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10 Nov 2011
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Time to ‘Speak Up for Geography’ Education
Added by USGIF Category: Daily Intelligence Brief, General
Our nation is facing a crisis in geography literacy. Young adults in the U.S. ranked at the bottom of recent geographic literacy surveys, and 63 percent of them cannot even locate Iraq on a map of the Middle East, according the National Geographic Society. And, we all know that geography education is vital in helping us grow the next-generation of GEOINTers who will be critical in keeping our nation remain competitive and be on the cutting-edge of innovation. To help overcome this massive challenge, the National Geographic Society is urging everyone to take part in the “Speak Up For Geography: The 10,000 Letter Challenge” public campaign.
Here’s the text of a recent email from the National Geographic Society:
You may not realize that our nation is facing a crisis in geographic literacy. American young adults rank at the bottom in geographic literacy surveys of the world’s most developed countries and 63% of them cannot locate Iraq on a map of the Middle East (Roper Poll, 2006). There is a shortage of job candidates with geospatial technology skills (U.S. Department of Labor, 2005). And, geography education is key for developing the knowledge and skills of the modern workforce (DiBiase, 2010).
So please join the public campaign “Speak Up For Geography: The 10,000 Letter Challenge”. As a leader in the geospatial industry, your support of geography education in K-12 schools is needed now more than ever.
The goal of the 10,000 Letter Challenge is simple: to send 10,000 letters to Congress in support of the bipartisan Teaching Geography is Fundamental (TGIF) Act by November 18, 2011. This date marks the ending of Geography Awareness Week 2011 and the last day of the Congressional session before the Thanksgiving recess. It’s easy to send letters to your Members of Congress at http://speakupforgeography.org.
For free downloads of 10,000 Letter Challenge resources–display ads, postcards, flyers, and a widget–go to https://sites.google.com/site/speakupforgeography/.
Show your support for geography education: Let Congress know that the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act is important to you. Ask others to join the Challenge by blogging, podcasting, and tweeting about SpeakUpForGeography.org. Post the widget on your website. Spread the message that the time to act is now!
We urge all GEOINTers to help meet the goal of sending 10,000 letters to Congress. Our future depends on it!
Tags: 000 letter challenge, 10, Geography Awareness Week 2011, GEOINT, geospatial intelligence, got geoint?, National Geographic Society, Speak Up for Geography, Teaching Geography Is Fundamental Act, USGIF
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