Washington Geographic Alliance
Enhancing Geography Education in Washington State
Please help prioritize geography education in the "other" Washington!
Dear Washington Geographic Alliance Member:
I want to make a very special request of you.
As the Alliance Coordinator, I need your help convincing Congress and the President that geography education is important. Did you know that Geography is the ONLY required subject that does not receive any dedicated federal funding under No Child Left Behind? Not one dime. Yet, every other required subject receives support.
To help solve this crisis, Secretary of the Board Richard Kennedy and I are flying to Washington, DC at the end of the month to meet with our Senators and Congressional Representatives to urge them to support a bill—called the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act—that would authorize $15 million annually for teacher-training and materials in geographic education.
I urge you to join me in a chorus of support for action by Congress. You don’t have to go to DC to help. You can send an email to President Obama, Vice President Biden, and our federal delegates directly from a Web site set up by National Geographic. Since 2006, the Web site has generated more than 11,000 letters to Congress. Here’s what to do:
1. Visit http://MyWonderfulWorld.org
2. On the Web site’s left-hand index, select the link to “Notify Your Lawmakers”
3. When prompted, just enter your Zip code and the Web site will walk you through the rest!
(Please customize your email by noting how long you have been teaching, why geography is important to you, and how workshops and institutes have helped you and your students, etc.)
It’s just one email and it’s easy to do. If you take a few moments to write today, then by the time we visit the Hill on February 26 our Members of Congress will know that I am speaking for a large and accomplished group of teachers who are making a difference here in the state and who need their support.
Thank you for considering this opportunity to help me put geography “back on the map” with federal support. I am proud to represent the Alliance to our state leaders and I am hopeful that we can correct the troubling oversight that leaves Geography alone without funding.
Please feel free to forward this message to others as well.
Best wishes,
Tim Scharks
Washington Geographic Alliance
I want to make a very special request of you.
As the Alliance Coordinator, I need your help convincing Congress and the President that geography education is important. Did you know that Geography is the ONLY required subject that does not receive any dedicated federal funding under No Child Left Behind? Not one dime. Yet, every other required subject receives support.
To help solve this crisis, Secretary of the Board Richard Kennedy and I are flying to Washington, DC at the end of the month to meet with our Senators and Congressional Representatives to urge them to support a bill—called the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act—that would authorize $15 million annually for teacher-training and materials in geographic education.
I urge you to join me in a chorus of support for action by Congress. You don’t have to go to DC to help. You can send an email to President Obama, Vice President Biden, and our federal delegates directly from a Web site set up by National Geographic. Since 2006, the Web site has generated more than 11,000 letters to Congress. Here’s what to do:
1. Visit http://MyWonderfulWorld.org
2. On the Web site’s left-hand index, select the link to “Notify Your Lawmakers”
3. When prompted, just enter your Zip code and the Web site will walk you through the rest!
(Please customize your email by noting how long you have been teaching, why geography is important to you, and how workshops and institutes have helped you and your students, etc.)
It’s just one email and it’s easy to do. If you take a few moments to write today, then by the time we visit the Hill on February 26 our Members of Congress will know that I am speaking for a large and accomplished group of teachers who are making a difference here in the state and who need their support.
Thank you for considering this opportunity to help me put geography “back on the map” with federal support. I am proud to represent the Alliance to our state leaders and I am hopeful that we can correct the troubling oversight that leaves Geography alone without funding.
Please feel free to forward this message to others as well.
Best wishes,
Tim Scharks
Washington Geographic Alliance
Views: 3
Comment
© 2012 Washington Geographic Alliance
You need to be a member of Washington Geographic Alliance to add comments!