annettemcd
07-20-2009, 06:16 PM
(I had a post on this subject which was deleted.)
I just received a link to a website with some worksheets on the fifty states. Once again, the maps are inaccurate in that the forty-ninth and fiftieth states are just tacked onto the side with no indication of relative size or position. As a resident of Alaska, I resent that students are not being given accurate maps of the fifty states. Please refer to the official USGS map of the fifty states which does have Alaska and Hawaii in the right locations and at the right size.
Alaskans often have to deal with people who do not even have a basic understanding about Alaska. Some of the questions and statements that we often hear, especially when placing an order to be delivered to Alaska:
“Well, we do not ship to locations outside the US.”
“What kind of currency to you use in Alaska?”
“We only ship to the fifty states.” (We became the forty-ninth state fifty years ago.)
“We only ship to the continental US.” (Alaska is part of the continental US, though it is not part of the contiguous 48 states.)
“We only offer free shipping to the US, not to Alaska and Hawaii.”
“‘AK,’ that’s Arkansas, isn’t it?”
Because they have seen it so often on maps, some people think that Alaska is a small island southwest of California. (Though most islands do not have straight edges.) Many people do not understand the size of Alaska. (Do you know that if superimpose a map of Alaska over a map of the 48 contiguous states, Alaska would reach from coast to coast?) Alaska is ⅕ of the size of the continuous 48 states. In fact, Alaskans like to joke that Alaska should divide in half so that Texas would be the third largest state.
The use of inaccurate maps of the fifty states in the USA in the classroom is irresponsible and should be discontinued. Please use accurate maps such as the one available from the USGS. We need to educate students about the geography of all fifty states, not 48 and then those two other ones as an afterthought. It has been fifty years, long enough to have accurate maps of all fifty states, especially in classrooms.
I just received a link to a website with some worksheets on the fifty states. Once again, the maps are inaccurate in that the forty-ninth and fiftieth states are just tacked onto the side with no indication of relative size or position. As a resident of Alaska, I resent that students are not being given accurate maps of the fifty states. Please refer to the official USGS map of the fifty states which does have Alaska and Hawaii in the right locations and at the right size.
Alaskans often have to deal with people who do not even have a basic understanding about Alaska. Some of the questions and statements that we often hear, especially when placing an order to be delivered to Alaska:
“Well, we do not ship to locations outside the US.”
“What kind of currency to you use in Alaska?”
“We only ship to the fifty states.” (We became the forty-ninth state fifty years ago.)
“We only ship to the continental US.” (Alaska is part of the continental US, though it is not part of the contiguous 48 states.)
“We only offer free shipping to the US, not to Alaska and Hawaii.”
“‘AK,’ that’s Arkansas, isn’t it?”
Because they have seen it so often on maps, some people think that Alaska is a small island southwest of California. (Though most islands do not have straight edges.) Many people do not understand the size of Alaska. (Do you know that if superimpose a map of Alaska over a map of the 48 contiguous states, Alaska would reach from coast to coast?) Alaska is ⅕ of the size of the continuous 48 states. In fact, Alaskans like to joke that Alaska should divide in half so that Texas would be the third largest state.
The use of inaccurate maps of the fifty states in the USA in the classroom is irresponsible and should be discontinued. Please use accurate maps such as the one available from the USGS. We need to educate students about the geography of all fifty states, not 48 and then those two other ones as an afterthought. It has been fifty years, long enough to have accurate maps of all fifty states, especially in classrooms.