England, and EGYPT. Yahoo! I've been wondering whether the handout was first printed 20 years ago and the school is just making copies every year. Either way, I'm THRILLED that the eduactors at my son's school do realize that Africa is not a country. Thanks again! Have a great weekend.

[ack25]

"What fun! What countries in Africa will you be concentrating on?"

 

Laura

 

I also think this is an excellent response. My ds's 1st grade teacher makes a lot of errors like this in her written communication. I hesitate to point them out as the easiest response would be to stop sending written information to the parents! So, now, I am determined to just enjoy the fact that the teacher communicates often!

[wide eyes & laughter]

We just studied Africa. We studied Egypt, Morroco, Mali, Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, The Republic of Congo and Cameroon. DD is very proud of her geography knowledge. It was a lot of fun. Egypt was last and we were starting to get burnt out, we didn't do much with it at all.

 

Now we are starting on Asia. Asia is fascinating. I am learning so much. ;) There are 6 countries that are in Europe and Asia. How cool is that?

 

Looking for a curriculum that will ignite my dc, too! TIA!

[Lovedtodeath]

Looking for a curriculum that will ignite my dc, too! TIA!

 

I made my own. We are learning about animals in the area too. There is an example linked in my signature. I can't get my blog to work so if you want a copy of the rest I can email it to you. When we start a continent or country I go to the library and get everything I can in the Jr. section. Picture books have been our favorites, but I also search the beginner and easy reader and the non-fiction section. I would have to say that the art and activity book along with picture books is the main part of what we do that fires DD up.

[wide eyes & laughter]

I've gotten so entrenched in thinking I need a curriculum for every subject - at least a "spine". Thanks for the links and great idea. We have an excellent library system for implementing....

 

Thanks!

Cheryl

[Lovedtodeath]

I actually bought several spines that we don't use, but it did help me to plan it. I just put the search term in subject and the name of the country or continent, or if I want something specific, I put in animals Europe, for example. We really loved Elizabeti books about Tanzania and I lost my tooth in Africa. DD still says these are her favorites. She really likes doing the notebooking pages too. post #17, 18 at this link

[wide eyes & laughter]

I so need inspiration to get my dc going in geography! Thanks for sharing what you've done w/your dc. I love seeing examples :D

 

Cheryl

[TracyR]

Doesn't surprise me. Once on Jay Leno they did a skit where they went out in public and asked people questions on the spot to see what they would say.

They came upon a woman who was a 5th grade English teacher. Before knowing that though they asked her what the word alfresco meant. She had no clue. That right there scared me knowing she was an English teacher. Even I knew that it meant to dine outside.

So no it doesn't surprise me that your child's teacher called Africa a country.

[Christy B]

While I was travellling, someone asked me if I knew their friend in Kenya....because she's also white. I guess we'd be the only two on the continent then. It would have been hilarious if I did know her!

 

A friend recently flew to the USA and overheard the people (Americans by their accents) behind her discussing whether Poland was another name for the North Pole. They decided that it was!!

 

Okay, I just have to share this almost completely unrelated experience:

 

When we lived in Virginia, we had the most lovely family in our church. They were natives of Zambia, here in the states to earn advanced degrees (in law, I believe) with a goal of returning to some sort of government work in Zambia. Lovely, lovely dear family, and we became quite attached to them. They had to move from our little valley closer to DC, just before we left VA and moved to NC. This was, oh, about eight years ago.

 

Fast forward to summer of 2008. A lovely family moves to our new hometown in NC and they start attending our church there. Their accents sound familiar . . . we ask where they are from. Sure enough, they're from Zambia. "Oh, we knew another lovely family from Zambia . . . here in the states for law study . . . " You see where this is going . . .

 

Yup. They were friends FROM ZAMBIA. These two families knew each other. In fact, they keep in touch on a regular basis.

 

We were just floored -- seriously, what are the odds?!?!

 

. . . . it's a small world after all . . . it's a small world after all . . .

[pqr]

Alas, it is not only unfamiliarity with Africa. The number of people who do not realize that the Soviet Union has collapsed and fractured into numerous nations is staggering. Trying to explain that places like Kyrgyzstan are independent and then trying to explain where they are located is a guaranteed means of raising blood pressure.

We have used the game "Flags of the World" to great effect with the children

[OnTheBrink]

I took my dd to a symphony concert especially for children. We were in an ocean of public school kids. The conductor of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra was explaining something to the audience (I don't remember what exactly) and she said something about "Africa, the very very large country on the other side of the world!"

 

I said, aloud, "No it isn't. It's a very very large CONTINENT." The two teachers sitting in front of me turned and gave me the :confused: look. LOL *sigh*