Scary numbers: About 50 percent of our youth between the ages of 18-24 can't locate Louisiana on a map -- or many other states for that matter.
If there were more people with the skills, energy and dedication of Comstock High School history teacher Kimberly Adams, such statistics could be significantly improved.
Adams, who has been in her present position for the past two years, has been duly recognized. She has been selected by the National Council for Geographic Education as a recipient this year of the 2009 Distinguished Teacher Award. The honor goes to K-12 educators who have made extraordinary commitments to teaching geography.
Why the emphasis on the importance of competency in geography? Aren't the basic skills in reading, writing, math and science more important?
Perhaps, but that doesn't mean that geography should be on the back burner in classrooms. Adams argues that in an economy which has become global, geographic literacy is a big factor in getting a job and succeeding in it.
"Geography is truly a cross-disciplinary subject that allows you to teach so many things at once -- history, reading, anthropology, economics, physical sciences," Adams explained. "It motivates me to try to creatively implement these things together in ways that students confront them in the real world." Her view is compelling, and it makes sense.
Michigan requires a geography component in high school history classes, but the subject also can help drive home lessons in other disciplines, Adams said.
Traditional geography lessons, Adams remarked, stress learning by rote. An example is memorizing the states and their capital cities. Her argument is that such techniques should be accompanied by what she describes as putting that type of information into context. One way to do that is to use books by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss). An example is "The Lorax," a Seuss children's book first published in 1971. The work examines the effects of deforestation.
In September, Adams will attend the 2009 National Conference on Geography Education in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She will lead a workshop on integrating geography and language arts in K-12 classrooms.
Adams is also a teacher consultant with the Michigan Geographic Alliance, which supports programs like National Geographic's "giant traveling map," a touring teaching aid allowing elementary students to gain spatial understanding of the world by walking across large renditions of continents.
Adams is a 1994 graduate of Western Michigan University, where she also earned a master's degree. She formerly taught at Comstock Northeast Middle School and in the Kalamazoo Public Schools.
Many excellent teachers labor in the educational vineyards quietly and without special recognition. Kimberly Adams deserves congratulations for her work and for her award.