n have the effect of limiting the ability of citizens to function in society in their own best interest. The manifestation of geographical literacy as an issue of public debate appears to have arisen in part from a pattern of patently deplorable results of educational testing of students' geographical knowledge. But the many implications of geographical illiteracy are what actually drive the debate.
To see how the implications overtake the bare geographical facts, it may be useful to note that resources for geographical education in the United States do not appear to be particularly sparse. It is the ability to use such resources that is apparently highly variable among students. Consider for example the annual publication of a world almanac in Scholastic Update, which with some thoroughness provides basic informational and statistical data on every one of the countries of the world. Such data as population, square mileage, continental location, per capita income, health status of the population in general, the form of government (e.g., constit
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