David Rogers

The Apple Store on 5th Avenue - 24hour mac goodness! These days I wonder if pupils will identify Apple as the 'Big Apple' rather than New York? Just back from a trip to New York and turning my mind back to my looming MA dissertation. I have to say that I love going to the US because, to admit some of my dirty pleasures, it's about the only place in the world where I can enjoy a McDonald's or sip an ice cold Coke without thinking about how I've sold out to the American machine. I was also pleasantly surprised to experience the newish NY fashion of the decent pint of beer. To be honest, US ale is pants. However, I did enjoy some truly tasty ales - and not all accompanied by a huge stack of ribs or a burger. For example the Brooklyn Brewery and Heartland Brewery. Still not as good as real ale though! New York and the States has an immense sense of place - huge iconic images abound and I'm sure that most UK pupils will be more familiar with some of the New York lan...

I've been following an interesting thread on the SLN Forum about Regional Geography. It has made me revisit some work introduced during my MA studies where we were challenged to dig deep into our own geographical perspectives. At the moment I feel that, as a Geography teacher, I should use many perspectives and approaches to teach. Regional Geography is just another 'tool in the box'. I feel that it is important for Geography educators to understand the limitations and strengths of different approaches in Geography. Also - in response to complaints that pupils can't find places on a map - does the full responsibility lay with teachers, with parents, the media or shared? In my own case, my knowledge of places wasn't developed through formal education, but through being a nosy bugger! Image taken from here .