The value in geography class is not in the facts

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Originally uploaded by trudeau

Facts can always be referenced via Answers.com, Wikipedia, World Book, the CIA.gov site and many other sources.

The value in a high school social studies class is in the patterns you develop -

- punctuality.
- manners.
- locution / clarity in wording your questions and answers.
- beginning work each day without having to be told what to do.
- having the tools for the job on a consistent basis - the atlas, notebook, pens, colors, scissors, chewing gum (just kidding).

- knowing what can be found in the atlas, the textbook, the encyclopedia, thesaurus, etc.

- questioning.
- listening.

- spacing and appropriately annotating and illustrating your notes.
- mnemonics and visual learning aids.
- understanding the value of practice and repetition.
- having what author Ernest Hemingway called a "built in, shock proof crap detector." Also known as a sense of evaluation.

- sense of humor that fits the situation.

- understanding that school is a game. Play the game with a sharp sense of the rules and you can win without too much strain.

- jazz your projects with a snappy title.
- open your writing with colorful description, or a quote. Avoid boring your teacher or your classmates.
- don't study one topic when you can bring in a second topic and compare the two (fencing? Let's compare fencing to pottery, OK?).
- "according to ...": document your writing and your pronouncements with the phrase "according to the NY Times...".
- use quotes ("Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn," is not what I'm talking about. Or is it?).
- be specific (today the price of a bbl of crude hit $116, said NPR).
- offer an example (such as the role of Niha Jain's special programs for students in winning admission to Yale).
- look for connections between topics, whether they are conflicts (compare the US occupation of Iraq to our role in the Vietnam conflict) or resources (compare Thomas Edison to Page & Brin, the fellows who founded Google).

- use varied media: video, powerpoint with voice-over, paper sculpture, the ouija board.
- use color in all study-related work.

- look it up - as we do in class as I quickly reference wikipedia on topics of our discussion.
- keep a record of all your work and as many scores as possible.

- find a middle ground between *sucking up to your teachers* and making a good use of the aid that is available from teachers.
- use your classmates' skills and generosity appropriately.

- don't be shy about asking for help when you are *not getting it.*

- ask questions of your classmates (when class allows such activity), whether formal ("Might I borrow thy eraser?") or informal (Great shoes. Where'd you get them?").
- compliment everyone ("You have the best smile!" or "Great shirt!" or "Your quiet intensity is so cool."). And follow it up with a question or two - about that other person.