Monday, November 25, 2002

CONTACT: Terrell Austin, 706/542-2985, taustin@uga.edu

UGA STUDENTS TEACH GEOGRAPHY, CURRENT EVENTS IN LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS

ATHENS, Ga. — Students in the University of Georgia Student Ambassadors Program are teaching local high school students about international current events and world geography by using live, interactive presentations on topics ranging from the Arab-Israeli conflict to the war in Chechnya to human rights in China.

The recent National Geographic–Roper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey showed that young Americans scored second to last among nine nations on a test of geography and world events. “These results make our job as student ambassadors more important,” said Ben Bain, a second-year student whose presentation is on U.S. efforts to help Russia safeguard its nuclear materials. “Anything we can do to make kids more aware of things outside their daily lives is worth the effort.”

The number of students in the program has essentially doubled in its second year of existence. Managed by UGA’s Center for International Trade and Security, the program’s 20 student ambassadors now serve approximately 150 students a week in three counties surrounding the Athens campus.

“Our students have given PowerPoint presentations and led discussions on 20 topics this semester. Each presentation features at least two maps of the area under discussion,” said Terrell Austin, program coordinator. “High school students remember geographic locations better when they hear about something dramatic that happened there last week. We think teaching geography through current events is an effective method.”

Local teachers seem to agree. Colin Connors, who has been hosting UGA students in his current issues classes at Oconee County High School since January, was not surprised by the survey’s findings. “At the beginning of every semester, I give a pretest to see what incoming students know and it is usually pretty limited,” he said. “Even after Sept. 11, most of them coming in did not know where Afghanistan was. I spend a lot of time on geography and the Student Ambassadors Program has been a big help. By combining global issues with current events and geography, they are doing a great job of presenting the world in a fun and interesting way.”

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