Geography Standards
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A MESSAGE FROM GILBERT M. GROSVENOR, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY.
It is my pleasure to present Xpeditions to the teachers, students, and families, studying geography worldwide on the Web. National Geographic has a long history of bringing the world into our living rooms using images, text, and television specials. We are delighted to continue providing access to the world, and everything in it, over the Internet.
A MESSAGE FROM ROGER DOWNS, AUTHOR OF GEOGRAPHY FOR LIFE.
The U.S. National Geography Standards were published in Washington, D.C., on October 20, 1994. They appeared at a time of great optimism and great controversy over the concept of national standards for K-12 education.
As the writing coordinator for the standards project, I am pleased to say that the National Geography Standards are alive and well today. We were and still are optimistic. The vast majority of states have incorporated parts or all of the 18 geography standards into their state standards. The main document, Geography for Life, has sold nearly 100,000 copies, and the executive summary has sold nearly 30,000 copies. Textbooks have incorporated the standards into lesson plans and exercises.
We have come a long way to ensuring that geography in America will be "well-taught and well-learned." That goal of the National Geographic Society will be advanced by the appearance of the standards in this online version.
As geography educators, we had a vision in mind as we wrote the standards. We believed in the power and beauty of geography. We wanted to help students to see, understand, and appreciate the web of relationships between people, places, and environments. We see geography in the world that is nearby and around the corner; we see geography in the world at large, the global economy and global environment. The standards capture that vision, but it is people—teachers, parents, community members—who can make this vision come alive. We welcome your help in creating a generation of students who are geographically informed.