, PhD

LESSON 2
IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING CULTURE AND
GEOGRAPHY IN INTERMEDIATE LEVEL STUDENTS

OBJECTIVES:

 To express their thoughts on the importance of teaching culture and geography

 To make graphic organizers and other graphic representations showing their views in
teaching culture and geography.

CIVICS AND CULTURE

Children at early age can be oriented towards social responsibility to education. This kind of
education provides the pupils with the opportunities to develop awareness of the social realities
in the environment and gradually commit themselves to the common good-as they grow older and
they deepen their understanding of the nature of the common society where they belong.
Two important disciplines which have tremendous impact on the social understanding of pupil are
Civics and Culture. Civics, which is a form of citizenship education deals with the processes in
society; the rules for living peacefully in the community. Culture deals with the way of life of the
people.
Grade school pupils should be familiar with their environment so that they can success- fully
interact with the people around them, enabling them to become productive citizens. These tasks
are now becoming more complex considering the fact that a new global community is emerging.
Thus, the school should prepare the young not only for a role in the local community but for a role
in a larger global village.

What is cultural education?

Cultural education consists of the capacity for reflection. Children and also youngsters in cultural
education learn to reflect upon their own culture, culture of others and culture in general.
And this capacity for reflection is in principle trained in many different forms: it can be through
journalism for instance or through history but also through the arts. I think the arts are one of the
main forms of self-consciousness, cultural self-consciousness but also philosophy, science and
also lessons for example in citizenship.
All these forms of reflection together form what cultural education is and that also explains
immediately why it is so difficult because of course cultural self-consciousness within Europe is
incredibly diverse.
Teaching this to children is very important because it helps them to grow up and to function in a
culture which has not one clear identity ready for them.

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One of the reasons why cultural education is not at the moment let's say more or less one linear
continuous curriculum throughout primary and secondary education is because it has not been
conceived as one thing for a long time. That is exactly what we want to do through this ‘Culture
in the Mirror’ project. We want to demonstrate, to prove in a sense that different subjects such as
history, philosophy, the arts or journalism form in fact one single whole and they should be taught
as a whole.

How is it possible to relate cultural education to children's development?

Children between 5 and 7 years of age reflect upon themselves, absolutely but they do so mainly
imaginatively. Of course, most teachers notice intuitively because they tell those stories, they let
them play and that is where the self-reflection is. But if you want to really develop a curriculum in
self-reflection or cultural consciousness then you have to be aware of this and you can relate to
it.
Same thing for older children, starting from the age of 8 or 9. Their self-reflection becomes more
conceptual, more collective. The peer group becomes more important, etc. So I think that is the
kind of knowledge that teachers should require because it helps them to develop their cultural
education curriculum.
What is required to mainstream good quality cultural education across Europe's diverse school
curricula?
The first one is simply knowledge. Because one of the striking things about cultural education is
that there is an enormous lot of enthusiasm. People love to do it in general. Teachers are very
committed to what they do but there is strikingly little theoretical knowledge about for example
what culture is, about the developments in children that are relevant to culture. And that was one
of the main goals of the ‘Culture in the Mirror’ project: to develop this knowledge, make it available
for teachers and also for head teachers and policymakers.
The other thing, the second thing which is certainly as needed is insight in the specific
characteristics of European culture. We have to teach children in Belgium, in Italy, in Sweden that
insofar as they are part of a European culture, they are in fact universal, they are human beings
in general. Which means that the specific local cultures, Swedish traditions, Hungarian traditions,
etc. in a sense become more relative within this broader context.
This is also something that you have to learn. They are a little less important. They are little less
important than these basic human universal values. I think this is a typical aspect of European
culture which is very important to realize or to be aware of when you teach culture in a European
context.

The study of Civics and Culture can provide for the understanding of the following concepts:
1. Family. This is the first group to which the individual belongs. It is there where the individual
experiences many first encounters such as first relationships; encounter with the rules of
membership, first acceptance or rejection, etc. The family life of the individual determines, to a
large extent, the individual s community life. It is, thus, the foundation of every community, of
every society. This being so, the pupils should be made to understand the importance of their
families to themselves and to the community.

