I have always thought of myself as a reasonably intelligent individual - until I moved to the UK. Here I sometimes feel as though I'm not even as smart as a third grader, which I think they call Year 2 . . . or is it Year 4? I know it's one number off of 3rd.
Today at church we had an all-age service. Think VBS opening assembly on steroids. Something for everyone, from puppets to interactive games, videos to crafts - all during the service.
They wanted to see how many cultures were represented at the service, so the first audience participation question was "How many continents are there?"
The kids rushed to raise their hands. The first kid answered, "Five." I waited for the, well that's close, can anyone else help him out? And it never came. The correct answer was indeed five! Here they are:
Europe
Africa
Asia
Americas
Australasia
Seriously??????
I'm pretty sure that I learned that there are seven. Now granted, geography is an ever-changing subject to study. For instance, many of the countries I studied about in school don't exist anymore, like the USSR, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. And we have gone from nine planets to only eight (poor Pluto - it must be sad to be downgraded, and yes I know that this is technically astronomy, but I'm making a point). But we're talking about continents! Huge landmasses that haven't changed!
So here's the question - am I no longer smarter than a third grader? Have I lost my edge? It's so scary.
If anyone out there that reads my blog is in the third grade, or considers themselves smarter than a third grader, I would appreciate your feedback.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
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2 comments:
Well wikipedia still says seven...that's not the most scientific place but it's at least somewhat trustworthy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continents
I mean, I like to consider myself smarter than a third grader (not while I live in Ukraine, of course, but in NORTH AMERICA I do). There are seven continents. Never fear.
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