Back To School
by Cody Keenan, Opinions Editor on September 19, 2007 in Opinion
No, probably not.
The following evening, South Carolina’s representative to the Miss Teen USA Pageant took the stage in California. “Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can’t locate the U.S. on a world map,” she was asked. “Why do you think this is?”
Looking strong after commanding performances in the bikini and evening gown competitions, Caitlin Upton went for the win. “I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps and, uh, I believe that our, uh, education like such as, the South Africa and, uh, the Iraq and everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, uh, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., or - should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future…for our children.”
Yow. As you’d expect, Miss Upton was quickly savaged across the Internet, harshly labeled everything from a dumb blonde to the epitome of what’s wrong with America. As soon as we tackle the 47 million uninsured Americans, we’ll lift up the unmapped!
I don’t mean to pick on the girl. Maybe she was just a nervous teenager on national television. And in her defense, it was a ridiculous question. A National Geographic Society survey shows a full 94% of Americans aged 18 to 24 can find the United States on a map. (Thank goodness.) And besides - the other six percent can just use Google Maps.
But I think her answer - in the midst of a beauty pageant - does allude to a broader problem with “U.S. American” youth. Earlier this year, an OECD survey of children showed the United States near the bottom of several quality of life and educational categories. Almost the same week, a UCLA study of more than 16,000 college students showed an “alarming rise in narcissism [and] self-centeredness.” America: worst place to grow up, best place to be awesome!
When MySpace makes everyone special, reality shows about celebuspawn behaving badly and C-list celebrities trying to get laid dominate the attention span, and high school teachers complain about the rise in students using emoticons and online acronyms in term papers, we just may have a problem. WTF?
Math and science (and, apparently, English) just don’t compete with the quest for entertainment, fame, and fortune anymore.
The twentieth century was America’s century. Our ingenuity and educational prowess set the tone for the rest of the world. But we’re not special anymore. Other countries have noticed, and they’re starting to smack us around. One doesn’t have to read Thomas Friedman every week to know what’s going on. We’ve dropped to seventeenth in proportion of college students obtaining science or engineering degrees, and only one in twenty college-bound high school seniors in 2002 planned to study engineering. Other nations are rapidly accumulating the talent we used to own.
It’s a unique moment in which we can choose to reclaim the future that is rightfully ours, or cede it to the nations hungrier than we are.
The America COMPETES Act, just signed into law, is a good start. It focuses on scientific innovation, recruiting math and science teachers, and rewards students pursuing math, science, or foreign language.
But none of it will work until we can convince our students to truly value education and realize that America’s place in the world is not assured - their efforts are what assure it. I don’t know if this involves parents getting their kids to put down the webcam and pick up the books, or convincing Paris Hilton to hold up a textbook and say “chemistry is hott.” Something has to be done to make education cool again.
A few days after the pageant debacle, Miss Upton got her chance to redeem herself. “Personally, my friends and I, we know exactly where the United States is on a map,” she said on the Today Show. “I don’t know anyone else who doesn’t. If the statistics are correct, I believe there should be more emphasis on geography in our education so people will learn how to read maps better.”
Not bad, but I expected better after a weekend to think about it. And, of course, she exacted true revenge on her Facebook page. “can we all say jealousy…[it] dosen’t hurt me/it only hurts yourself…i have a 4.0 grade average and a full academic schlorship…kthanks.”
In case you were wondering, Miss Teen South Carolina came in fourth. 
indeed.
Welcome back to school, everybody! Study hard!
Written by Cody Keenan, Opinions Editor · Filed Under Opinion
Cody Keenan (MPP2) is Opinions Editor of the Citizen. Prior to his time at the Kennedy School of Government, Cody worked in the United States Senate from 2003 to 2006. He spent last summer on a leading presidential campaign.
A Chicagoan and graduate of Northwestern University, he blames his Midwestern roots for his affinity for meat products and perennially losing sports teams. In this space, he hopes to write columns on string theory, metaphysics, and behavioral economics, but will probably just stick to politics and American culture.
Comments
Got something to say?
