COCHRAN & DODD INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE GEOGRAPHY LITERACY

2006 National Geographic Study Showed 48 Percent of Respondents Couldn't Locate Mississippi

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) today introduced the Teaching Geography Is Fundamental Act (S.749), which would authorize competitive grants through the Department of Education to improve K-12 geography curriculum, teacher training and materials.  
         
“Recent studies have underscored the need to convey to young people the value of maintaining strong geography skills.  Geography literacy is essential to outfitting our citizenry for success in the 21st Century,”Cochran said.  “Today, Americans must be equipped to function in a global marketplace.  In order to communicate and succeed in economic and diplomatic spheres, our young people must have a firm grasp on our relationship to people and places across the globe.”
 
“In the increasingly competitive and interconnected global marketplace, it is essential that we provide our nation’s youth with the tools they need to succeed,” said Dodd.  “Every student’s arsenal of knowledge should include a solid understanding of America’s place in the world and our connections to the other people and places that share it with us.”
 
Gil Grosvenor, chairman of the National Geographic Society’s board of trustees and its Education Foundation said, “The Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act is a timely bill that will help American education keep pace with a shrinking world, a competitive global economy, environmental issues, challenging international conflicts and a rich new tapestry of cultures in our communities. Our children — and our country — will truly benefit from the support being provided by the many co-sponsors of this bill in the Senate.”
 
A 2006 study by National Geographic and Roper Public Affairs found that a significant number of Americans ages 18 to 24 lack basic global knowledge.  Of the respondents polled, only 40 percent were able to point out Iraq on a map of the Middle East and almost half could not locate India on a map of Asia.  On a map of the United States, one third could not find Louisiana and 48 percent were unable to identify Mississippi.

Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) is an orginal cosponsor to S.749, which has been referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
 

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