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2. Social Responsibilities. Every member of the community is expected to contribute to the
achievement of the common good. Students should understand that their behavior in the
community affects others, too.
3. Rights. Every person has a right. There are basic human rights the right to life, to freedom of
expression, to freedom of religion, to own property, etc. These rights are never absolute and are
always accompanied by responsibilities. Students should be taught their rights and also to respect
the rights of others. This includes, among others, respect for the right of the unborn child, the
rights of women, and the rights of the handicapped.
4. Needs. Everyone has basic needs. These are food, clothing, and shelter. It is the responsibility
of the community to ensure that these basic needs are responded to. Thus, the community makes
economic structures and activities that will help people address these needs
5. Leadership. Every group needs a leader. This creates the need for a political structure he
community. This is the structure that will set the rules to maintain peace and order so that the
members of the community can do their activities. Through this structure, the community will
hopefully achieve its common goal.
6. Social group. Every person belongs to a social group; to their family, group of friends,
organization and associations. People in the community are classified into classes. Some are in
the higher class, some are in the middle and some are in the lower class. The lives or the people
in society are affected by the group or class where they belong.
7. Religion. People have their own religious beliefs. They group together to form their own
churches. Religion plays an important role in the life of the person and the community. Religion
affects the behavior of a person and of the com embers of the community. As such, it is an
important factor in the development of peoples history
8. Culture and Cultural Diversity. Culture is a shared behavior of the people in the community.
It is a way of living. It varies from one group to another because of the many factors that affect its
development. Respect for the culture of others is important particularly so today, with the
emergence of a global community where a meeting of the various cultures is inevitable.
9. Development. Every person and every country wants to achieve development. Development
is the concrete economic growth of the country expressed gross national income. In the
elementary level, a simplified way of defining and describing development may be presented. At
least, the pupils should understand the indicators or development in terms of social and economic
changes among the people.

Skill Development
Civics and Culture provide for the development of social skills among the pupils. Among these
skills are the following:
1. Decision-making. Imagine a person who cannot make a decision, or a group who can-
not come up with a consensus. Such situations are disastrous- they are prepared to make
serious decisions when the time comes to the individual and to the group. Decision making
1s a skill that can be developed early enough among the pupils so that they are prepared
make serious decisions when the time comes. This skill is developed by exposing the
children to various situations involving decision-making in the home, among friends, in the
community. They should be given the chance to make good choices. For instance, they

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 may be given a chance to choose their own leaders, to express their side on some real
class or life situations, to make decisions on some theoretical situations.

2. Coping with Crisis. There are many crises which affect even the children. Therefore,
they should be prepared for these, too. Their innocence make them victims of these crises.
According to Schickedanz, et, al( Schickedanz: 1990) Some potential experiences can
be prepared for, at least to a degree, by using a technique called crisis proofing. Crisis
proofing seeks to arm the child against a crisis by providing a mild, diluted form of
experience before a serious crisis occurs. One example of such advance crisis proofing
is having an ambulance visit a school so that the children can see what is inside. When
the children are prepared, they experience less anxiety during the crisis itself.

3. Socializing. When the children understand their environment, they tend to accept it more
and are able to relate within it better. The socialization skill enables the pupils to relate
with the people around them, participate better in activities requiring group effort.

Values
Civics and Culture are power tools in values formation among the children. As they study the way
of life in their own local environment and those of others, they necessarily become the values and
value systems of peoples. The content and the processes involved in studying the way of life of
the people provide the pupils with opportunities for the formation of individual and group values.

Importance of Teaching Children Geography

This entry was posted in Teaching Children on November 30, 2016 by Child ventures.
Fundamentally, just as it is necessary to know the alphabet for reading, or multiplication tables
for arithmetic, it is also necessary to learn geography to know where places are, and also some
facts about those places so you can tell why they are different.

5 THINGS CHILDREN CAN LEARN FROM GEOGRAPHY LESSONS

Geography, History, and Civics are seldom taught in classrooms today, which a major concern is
considering the increasing focus on globalization and the world economy.
Future leaders who are oblivious of geographical knowledge will have a hard time analyzing world
events and making rational decisions, let alone understanding basic physical systems of everyday
life, like implications of the solar system on climate, water cycles, ocean currents, etc.

