One in ten British children can't find the UK on a map...

[Gregz]

One in ten British children can't find the UK on a map... (and 5 per cent think we share a border with the U.S.)

By Daily Mail Reporter

More than three-quarters of British children have been abroad - but one in 10 cannot find the UK on a map. A study of 1,000 children between the ages of six and 10 also revealed that 41% of them did not know that the UK is in Europe.

They found that 78% of the children had been abroad, 48% going to Spain by the age of 10 and 42% to France. However, 45% could not find Spain on a map and 36% were unable to identify the location of France.

The USA was the third most popular holiday destination, with 19% of those surveyed having crossed the pond - but 42% did not know where it was, and 5% believing it shared a border with the UK.

The children performed better when asked to find countries outside of Europe, with 78% correctly identifying Australia, while 73% knew where Russia was. Perhaps explaining their lack of knowledge when it comes to geography, 24% of the children said they did not know what an atlas was. Heathrow has installed giant globes in its terminals in time for the Easter holidays to help children locate their destination - and maybe that of the UK.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1qz3DoF9z

[Ambrosio Spinola]

"British" Vibrants?

[Ignatz]

Why do six year old children need to know this?

[von Sternberg]

Black schoolboys underachieving because 'academic success is seen as gay'

[Anarch]

Originally Posted by Felix the Cat

Why do six year old children need to know this?

When I was six and a half years old I knew the capital of Madagascar was Antananarivo.

It's not that children need to know this. But it sure as hell says something about society when kids who're old enough to go to school don't even know what continent their country is part of.

[Squalus]

Originally Posted by Anarch

When I was six and a half years old I knew the capital of Madagascar was Antananarivo.

Anarch has just won the debate Bet you could spell it properly too, right?

I think you're quite a bit brighter than the average Australian (or Brit) though. You can't realistically use yourself as a model for what average schoolkids ought to be capable of.

Originally Posted by Anarch

It's not that children need to know this. But it sure as hell says something about society when kids who're old enough to go to school don't even know what continent their country is part of.

Certainly by the time they're about seven or eight they should know this, IMO.

[Jack Black]

Originally Posted by Felix the Cat

Why do six year old children need to know this?

Before I ever sat at a desk in school (6 years) I knew most of the stuff in the adult Encyclopaedia my mother bought, including all the capitals of the world.

My parents would make a game of it most nights. What's the capital of so-and-so? When did the Romans invade?

On that first day at my desk (the first year of school we were allowed to just mess about with puzzles, paint etc.) I had an argument with the teacher. She said the Romans first invaded in AD 43. I said they invaded in 55BC.

She told me off. The next day she apologised on the QT (the Romans invaded for real in 43AD but Julius Caesar got here first) but told me never to disagree with her in front of the class again.

Anyway, if the parents are conscientious enough to do the right thing by their children, kids can learn a lot early on and, most importantly, can be suffused with the desire to learn.

Those were the days when mothers were encouraged to stay at home with their kids, of course.

Everything's different now in PC dumb-the-b*ggers-down World.