It's a rainy day in the neighborhood and I decide to duck into a nearby diner for the soup du jour. A regular for some years at this establishment, I know the owner, the handful of employees and a part-timer or two by name.
As I take a seat at the counter, extend greetings to the proprietor and glance at the door, a man carrying a small boy enters. After carefully arranging the child and his toys in a seat adjacent, he orders their lunches, then spends several minutes playing quietly with the boy.
My soup arrives, and after the first bite, I hear the man, a British expat, tell the waitress that he is going back to Europe for a visit. She, a high school graduate, responds, "Oh wow...Is Europe in England?"
I see the dimmest smile begin to creep across his face...as he says with a wink:
"Well, not all of it, only the best bit."
Methinks our high schools need to re-tool their geography curricula, assuming they still teach that...
What do you think?
6 comments:
The situation hasn’t changed at all. But that expat had a sense of humor.
Speaking as a geography challenged person I don't have much room to talk. But I know which are countries and which are continents! Except Australia which is both.
So does this one
I had to work hard not to laugh. I have always loved geography but it is hard to interest kids in the subject unless they have been somewhere, and sadly, many haven't.
I feel quite sad reading this. Basic geography, cultivating curiosity, should be an essential for students. He handled it well.
XO
WWW
It's only become worse.
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