[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        GEOGRAPHY AWARENESS WEEK

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                            HON. JOE BARTON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 13, 1998

  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Geography 
Awareness Week in Texas. Geography is about knowing where things are. 
It's about being able to read a map to find your way, calculate the 
time difference before making a long distance, and even situate a place 
heard about on the news onto your mental map of the world. But 
geography is also about understanding why things are located where they 
are. It offers perspectives and information in understanding ourselves, 
our relationship to the Earth's resources and our interdependence with 
other people of the world. By knowing geography, we can see how 
historical processes and present activities influence people, places 
and things. Geography education better prepares us to understand, 
interpret and find our place in this changing world at a time when 
tools like the Internet take us to every corner of the world with the 
click of a button.
  This year, state geographic alliances across the country, including 
in my home state of Texas, are celebrating the theme: ``People, Places 
and Patterns: Geography Puts the Pieces Together.'' The state of Texas 
has begun the task of improving geographic education by adopting state 
geography standards, and through the support of the teachers' 
organization Texas Alliance for Geographic Education, is actively 
working to implement these standards by disseminating new advances in 
teaching geography at the kindergarten through senior high level.
  November 15th to 21st will be Geography Awareness Week in Texas. I 
urge residents to recognize the importance of geography, and to work 
toward the development of geographic knowledge in our schools and 
communities.

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