Is the population of the United States over one billion? Hardly, but that's what some young Americans think.

"The National Geographic–Roper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey polled more than 3,000 18- to 24-year-olds in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden and the United States."

"The survey demonstrates the geographic illiteracy of the United States..."

Article, results, sample test.

The primary and secondary educational systems in the United States, and elsewhere, must be considered a failure if this many young people are this ignorant about so many basic facts.

And it's not just geography. In California, the most populous and arguably, the most influential state in the nation, three-forths of graduating high school seniors cannot pass their reading exams.

The cynic's observation might be that it's a dumbed-down world. Too much TV and too many Twinkies have resulted in generations of youth whose brains are mush. He also might site the rise of the Educationalists who threw out proven methods in favor of theoretical models, and he could go on to mention the problems of gangs, dress, junk food, and other potentially disruptive factors at play in our schools, which no doubt play some negative role in the poor showing by our students and young people.

A counter to the significance of the results mentioned here might be that standards are evolving, and new abilities are needed for a new world, particulary with computer software, and these skills are not measured in our traditional testing

Nevertheless, reading remains a fundamental skill, a key which opens the doors to a world of knowledge.

Young people should be encouraged to read, read, read, and not just the mandated titles, but whatever interests them.

When I was a young guy, the library appeared as nothing less than a Palace of Wonder containing all of the world's knowledge, free for the taking. Today's multi-media world offers many other distractions, but the truism remains that the amount and quality of reading done as a youth will be a very good predictor of a child's educational development later in life.

Good reading skills make learning everything else so much easier. Our educational systems need to re-focus their efforts on the basics.

It's just that simple.

sp