Challenging Our "Worldview"

All maps are not created equal. Cartographers, or mapmakers, face a number of challenges when trying to fit a round Earth onto a flat image. Thus, all maps are distorted in one way or another. And how we see the world can vary depending on which map we're looking at.

Some maps are intentionally deceptive -- meant to emphasize a fact or idea through distortions. For example, this map we showed in class this week illustrates the differences in population sizes among various countries by relating them to country size.


Other maps, however, are less blatantly distorted. The Mercator Projection, which is widely used in schools, accurately represents shapes of landforms, but distorts their sizes. This is why small islands and borders are so detailed. The Peters Projection, on the other hand, distorts shape, but preserves relative sizes of landforms. We are less familiar with this map, which makes Africa and South America appear stretched.

After acknowledging that the Peters Projection indirectly emphasizes the developing world, students in classes this week agreed that residents of places in Africa or South America would probably prefer the map over the Mercator Projection. While neither projection is more accurate than the other, certainly the Peters Projection implores that we take a second look at our world. While the sizes of countries does not relate to their value, seeing an accurate depiction of country sizes brings places we often ignore to the forefront.

Would you favor the Peters Projection if you lived in Africa? Why or why not?

Rights of the Child

No matter where a child is born, all children have needs --separate from those of adults -- that must be met in order for them to grow into healthy and productive adults. When discussing a child's needs in class this week, we took care to distinguish needs from wants. For example some things that may make you happy if you had them might include a new video game, expensive shoes, and trendy clothes. However, we would (hopefully) all agree that you can live without these things. Necessities are those things you cannot live without -- shelter, food, support from family, education, etc.

Unfortunately, whether or not a child's needs are met has a lot to do with where he or she is born. Children that are born in developing countries and in rural areas are much more likely to be poor. What are the consequences of children not getting access to the things they need in a country? To answer this, you would have to take a number of thoughts into consideration: If children don't have access to education will they be competitive workers in the labor market? If children have no access to healthcare, will they be able to work or go to school at all? What happens if they have no food? If most of the children in a country are plagued, or troubled, by these problems, can a country expect to grow economically without a viable workforce??? Taking care of the world's children means securing a brighter and more equitable future.

With this in mind, twenty years ago world leaders at the United Nations established the Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international agreement to protect childrens' rights. Recognizing that children are especially vulnerable to being exploited and abused, and that children have a different set of needs to ensure they develop into healthy adults, the document aims to protect children from the dangers they face, and promote their healthy mental and physical development. You can learn more about CRC at the UNICEF website: watch animated videos of the articles in the Convention, or get inspired by ideas on how you can take action on behalf of kids all over the world.