URGENT APPEAL FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EDUCATION

Forwarded by Elizabeth Smith, Manatee County

As you know, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently released his plan for revising the Elementary & Secondary Education Act, called A Blueprint for Reform. Unfortunately, the Blueprint failed to list geography as an enumerated discipline in its public definition of a “well-rounded” education. This omission is troubling—especially since No Child Left Behind (“NCLB”) set an important precedent by recognizing geography as a “core academic subject.” TGIF aims to correct the oversight that leaves geography as the only one of the nine core subjects under NCLB not to have received designated federal funding since NCLB went into effect in 2002.

We here at National Geographic view the omission of geography from the Blueprint as an oversight, particularly because geography was included in President Obama’s FY11 budget, and the Administration has expressed a commitment to environmental sustainability and global citizenship. However, we simply cannot trust that geography will have a strong future without our vocal support. Now is the time to take two key steps to highlight the importance of geographic literacy. Both steps depend on you acting this week (April 19-23).

(1) Write to Secretary Duncan

Please modify the attached letter and email it directly to Secretary Duncan. As the authors of the Blueprint, he and Assistant Secretary for Policy Carmel Martin need to hear from the constituency for geographic literacy. We need you to send your email this week (April 19-23).

(2) Get Your Steering Committee and “Go-To” TCs to Write Congress

Please also contact all the members of your Steering Committee—and identify 10-20 additional key TCs—and direct them to modify and send the attached language via email to their respective congressional delegations by next week (April 26-30) or earlier.

This tightly-timed two-week push will coincide with the period that key leaders will be debating what to include in education reform. During this time, it is critical that Members of Congress hear from the Alliance Network that geography must be “put back on the map.”

Your Liaisons will be in touch this week to answer any questions you may have and I am always available. Please make this a priority—I will be visiting the Hill personally over the next week to ensure TGIF’s champions that we are doing all we can to push the bill and they will need to cite your Alliance’s emails as proof of a groundswell of support as they, in turn, speak to their colleagues and to key education committee members.

Thanks again for all you are doing!

Sincerely,


Chris Shearer


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Sample email to Arne Duncan
From Alliance Coordinators

During the week of April 19-23, please modify the email below to reflect your name, Alliance affiliation, and passion for geography education, and email it to: arne.duncan@ed.gov with a “CC” to carmel.martin@ed.gov


Dear Secretary Duncan:

As a geography educator from [State], I was very concerned to learn that your recent “Blueprint for Reform” of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act did not include geography as an enumerated discipline in the public definition of a “well-rounded” curriculum.

For years now, geography has been recognized by “No Child Left Behind,” and its predecessors, as a core academic subject essential for preparing students for careers, college, and citizenship. Unfortunately, an oversight has left geography as the only core subject not to receive dedicated federal funding for teacher training and educational improvement. Fortunately, the “Teaching Geography is Fundamental” Act (TGIF, S. 749, H.R. 1240), as introduced in the 111th Congress, would authorize the first-ever federal support of geographic literacy.

I know that you will be hearing from many influential institutions and national leaders about priorities for reforming “No Child Left Behind.” Please know that our nation must have better geography education. The Obama Administration has been strongly committed to global citizenship and environmental sustainability. Geography uniquely addresses these issues—from cultural studies and natural systems to economic interdependence and human-environmental interaction. Our students will need such knowledge and skills to succeed in life, to secure employment in a global marketplace, and to analyze important federal initiatives as citizens of the United States and the world.

Here in [State], I am part of a volunteer network of university professors and K-12 teachers, called the [State Geographic Alliance]. Together, we connect educators to training, materials, and networking to help them pursue high-quality standards and to excel in the classroom. Our time and energy has been supported over the years by local universities, the state legislature, local foundations and corporations, and the National Geographic Society, which provides annual core funding for the Alliance. The only potential partner not “on the map” is the federal government.

As you develop your vision for ESEA reauthorization, please ensure that geography is again included in the definition of a “well-rounded” curriculum, and please include funding for geography education as proposed in TGIF.

On behalf of my colleagues in the Alliance and across the state, and our students, thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Name
Address
Title
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Sample email to Your Members of Congress
from TCs and Steering Committee Members

Please modify the email below to reflect your name, Alliance affiliation, and passion for geography education, and email it to your House Representative and both your Senators (instructions for finding their emails are attached).

Dear [Senator, Representative]:

As your constituent and a member of the [State Geographic Alliance], I am writing to urge you to support the “Teaching Geography Is Fundamental” Act (TGIF, S. 749, H.R. 1240).

TGIF enjoys bipartisan co-sponsorship from nearly a quarter of both the House and Senate. Passing TGIF would be an important step in correcting the oversight that has left geography as the only one of nine core subjects under “No Child Left Behind” not to have received designated federal funding for education improvement and teacher training.

As a teacher who volunteers time to the [State Geographic Alliance] to help train other educators on world-class materials and standards, I know that passing TGIF is a necessity. Without it, our state will not be able to keep up with attrition in the educational workforce, much less develop additional high-quality teachers in this vital subject.

A solid geography education is critical for all students of [State] to comprehend the world around them, understand their place in the world and succeed in the global economy. Further, a strong geography education is necessary to prepare our children to fill and attain the over 70,000 new skilled jobs in geospatial technologies that are coming available each year nationally.

It is my hope that you will sign on as a co-sponsor of TGIF and help enact this important legislation this year.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Name
Address
Title
Phone Number

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How to Send an Email to Your Elected House Representative
and Both Your Senators

House of Representatives

Modify the suggested geography education advocacy letter in Word and then open up your Web browser (Firefox, Explorer, Safari, etc).

Go to the House of Representative’s main homepage at: http://www.house.gov/

Toward the top-left of the homepage click the link to “Write Your Representative” (it has an easy-to-spot graphic of a hand holding a pen).

Follow the easy-to-use instructions to connect to your Representative’s Website.

Once you reach the email page for your representative, fill in your contact information and cut-and-paste your message from Word into the online message form and “send” it.

Thanks!


Senate

Modify the suggested geography education advocacy letter in Word and then open up your Web browser (Firefox, Explorer, Safari, etc).

Go to the Senate’s homepage at: http://www.senate.gov/

Scroll to the very, very bottom of the homepage and click on the bottom-left link for “Contact”.

Follow the instructions for Contacting Senators by Email using the link to the “Senators from Your State”.

Once you reach the email pages for each of your Senators, fill in your contact information and cut-and-paste your message from Word into the online message form and “send” it.

Thanks!