Don't disagree with any of this. I, you, other geographers, understand all that you have written, empathise with it, and relate to the conclusions. Trouble is - the 'world out there' only thinks of Geography as that identified on the tv programme 'Pointless'. People know what History is... Science is... Maths is... even psychology..., but when it comes to Geography people revert to a simple notion of countries, capitals and oxbow lakes. Geography has to stop this navel gazing and seek to identify a simple and relatable 'reason to exist'. In the USA, the battle is lost - it doesn't feature widely on the curriculum - and can we see the outcome of that in the current administration!; we're in danger of the same here. We have to headline something on the lines of Geography is about 'understanding where we live, and where others live and how we all interact'. On the day of David Attenborough's 100th birthday - we know everyone around the world loves what he does, where he goes, and marvel at the images associated with him on the television. People want this, there is a demand for it, but it annoys me so much when geographers try to over-analyse what we can bring to young minds. Rant over - sorry!
Another useful post Mark- there's a good graphicacy diagram in my biography entry for Balchin in my GA Presidents blog project: https://gapresidents.blogspot.com/2020/07/1971-professor-w-g-v-balchin.html
A really interesting read - thank you!
A very thorough anwer Mark. It reads almost like a national curriculum framework!
Don't disagree with any of this. I, you, other geographers, understand all that you have written, empathise with it, and relate to the conclusions. Trouble is - the 'world out there' only thinks of Geography as that identified on the tv programme 'Pointless'. People know what History is... Science is... Maths is... even psychology..., but when it comes to Geography people revert to a simple notion of countries, capitals and oxbow lakes. Geography has to stop this navel gazing and seek to identify a simple and relatable 'reason to exist'. In the USA, the battle is lost - it doesn't feature widely on the curriculum - and can we see the outcome of that in the current administration!; we're in danger of the same here. We have to headline something on the lines of Geography is about 'understanding where we live, and where others live and how we all interact'. On the day of David Attenborough's 100th birthday - we know everyone around the world loves what he does, where he goes, and marvel at the images associated with him on the television. People want this, there is a demand for it, but it annoys me so much when geographers try to over-analyse what we can bring to young minds. Rant over - sorry!