The 1st of November at 12.00 by local time in all the regions of the country theAll-Russian Geographical dictation starts. The organizers of the dictation and well-known public figures told the media representatives at the press-conference, which was held in Moscow in MIA «Russia today», about the importance of the large-scale educational campaign, being organized by the Russian Geographical Society for the first time.
«Geography is one of the basic sciences, which determine the identity of the person, tie him to the country, to the homeland and at the same time are making a person cosmopolitan in terms of binding to the whole world», - the Chairman of the Media Council of the Russian Geographical Society, Dmitry Peskov claimed, opening the press-conference.
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According to his words, geographic illiteracy makes a person helpless. For instance, a broken navigator and the lack of GPS signal confounds many drivers because nowadays almost no one knows how to read a map. «What for shall we learn geography, if there is always a cabman, who will always take you anyway you want», - the Chairman of the Media Council of the Russian Geographical Society quoted Fonvisin.
«We should not be ashamed of ignorance of geography, but unwillingness to learn it», - Dmitry Peskov thinks. And that is why holding this educational action is so important for the country – it will become for many people the stimulus at least to leaf through scroll geography textbook before the dictation and update their knowledge.
It is planned to improve the educational programs according to the results of the dictation.The Chairman of the Media Council of the Russian Geographical Society noted that that was necessary in order to make Russian educational system balanced.
«The Russian Geographical Society jointly with the Government, jointly with the Ministry of Education of Russia intend to maintain a consistent line to increase the number of teaching hours», - he claimed.
The Central House of Artists will become the central site of the All-Russian geographical dictation in Moscow. From the 30th of October till the 8th of November there will be held the II Festival of the Russian Geographical Society. In the regions of Russia there are organized 170 sites. Their location are easy to get to know from the website of the Russian Geographical Society.
Anyone who wants can check his or her knowledge and get an independent expert review regardless of their age and education.
The works or the residents of Russia will be checked only by professional teachers-geographers. One of the main principals of holding of this educational action is anonymity. That means that it is not obligatorily to indicate the name and surname. There will be a unique identification number specified on each answer sheet which will be handed out to all participants, and thanks to that everyone will be able to get to know his or her personal result the 10th of December on the website www.rgo.ru.
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The President of the Interregional Association of Teachers of Geography of Russia, professor of Moscow State Pedagogical University Alexander Lobzhanidze told during the press-conference for what the Russian residents should prepare on the X-day. The dictation will be dedicated to the geography of Russia. All the questions will be divided for three blocks – the Russians will be checked on knowledge of geographic concepts, reading maps and the ability torecognize the area by the art description.
«We are losing our identity, not knowing geography. But that is very important for the children and the students», - Lobzhanidze noted.
The member of the Media Council of the Russian Geographical Society, professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences and PhD in Geography, TV presenter Nikolai Drozdov noted the importance of the geography learning in a younger age as well. «The geography is the most interesting subject. It is very strange that the number of hours of geography is being reduced at school. After all, the nature, the animals, - all that is geography in common», - the famous anchorman noted.
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The anchorman and publisher Pierre Brochet said that he was lucky – he was born at that time when the geographical atlases were in use. Thanks to them he took an interest in geography. He advised not only to browse the textbook before the dictation, but to use that type of atlas, not a modern device, where the whole picture of the world is not visible. «Even if I do not get «a five» mark at the dictation, I will get to know a lot», - Brochet added.
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On the opinion of TV presenter, the president of «The Travel club» Mikhail Kozhukhov, the forthcoming dictation is very important and needed. «If before the dictation at least tens of thousands people flip through the textbooks on geography, that will already be nice, because the teaching is light as it is known», - he said.
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Russian race car driver, a seven-time winner of the «Dakar Rally» in the class of trucks Vladimir Chagin, which managed to reach the unique sports results with the help of geography, said that he was supporting the idea of the All-Russian dictation holding. «I will take part in it with great pleasure, I will check my knowledge that way», - he claimed.
Chagin added that he had a «five» mark on geography at school. «The recipe for such success is simple. My parents hang on the wall of my room the huge geographic map of the world. We used to spend a lot of time next to it with my friends. I recommend all the parents to take it into service», - the famous sportsman advised.
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On the opinion of the master of the game «What? Where? When?» Andrey Kozlov, geography in Russia acts as spiritual buckles. «To feel yourself «Russian soul», you should look at geographic map and see in what country you were born – how much is there belowground, how much fresh water we have, what forests!», - the expert believes.
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The All-Russian geographical dictation will let a lot of people to look at the map of Russia from this point of view.