Geography Helps You Understand Your Own Country

Studying geography gives you knowledge about different places on earth and how they relate
with each other. Usually, you start by learning about your home community, region, country,
continent, and so on as you gain more experience.

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When it comes to your country, you can expect to learn about:

Citizenship
Geography knowledge makes you become a better citizen. Learning geography allows you to
identify and appreciate important events and national and international policies; make better and
informed decisions regarding the best use of national resources; and ask relevant questions about
policies that optimize the landscape and land use. A more informed citizen makes for a better
leader.

Economics
There is a close relation between economics and geography with regard to the level of
industrialization or energy production; transportation networks and the applications of technology;
the location of natural resources; and many other factors that influence trade patterns and the
economy of the country and region.

History
Learning geography allows you to identify and appreciate important clues of your nation’s history,
including the influence of landforms and climate on land use, the rise and fall of civilizations, and
migration patterns, among other things. Knowing the history of the landscape helps you
understand the transformation processes that have taken place.

The Environment
Geography also covers the relationship between human beings and the environment, and how
natural systems work. Geographers conduct research to identify the role of environmental factors
on population behavior, and ways in which social processes such as population growth and
technological advances affect the environment. These matters are critical for formulating
environmental policies for global conservation.

Geography Helps You Understand The World

Geography also gives you the tools to gain an understanding of international matters, multicultural
concerns, and environmental matters. You learn to read maps, interpret local and global
information, and understand international networks for trade and other things.
All this information allows you to integrate multiple concepts from humanities, social science, and
science, and apply critical thinking to dealing with current issues at the local, national, and
international level. But it starts with allocating some hours or days per week for the study of
different geographical aspects in the education system.

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WHY IS GEOGRAPHY IMPORTANT?
Up until the early part of the 20th century, geography mattered in education. It was an expectation
for all educated citizens in our country to learn geography. Geography was specifically taught as
one of the four core subjects: reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography. There was a reason for
this. As early as 1776, founders of our nation including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
understood the value of learning geography; it was practical and useful, and should be taught to
instill a national identity. The new citizens of America should learn geography to understand how
and where they fit into the new nation and within the world.
Even though educating our children about geography should remain important, it has slowly
disappeared from the focus of teaching. Students, however, still need to understand how and
where they fit into our nation and within the world. Geography IS important.

Create Awareness of Place

Studying geography creates an awareness of place. Just like our founding fathers identified,
understanding geography instills an identity of the American place. Shouldn’t everyone know what
states neighbor their own? How and where to find the 9/11 Memorials? Where important cities
are like Miami, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Boston, or Seattle? The names of the countries that
border us? The importance of Washington, DC?
More importantly, understanding geography helps us make sense of current and historical events,
whether of economic, political, or social importance. We become better critical thinkers knowing
this information. Geography pervades just about every aspect of our lives!

Develop Non-Fiction Reading Skills

Studying geography develops non-fiction reading skills. Geography uses complex visual
representations such as maps, pictures, charts, and graphs that must be interpreted depending
on the purpose. Students of geography must use higher order thinking skills to analyze and
synthesize information. Studying geography also naturally develops a working knowledge of how
to read and process non-fiction text features since those features are woven throughout all
aspects of the content. Finally, studying geography builds important vocabulary and background
knowledge about our country and world too. If you want to build non-fiction reading skills,
geography is a great resource.

Develop Spatial Awareness

Studying geography develops better spatial awareness. It is important to learn map sense and
globe-reading skills yet these activities are virtually gone from education today. Could your
students point north if you asked them? Could they look at a map and identify the location of our
continents and oceans without the help of technology? Would your students know how to find
their way home or to the next state without a GPS? By studying geography and mapping skills,
we foster the development of spatial awareness and also create the link to understanding the
effectiveness of key spatial geographic systems such as GPS. How will we improve on these
technologies without another generation of students who understand how our world is structured?

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Create a Global Community
Studying geography creates a global citizen. Those who know geography better understand the
interdependence of our world and how we are connected through location, place, movement,
region, and human-environment interactions. Think about it. As we develop our understanding of
the important themes of geography, we also help build awareness for cultural diversity–how and
why people live the way they do. Students need to understand this information in our global
society.
Geography was and is still very important. And even though it may not be a part of your testing
cycle, there are so many valuable reasons why integrating geography into your classroom is
important.

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