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Apparentely poor education is a worldwide phenomenon
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| occrider |
http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2003/06/19/48447.html
Only every second Briton knows Putin is Russian President
Almost half of the British - 45 percent - know that Vladimir Putin is the Russian president, said Alexander Oslon, head of the Public Opinion fund, commenting on Thursday on the polls simultaneously held in Russia and Great Britain.
The public opinion poll has been held on RIA Novosti initiative.
Fifty percent of the British found it hard to say who is the political leader in Russia.
Two percent of respondents said it is Mikhail Gorbachev or Boris Yeltsin.
Thirteen percent said Vladimir Putin is a good leader; 8 percent said he is good for Russia; 5 and 4 percent, respectively, said he is tough, honest and straightforward. At the same time, 4 percent said Putin is cautious and secretive.
Among the incumbent Russian president's qualities the British have cited purposefulness, vigour and good shape. |
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| Galapidate |
Another interesting fact, CNN did an analysis on the U.S. military and how well troops can locate certain countries. Only 13% knew where Afghanistan was on a map and like 17% knew the general region where they were fighting.
On another note, 45% of Americans know that the Sun is a star. |
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| eLe_vatE |
| quote: | Originally posted by Galapidate
On another note, 45% of Americans know that the Sun is a star.
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now the fact that only 45% of britons know putin is president of russia is bad, but that is a disgrace :p |
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| DrummeRaver86 |
We're all doomed!!!
And for those of you who know Invader Zim, we can sing the DOom Song!! woohoo!:D :D :D |
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| DrUg_Tit0 |
| Seriously, I don't know how the world is going to keep up the current pace of progress considering the fact that the next generation will be a lot less educated than the current one. The funny thing is that the world looks up to America to provide them with solutions to their problems even when those american solutions are worse than those of the rest of the world. For example, we still have the old-fashioned style of education here, and the moronic minister of education said we should ease up the program a bit to follow the current world trends and american standards. Damn it, it looks like whatever US does, half of the world follows without questioning. |
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| Galapidate |
| ^yeah, similarly to how 1/3 of all Americans will believe in what Bush says regardless of how bogus it may be. |
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| DrummeRaver86 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Galapidate
^yeah, similarly to how 1/3 of all Americans will believe in what Bush says regardless of how bogus it may be. |
That's just feckin wonderful. Pretty soon he'll be telling us to give him all our money, and 1/3rd of the country will be in the poorhouse before the day is out.:eek: |
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| LiquidX |
I posted this on the Chillout Forum.. fits a bit with the topic and the responses
| quote: | In a nation called the world's superpower, only 17 percent of young adults in the United States could find Afghanistan on a map, according to a new worldwide survey released today.
The young U.S. citizens received poor marks generally in geography. But then, as results showed, their counterparts in other countries were hardly star students.
The National Geographic–Roper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey polled more than 3,000 18- to 24-year-olds in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden and the United States.
John Fahey, President and CEO of the National Geographic Society, presented results of the The National Geographic–2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey, which polled more than 3,000 18- to-24-year-olds in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden and the United States.
Sweden scored highest; Mexico, lowest. The U.S. was next to last.
"The survey demonstrates the geographic illiteracy of the United States," said Robert Pastor, professor of International Relations at American University, in Washington, D.C. "The results are particularly appalling in light of September 11, which traumatized America and revealed that our destiny is connected to the rest of the world."
About 11 percent of young citizens of the U.S. couldn't even locate the U.S. on a map. The Pacific Ocean's location was a mystery to 29 percent; Japan, to 58 percent; France, to 65 percent; and the United Kingdom, to 69 percent.
Are Young U.S. Citizens Americentric?
Despite the threat of war in Iraq and the daily reports of suicide bombers in Israel, less than 15 percent of the young U.S. citizens could locate either country.
More young U.S. citizens in the study knew that the island featured in last season's TV show "Survivor" is in the South Pacific than could find Israel.
Particularly humiliating was that all countries were better able to identify the U.S. population than many young U.S. citizens. Within the U.S., almost one-third said that population was between one billion and two billion; the answer is 289 million.
"It gives the sense that there is this Americentric thing going on—that we are big and powerful and have all these people in our country," said John Fahey, President and CEO of the National Geographic Society.
On the other hand, Pastor suggests that the results could mean that most young Americans just have no idea of the total world population (about six billion).
Poor Geographic Literacy Worldwide
Young adults worldwide are not markedly more literate about geography than the Americans.
On average, fewer than 25 percent of young people worldwide could locate Israel on the map. Only about 20 percent could identify hotspots like Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.
Of all the young adults in the survey, only about one-third in Germany, Sweden and Japan, could name four countries that officially acknowledge having nuclear weapons. In the rest of the countries that number dropped to less than a quarter. In France 24 percent did not know that that their own country was a nuclear nation.
The survey results are not all bleak, says Roger Downs, head of the geography department at Pennsylvania State University, in State College, and a National Geographic geographer-in-residence in 1995-1996.
Geography Not Valued in Schools
Since the last Geographic-sponsored survey in 1988, said Downs, the percentage of young U.S. citizens who reported taking a geography course in school rose from 30 to 55 percent. And students who had studied geography did better on the current survey.
U.S. schools generally have slighted geography. "If geography is not in the curriculum," Downs said, "it's not tested—and that says to the students that it is not valued."
The schools are not solely to blame, either. "Wouldn't it be nice if parents also read atlases to their children?" Downs says.
Questions covering current events or practical activities yielded more promising results.
Most young U.S. citizens knew that Africa was most affected by the AIDS epidemic, and about half knew that El Niño caused erratic weather.
"When geography and life intersect, people pay attention," said Nick Boyon, senior vice president for international research at RoperASW, in Manhattan.
Boosting Geography
Geographic knowledge increases through travel and language proficiency, among other factors.
In the highest-scoring countries—Sweden, Germany and Italy—at least 70 percent of the young adults had traveled internationally in the last three years, and the majority spoke more than one language (in Sweden, 92 and 89 percent, respectively).
In the U.S. and Mexico only about 20 percent had traveled abroad during the same period and the majority spoke only one language.
To fight geographic ignorance, and apathy, among young people in the U.S. and around the world, the National Geographic Society will convene an international coalition of leaders in American business, education and media.
Next year the panel will recommend initiatives to policymakers in those areas—and to parents and children.
www.nationalgeographic.com |
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| DrUg_Tit0 |
| I think a new cold war needs to happen in order to distract people from their domestic issues and isolationism. |
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| DrummeRaver86 |
| quote: | Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0
I think a new cold war needs to happen in order to distract people from their domestic issues and isolationism. |
That would suck...... a lot. |
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| DrUg_Tit0 |
| quote: | Originally posted by DrummeRaver86
That would suck...... a lot. |
I don't think so. The cold war did much good in terms of education and scientific progress. In both blocks, fear of the other block ensured a society would support education since scientific progress was one of the things that could keep it on high ground compared to the other block. I think the current decline in education is the result of the fact that people no longer have the feeling that technology is offering them safety. |
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| Galapidate |
| quote: | Originally posted by DrUg_Tit0
I don't think so. The cold war did much good in terms of education and scientific progress. In both blocks, fear of the other block ensured a society would support education since scientific progress was one of the things that could keep it on high ground compared to the other block. I think the current decline in education is the result of the fact that people no longer have the feeling that technology is offering them safety. |
I actually think the current decline in education is because of the abundance of technology that we have today. Because of the small things, such as calculators, to the bigger ones, that are computers, people probably feel that they need to work less because their resources are right at the tips of their fingers. |
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