Where in the world are TN's Geography Standards?

With all the "change" to Tennessee's standards (okay, Common Core tweaked and renamed standards) over the past few years, it seems Geography has fallen through the cracks.  It sounds like a very serious omission and will leave a gaping wide chasm the size of the Grand Canyon (that they might not learn about now in Geography) in children's educations.  Thanks to an informed Momma Bear for forwarding us this letter about it.  Please read, share, and take action!

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Good Morning Supporters of Geography Education -

The State Board of Education has reached another milestone in the latest revision of the Social Studies standards and geography is taking it in the shorts once again despite our best efforts to educate stakeholders and get representatives to serve on the standards writing and evaluation committees.  The powers that be continue to value history over geography and that is reflected in the final draft standards that are to have their first reading by the voting members of the State Board of Education on April 21.

I implore you to write to your representative on the State Board of Education before April 21 and ask that they vote NO on accepting these standards.  Here are the reasons:

• In 2013 the 7th grade stand-alone World Geography course was eliminated and some of the content in that course was pushed down to 3rd grade.  In the final draft standards up for adoption in 2017, what little world geography that was there has been minimized even further.  For example, this school year, students will learn about 24 countries.  If the new standards are adopted, next year students will learn about 10.
• The world geography that students learn in 3rd grade is the last required cohesive geography instruction they will receive throughout their K-12 experience.
• From grades 6 – 12, students will take five required “History and Geography” courses.  However, the vast majority of the content in those courses is history and not geography.  Physical geography is almost nonexistent.  Students will take zero required geography courses.
• A subject whose structure should be based on themes and topics is now taught meagerly intertwined in a chronological progression, which it is not at the college level.  No college or university in Tennessee teaches geography in hybrid history/geography courses.  These standards will not best prepare students for college or careers.
• Geospatial technologies (the marriage of geography and technology) are one of the three fastest growing segments of the high tech sector, yet we are graduating students who have no clue that geography and geospatial technologies are viable career paths. 

Ask your representative on the State Board of Education to visit the employment segment of the American Association of Geographers website at: http://www.aag.org/cs/salarydata   There they will see a vast array of jobs for people with geography-related skills and data on the rapid growth in most of those jobs.

Following and attached is information on how to contact your representative on the State Board of Education.
I have a digital copy of the final draft standards if you would like to see them.

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PLEASE take the time out of your busy schedules to write your member of the State Board of Education who represents your Congressional district (instructions on how to find out who that person is are included in the attached Board of Ed Members document). 

Draft language for your letter can be pulled from the information in the first part of this email.   However, please attempt to personalize your communications to include your experience as a teacher, user of GIS, in higher education, etc.

You should not feel obligated to state for whom you work if that puts you in a compromising position.  I completely understand that as many of you work for the state or for private employers who have state contracts.  However, you have every right as a private citizen to advocate for a cause.

I greatly appreciate your attention to this request. 
If you no longer wish to receive emails from me about geography education issues, please don’t hesitate to email me and ask to be removed from my contact list(s). 
​
Kurt Butefish
Coordinator
Tennessee Geographic Alliance
865.974.4841
http://www.tngeographicalliance.org
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TN Board of Education Members to contact:

Mr. B. Fielding Rolston, Chairman
Represents: 1st Congressional District
Resides: Kingsport, TN
3745 Arrowhead Trail
Kingsport, TN 37664
Email: [email protected]
Occupation: Retired; Former Vice-President, Human Resources and Communications, Eastman Chemical Company
Appointed 1996; Reappointed 2013; current term: 2013-2018

Mr. Mike Edwards
Represents: 2nd Congressional District
Resides: Knoxville, TN
17 Market Square, #201
Knoxville, TN 37902-1405
Email: [email protected]
Occupation: President and CEO, Knoxville Chamber
Appointed: June 24, 2011, current term: 2011 - 2016

Ms. Allison Chancey
Represents: 3rd Congressional District
Resides: Cleveland, TN
Oak Grove Elementary School
400 Drake Rd. SE
Cleveland, TN 37323
Email: [email protected]
Occupation: Teacher, Bradley County Schools
Appointed: 2013; current term: 2013-2018

Mr. Gordon Ferguson
Represents: 4th Congressional District
c/o Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital
1700 Medical Center Parkway
Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37129
Email: [email protected]
Occupation: CEO of Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital
Current term: 2017 - 2022

Ms. Elissa Kim
Represents: 5th Congressional
District
Address: ???
Email: [email protected]
Occupation: Former V.P for Recruitment at Teach for America
Current term: 2017 - 2022

Ms. Lillian Hartgrove
Represents: 6th Congressional District
Resides: Cookeville, TN
Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce
One West First St.
Cookeville, TN 38501
Email: [email protected]
Occupation: Workforce Development and Education Vice President for the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce and the Highlands Economic
Partnership
Appointed 2014; current term: 2014-2019

Ms. Wendy Tucker
Represents: 7th Congressional District
Resides: Nashville, TN
1612 16th AVENUE SOUTH
NASHVILLE, TN 37212
Email: [email protected]
Occupation: Attorney
Appointed 2014; current term: 2014-2019

Mr. Cato Johnson
Represents: 8th Congressional District
Resides: Memphis, TN
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
1211 Union Ave. #700
Memphis, TN 38104
Email: [email protected]
Occupation: Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
Appointed 2014; current term: 2014-2019

Dr. William E. Troutt
Represents: 9th Congressional District
Resides: Memphis, TN
Rhodes College
2000 N. Parkway
Memphis, TN 38112
Email: [email protected]
Occupation: President, Rhodes College
Appointed 2014; current term: 2014-2019

Commissioner McQueen
Commissioner Candice McQueen
Tennessee Department of Education
Andrew Johnson Tower
710 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37243

How to find out what Congressional District you live in (you may need to know your Zip + 4): http://ziplook.house.gov/htbin/findrep?ZIP5 

How to look up your Zip + 4:
https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action

To PRINT this list of TBOE members, click HERE