Geography Guide--help me understand

[tollhousemom]

I have a question about the geography guide that I hope makes sense and isn't just because I've overlooked something obvious.

With the strong focus on historical exploration, discovery, map-making, etc. are students also learning about current political & physical geography of the world, and current world cultures? If so, how is this accomplished? And how detailed is the study of locations of countries, major cities, physical features, etc.?

Thanks!

[glperky]

Thanks for asking some great questions. Looking forward to some answers.

[LynnH]

I haven't done this guide yet so I can't answer most of your questions, but current world cultures is covered in the 1/2 credit of World Religions and Cultures.

[Carrie]

I only have a few minutes right now, but I wanted to pop-in and answer your question. First off, it is important to know that there are many different facets of geography that can be emphasized in a high-school level geography course. Most high school geography programs hone in on a few main areas, rather than trying to focus on all facets of geography. This is why you'll see some geography courses labeled as Physical Geography, some courses labeled as Cultural Geography, others labeled World Geography, and still others having a totally different title.

Our particular World Geography course, when paired with our World Religion & Culture's course, actually hits many more facets of world geography than most courses. The benefit of this approach is that the students get a much fuller geography experience and can apply what they are learning in various contexts in the years following the geography guide. This makes the geography year a wonderful foundation for the coming years of history study in HOD.

Here is the course description for the World Geography guide:
Course Description:
This World Geography course provides students with a chronological overview of geography based upon the history of exploration, discovery, and mapmaking, starting with ancient cultures and ending with the exploration of the polar regions. As part of this course, students examine archaeological reconstructions and maps of places from the past; study the routes and discoveries of famous explorers; become familiar with various people, places, environments, and cultures; learn about methods and tools geographers use in research; and locate ancient, archaeological, architectural, natural, and technological wonders. Students also create a map of the world from memory to gain geographic knowledge as they retell the history of mapmaking, starting with the cartography of Greece and ending with the mapping of Antarctica. Students earn one full credit in World Geography upon completion of this course.

As you can see by looking at the course description, we cover many facets of geography that you listed in your opening post. Honestly, after having my oldest son (who is a senior this year) do this course when he was a freshman, I have been thrilled with what he has demonstrated that he knows about geography as he's journeyed through the rest of his high school studies. Students exiting the program will consistently apply the knowledge they've learned and retained in the World Geography course in the day-to-day, rather than memorizing and forgetting vast quantities of information.

I had a geography course in both high school and again in college that required me to memorize the location of every country in the world! I also had to know all the provinces, regions, etc. within each country. As soon as the test was over, I forgot the information. Neither did memorizing all of that info. give me any understanding of world geography. Simply knowing "what was where" gave me no feeling for what those places were or the people who lived there. History is the connecting bridge to remembering about places, and physical landscapes, and landmarks, and cultures. So, our World Geography course takes this into account. Students will exit the program being able to map the world. They will not know every country, province, or region. They will understand the flow of how and when each part of the world was discovered and read about the landscape and landmarks and people of those regions. They will remember the places because the people and the history bring them to life.

Blessings,
Carrie

[tollhousemom]

Thank you for taking time to reply and to explain. It's very helpful!