Learning geography vital to students
To the Editor:
I want to extend a hearty congratulation to Dallas Simons, the MLK Magnet School 7th grader who placed second in the recent National Geographic Bee. I had the pleasure of meeting young Dallas at the state Geographic Bee in April where I was a judge. He won that competition to go to the nationals.
This is a great accomplishment for Mr. Simons, MLK Magnet and geography in the state of Tennessee.
Geography generally takes a back seat to the Spelling Bee competition as far as media coverage goes. Simons's success in geography is important news because everyone knows dictionaries and spell checker computer programs are ubiquitous in our society.
However, the ''geography checker'' does not exist. There is no quick and easy access to answers concerning peoples, places and events. It takes hard work in the study of our planet to get there. We've seen over the past two years a greater need for an understanding of our world, especially in our war on terrorism.
Let's hope the success of Mr. Simons spreads to others in our state and country. I believe there is a greater need for geographic education in our K-12 curriculum, especially in light of the fact that a recent National Geographic Society survey found that nearly every other country in the survey knew more about the world than we did.
I ask you: How can our nation's youth be expected to lead the world into the 21st century when it doesn't know where the rest of the world is?
Keith Bell
Gallatin 37066