World geography classes are about more than location and topography.
It's been ages since I took World Geography in high school as an elective, but it was one of my favorite classes.
We were expected to look at a map with just outlines on it, and put in the names of the countries, the continents, the names of the oceans and the seas, major mountain chains, major rivers, major lakes, etc.
For the countries we studied, we were expected to know the language spoken, the capitol city, the principle exports -- I can't remember whether we had to identify the flag but I think so. Certainly my own kids had to learn to identify flags of other nations in their World Civilisation class.
Flags are pretty. Furthermore, many students come from other countries, including China and Mexico. So why not fly the flag of those countries, along with the Union Jack, the Canadian maple leaf flag, and various flags from other countries, just to add color and visual interest?
Our school system encourages students to dress in the native garb of their country of origin one day a year -- I always told mine to wear blue jeans and a T-shirt, but that's because their ancestry is English, French, Scottish, Irish, German, Croatian and Native American. |
