Geography isn’t just memorizing maps – it’s about cultural conflict and government, and, along with that, politics.
“Most people think of geography as location, location, location,” said Peggy Altoff, president-elect of the National Council for the Social Studies. “(But it also includes) ‘Why is it there? And why should we care?’ You’re going to be talking in some sense about politics.”
Critics of Overland High School teacher Jay Bennish, including Gov. Bill Owens, have questioned why he was talking politics in geography class. Bennish is on paid leave after a student made an audio recording of him comparing President Bush to Adolf Hitler and calling the United States the most violent nation on Earth.
“I would assume that if Mr. Bennish probably spent more time in differentiating Asia from Africa and from discussing the geographic complexities of the world, his students would probably be better off when it comes to geography and they wouldn’t run the risk of being indoctrinated with his ranting on George Bush,” Owens said on a radio show this week.
Geography educators said Tuesday that it’s impossible to teach the social sciences without politics, although they stressed the importance of presenting opposing sides.
The misconception is that geography class is where kids sit and memorize places and capitals, said Altoff, who is also the Colorado Springs school district’s curriculum coordinator for social studies. Some people forget about cultural geography – the human characteristics that shape government and social change.
Themes for Bennish’s “accelerated world geography” class include globalization of economy and culture, human rights, environment and religion, according to the course syllabus.
“You can’t teach geography without politics,” said Tim Oakes, a University of Colorado at Boulder geography professor. “It’s fundamental. They can’t be separated.”
Oakes teaches about globalization and how countries’ cultures change because of outside influences, from religious conflicts to the opening of an American staple such as McDonald’s. The European Union is a hot topic as students delve into the cultural definition of Europe and whether the EU is flexible enough to include Muslim culture.
Oakes said he is careful to lead a balanced discussion.
“You really have to set a tone from the beginning with your students in which everybody knows the atmosphere in your classroom is one of mutual respect,” he said. “If you can establish that tone, you can say just about anything and expect that people will recognize that what is being said is being said to recognize a broad range of views.”
Teachers shouldn’t get on a soapbox or opine incessantly, but even when they do, typical high school students are mature enough to sort out opinion from fact, said Marcie Taylor-Thoma, coordinator of social studies for Maryland schools.
“In reality, a high school kid doesn’t really care so much about what his high school teacher thinks,” she said.
In Maryland, geography curriculum includes critiques of the government on land use, gerrymandering and urban sprawl. The goal is to present it all from a balanced approach.
Bennish says he was engaging in “cognitive dissonance,” trying to stimulate class debate by taking one side of an argument.
Taylor-Thoma said she often played the role of devil’s advocate in class, but she switched sides to keep kids guessing.
“My kids would always try to guess which party I belonged to because that’s just what kids do,” she said. “They were as all over the place as they were with my age.”
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-820-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
