It's interesting the lack of geographic knowledge that New Yorkers have of any area outside of the Northeast. (Not that my knowledge of the Northeast is top, but I have a bit better sense than what you are about to hear!)
One person, whom I work with, had a whole conversation with me about the devastation of hurricanes in Kansas. I tried to explain that there is actually no devastation caused by hurricanes in Kansas. We do, indeed, have tornadoes, and they do, indeed, cause destruction... but hurricanes and tornadoes are quite different. I am still unsure if he was just completely confused about the difference between hurricanes and tornadoes, or if he is confused about the location of Kansas compared to the paths of hurricanes.
Another person at my school, a substitute teacher and someone who's been working in the NYC DOE for over 20 years, was surprised to hear I moved from Kansas... At first, though, she thought I said Kentucky, twice. The only reason I believe she thought this was because she didn't actually remember Kansas was a state (I spoke very loudly and clearly, trust me). I explained to her that Kansas was in the Midwest. As a light bulb appeared to go on, she asked, "Oh! That's right by Ohio, right?" .... Ummm... Right, only about 600 miles apart from the Eastern side of Kansas and the Western side of Ohio... but close. Or Not.
I would have expected our 5th graders to come into 5th grade with the prior knowledge of the locations of the 50 states. I am surprisingly Wrong. Very Wrong. They have no knowledge of states at all. Some don't even understand that New York is a state in the United States. One actually thought California was Alabama (pictures to come soon). Ahhh, the work I have ahead of me of not only educated my students, but also the people I work with.
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