Geography in the School Curriculum

Abstract

The current national interest in educational reform, quickened by a series of reports on schooling during the past few years, has given us the first opportunity in a generation for real and fundamental reform in our schools. We should take advantage of this opportunity to improve the teaching of geography, especially in light of evidence suggesting that the proportion of seventh through twelfth graders enrolled in geography classes has dropped in recent years and that the academic preparation of many geography teachers in those grades could be strengthened. A number of encouraging new experiments are underway at the state and national levels. These experiments reflect a cooperative approach to the problems of the schools—including the problems of teaching geography—and involve higher education, business, and professional societies. Geography has a particularly important role to play in teaching the next generation about the nations of the Pacific Rim, which are an increasingly powerful economic, cultural, and political force in world affairs. More generally, this is a time of extraordinary opportunity for geographers to promote and advance the essential perspective geography brings to our schools.

Key Words:

• geographic education
• educational reform
• Pacific Rim