Students at Midland School are traveling all over the world and becoming geography whiz kids without leaving 312 Midland Avenue through the Passport Club.
By Annette McLoughlin
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Students at Midland School are traveling all over the world and becoming geography whiz kids without leaving 312 Midland Avenue through the Passport Club. The online national geography program is designed to help schools creatively enhance geography education in a fun and unique environment outside of the classroom.
This is especially important given the changes in our planet’s geography, just since the 1950s. Since that time, the global map has changed dramatically with a huge increase in the number of countries. While Baby Boomers might have been asked to locate Yugoslavia, today’s students need to find Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Kosovo.
The yearlong program, flexible in difficulty and designed to appeal to varying levels of interest and ability, relies on the greater school community for its success. At the end of each month, students are tested by parent volunteers and receive “stamps” in their passports if they have learned their assigned facts. Each month, the map and countries change.
In November, the Country of the Month was Panama. To receive a stamp from Panama, students had to answer a number of questions, including continent, flag, official language, and capital city.
This month, Midland students will “travel” to Japan.
