Mim posted a map of the US as seen by Californians. Oregon/Washington are vaguely displayed as “coffee,” anything east of there to the Great Lakes as Canada, etc. Having corrected my kids’ take on history after school a few times, I burst out laughing when I saw her post.
There was one memorable time, taking a walk around the neighborhood, when there were some teenagers hanging out together, and I smiled and wished them a good day. One of them, for whatever reason, suddenly piped up with, “Are you from around here?” (I think I need to walk more often! I’d only lived around the corner longer than he’d been alive!)
I put on my best Southern accent and asked him, “Do I *sound* like I’m from around here?”
“Where are you from?”
“Maryland.”
Clearly that was a head-scratcher for him, so I asked him, “Do you know where New York is? Washington, DC?” (Trying to gauge the depth of the education deprivation.)
Yes. Yes. Uh huh.
“Okay,” I told him. “When they were building Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia both donated land for it to be built on. During the Civil War, Virginia took theirs back.”
Throw a little extra at him with his geography lesson: US history did NOT start with the Gold Rush!
I’ve always wondered if that kid paid more attention to his country after that. Given how funny I thought the conversation was, and the fact that kids learn more when they’re cared about, I like to think I helped provide some positive motivation.