Massachusetts Geographic Alliance

MGA  News

TOPICS
        * The State Geography Bee -- Jay Ben Markson
          * Debbie Johnston on Environmental World History  (NEA Today article)
          * Sue Keane goes to Japan!
        * TC field trip to the Cape
        * Geographers in the news
          * 1999 Summer Institute at Bridgewater
         * South African School Connection
        *Teacher Grants from National Geographic
        * Family Geography Challenge
        * Clark University Geography Outreach

Jay Ben Markson,  Grade 7 of George R. Austin Middle School Lakeville, Massachusetts is our  2001 Massachusetts Geography Bee Winner. Congratulations Jay Ben. He will represent our state at the National Bee finals in Washington, DC on May 22nd. You go show them Jay Ben. **** GEOGRAPHY IS ALIVE AND WELL IN MASSACHUSETTS ! ************************** Click here to find out more about the National Geographic Bee

Debbie Johnston, one of our longtime active members, was recently featured in an  NEA Today article. Debbie teaches AP history and geography at Lexington High School. Debbie emphasizes using an environmental perspective on world history so that students  can better see the relationship between different places and different times.  Check out the full article by clicking on NEA Today.

Teacher Consultants on a field trip
 

On Saturday September 23rd, a group of T.C.s  (Teacher Consultants - teachers who have completed  a National Geographic institute) had special field trip to Cape Cod, learning about the physical and the cultural geography of this special region. The field experience was led by Professor Reed Stewart, Professor Emeritus of Geography at Bridgewater State College. A great time was had by all, learning and getting to know each other.

GEOGRAPHERS IN THE NEWS
    One of our coordinators, Paul Mulloy, had a great interview in the Boston Globe on Sunday Nov 28th. In the Kids Page section, Paul described the activities of the Massachusetts Geographic Alliance and how learning geography can be fun and very important to our overall education. Way to go Paul - a nice piece.
    Two other MGA members were recently featured in the Boston Globe.
Jim Maconochie, a teacher at McCall Middle School in Winchester received excellent coverage (Sunday Globe 9/26/99) for the way in which he teaches compass and mapwork; and some great photos Jim!
Kathy Babini, an MGA steering committee member and social studies curriculum coordinator in Plymouth,  wrote an article which was published in the Sunday Boston Globe, October 17th 1999. She described the map exhibition. "Mapping Boston" which is on display at the  main Boston Public Library until June. The exhibition features maps showing the changing physical and cultural landscapes of Boston over the last 300 years.

A CONTACT WITH A SCHOOL IN SOUTH AFRICA
In 1994, South Africa emerged from the system of Apartheid and it is now becoming better integrated into the global community. There are now opportunities for schools in the U.S. to develop contacts with South African schools, especially with those that had been disenfranchised and under funded. Vernon Domingo, a MGA coordinator, was born in South Africa and he was recently there on a visit. One of the people that he spoke to was Rodney Stowman, the principal of an elementary school, which had previously been designated for "Coloured" (mixed race) students. This school is looking for some form of relationship with an American school, whereby there could be communication between principal, teachers, and students. If you are interested in this project, contact Vernon Domingo: vdomingo@bridgew.edu for more information or you check out a description and mission statement of the school at Triomf Primary School.

This program is geared towards helping parents and kids discover the world together. It is a family-oriented activity that gets parents and students involved at home in discovering more about the world. It encourages parents to harness the appropriate news media to help their children learn about geography and about the world.
Families attend a one-hour workshop with their children. Each participating family receives a National Geographic world map to hang up in their den. When news is watched, or read about they identify the location and other geography issues related to the events. They keep logs for 6 weeks and return the logs for prizes and certificates.
The Challenge program has been done in parts of the state and is proving to be very popular and very successful.
Contact your nearest REGIONAL CENTER for more information on the program.