Beyond School

Reading a post by NJ Tech Teacher (we tweet) that aligned with the Traveler IQ test from the post below prompted me to post my own World 66 maps. A little more yuletide fluff.

I didn’t leave the US until the Army helped me escape in ‘98. But while in the States, I had the Kerouac bug and hitchhiked or drove crosscountry through these states:

(–okay, I’m cheating with Alaska. My first flight to Asia touched down there for a layover.)

The (Clinton) US Army finally got me out of the States when I was in my 30s. So I put these places on my map:

(–I regret not traveling more while there. But I was new at being worldly.)

After the Army years come the teaching years in Asia (if only I’d known you don’t have to join the Army to escape the States - that international school teaching was there all along). Since 2001, I’ve added these places (dark red means “lived there,” light means “visited”):

My favorite places? Tuscany, Shanghai, Christchurch, Serbia, Lisbon, Mallorca, Kuala Lumpur, Prague, Eugene (Oregon), Laos, Sri Lanka, Paris, and a little island off Thailand until the jet-skis invaded.

Places I still want to see: Russia, India, Australia, Greece, the south of France.

An edu-thought: If you want students to know geography, give them a connection to it. I only know the places I’ve been. I’ve studied maps of the other places over the years, but they just don’t stick. My little sermon for simple collaborative activities from world classrooms.

(Speaking of which: I am in Korea. It is a 1:1 laptop school from grades 6-11. We do have access to every site you can think of. Get in touch if you want me to try to hook any classrooms up with yours. But be nice, and do it timely-like.)

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Here’s a fun Traveler’s IQ test for you. Timing counts! Report back here with a comment. Let’s get Diane Cordell and Steven Downes in the ring again - time to “flip another goat-sucker”!

My score, first time:

And see “related links” below for a few other challenges you can take!

Photo Credit: Stuart R Brown

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