I must say, it was a lot cooler back then than it is when I see it now. I used to watch “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?” It was a popular kids gameshow in the early 1990’s.
Some TV shows even have a good bit of geography. You get to see the sights and the people, and maybe even learn about a certain political or cultural subject through a documentary.
You may learn about Vietnam or Japan, or even North Korea simply by watching a documentary. There are many documentaries that focus on certain places. Look these places up on Google Maps and you will learn a bit about the geography of Spain and the United Kingdom. (I am trying to sound cool, but I really call it soccer, like most Americans.) Real Madrid and Manchester United come to my mind immediately. Maybe you can look up some international futbol teams. (It is a close flight, but a bit of a drive if you are in a car.) You will also see that Chicago is not the capital of Illinois even though it is, by far, the largest city in the state. You will see how close Chicago is to some other major cities. If you look up “Wrigley Field, Chicago” on Google maps you will see that it is a very large city located near the southern tip of Lake Michigan. What about the Cubs? Chicago! My home team, the Jazz? Here in Salt Lake City.Ĭhicago is home of the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks, Bears, and the Fire.
Where do the Mariners play? In Seattle, of course.
and Canadian geography without even trying. If you are into major league sports like MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLS then you have learned U.S. There is no need to get a list of countries and memorize their capitals. When you simply do activities you will learn. There are many fun ways to learn geography. (Think “Turkey” and who was in “Turkey” way before the Turks.) Look up that word now and think how today’s geopolitical maps can make history confusing. In a later blog post I will cover anachronisms in history.
If you are more advanced you should be able to understand that place names really don’t accurately portray the full history of the place. As an American I am proud to know my 50 state capitals, landmarks from all over the country, and the different histories of many people of this great country. Finally you should understand you local geography and the geography of your own country. You should be able to connect countries and cities with famous landmarks such as the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Machu Picchu, The Golden Gate Bridge, and the Kremlin. You should know where the general area of the Roman Empire was located. You should be able to find (without using Google or Siri) places like Syria, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and the Horn of Africa, on a map for instance. What does having a good grasp of geography mean? It means you can hear of something on the world news and be able to know where in the world this event is happening.
Having a good grasp of geography is what I am talking about here. That is for cartographers (map makers), intelligence agencies, and geography teachers. Knowledge of geography does not mean EXPERTISE in geography. Most people know very little geography outside of the place they actually live. Geography is such an important part of knowing history.