Poll: 1/3 of Youths Can't Find La. on Map

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer

Tue May 2, 4:33 PM ET

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Despite the wall-to-wall coverage of the damage from Hurricane Katrina, nearly one-third of young Americans recently polled couldn't locate Louisiana on a map and nearly half were unable to identify Mississippi.

Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 fared even worse with foreign locations: six in 10 couldn't find Iraq, according to a Roper poll conducted for National Geographic.

"Geographic illiteracy impacts our economic well-being, our relationships with other nations and the environment, and isolates us from the world," National Geographic president John Fahey said in announcing a program to help remedy the problem. It's hoping to enlist businesses, nonprofit groups and educators in a bid to improve geographic literacy.

Planned is a five-year, multimedia campaign called My Wonderful World that will target children 8 to 17. The goal is to motivate parents and educators to expand geographic offerings in school, at home and in their communities.

They will have their task cut out for them, judging by the results of the survey of 510 people interviewed in December and January.

Among the findings:

• One-third of respondents couldn't pinpoint Louisiana on a map and 48 percent were unable to locate Mississippi.

• Fewer than three in 10 think it important to know the locations of countries in the news and just 14 percent believe speaking another language is a necessary skill.

• Two-thirds didn't know that the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in October 2005 occurred in Pakistan.

• Six in 10 could not find Iraq on a map of the Middle East.

• While the outsourcing of jobs to India has been a major U.S. business story, 47 percent could not find the Indian subcontinent on a map of Asia.

• While Israeli-Palestinian strife has been in the news for the entire lives of the respondents, 75 percent were unable to locate Israel on a map of the Middle East.

• Nearly three-quarters incorrectly named English as the most widely spoken native language.

• Six in 10 did not know the border between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified in the world. Thirty percent thought the most heavily fortified border was between the United States and Mexico.

Joining in the effort to improve geographic knowledge will be the 4-H, American Federation of Teachers, Asia Society, Association of American Geographers, National Basketball Association, National Council of La Raza, National PTA, Smithsonian Institution and others.

"Geography exposes children and adults to diverse cultures, different ideas and the exchange of knowledge from around the world," said Anna Marie Weselak, president of the National PTA. "This campaign will help make sure our children get their geography — so they can become familiar with other cultures during their school years and move comfortably and confidently in a global economy as adults."

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On the Net:

National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.org

Oh Dear Lord

I guess the schools are not teaching Geography anymore?

My 5th and 6th grade Geography teacher Mrs. Synder was hardcore. We were given a blank map of the USA and had to fill in each state.

That's really sad.

Well, with all the time teachers now have to spend on standardized testing, no wonder some of these kids don't know where anything is.

When I started high school, every 9th grader was required to take World Geography.

That's crazy, it's the state that looks like a BOOT for crying out loud!!

I don't know if its because I'm close to the state - but I find it is one of the easier states to recognize. It is pretty unique looking.

I remember way back in the day having to fill in blank US maps too - even had to put in the capitals. The 2 states I always got mixed up was Mississippi and Alabama - but I knew Jackson and Montgomery were their capitals - and my favorite soap AMC has a character Jackson Montgomery - so I would remember the order of Mississippi and Alabama in that order whenever I looked at a map.

Still this is sad - I would understand maybe the little New England states - but not LA!

Nearly three-quarters incorrectly named English as the most widely spoken native language.

The correct order is: Chinese-Spanish-English-Arabian-Hindi-French-Portuguese-Bengali-Russian-Japanese-German

In school we had to learn ALL states in the world and their capitals. Africa was a tough job and I think I've forgotten most of them already, but the rest was quite simple. Even though I'm not from North America, I can name all states of the United States

Maybe they need to resurrect Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.

Maybe they need to resurrect Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.

haha, I'd be all for that! What a great show!

This all reminds me of watching Jay Leno's jay-walking bits. So many Americans know NOTHING. It amazes me. There people are going to run our country some day? Scary....

I really hope these maps were not labeled, because if they were...

When I was in 3rd grade, we were required to memorize all the states and their capitals. And then each one of us chose a state, wrote to the governor of the state, and requested information about it. I chose Pennsylvania.

I still remember all the state capitals and can name all of the states on a map. The only two I sometimes confuse are Colorado and Wyoming because they're both squares, but WY is above CO.

But for some reason, public schools stopped teaching geography. I remember that Massachusetts changed it when I was in 7th grade (6 years ago) because we were in the middle of geography class, and then suddenly it changed to Ancient History (which we had learned about the previous year). Then in 8th grade, we had US History (up to the Civil War), 9th-10th grade World History, 11th grade I had AP US History, and 12th grade AP European History.

It's really a shame. I'm a History/Spanish double major, and know absolutely nothing about anything outside of the US and Europe. The only times I've learned about Latin America is from my Spanish classes, and even though my concentration in History is American, I still have to take 6 classes outside my concentration (in at least two different fields).

The correct order is: Chinese-Spanish-English-Arabian-Hindi-French-Portuguese-Bengali-Russian-Japanese-German

That's crazy! I know 4 of those languages!! I didn't realize that Portuguese was that far up! I guess it's b/c it's the official language of Brazil.

It's absolutely crazy. I'm French and I'm sure every pupil know at least where is Louisiana and at least California or Texas. Though, it is not our country but some culture should be universally known.