ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, November 19, 1996 TAG: 9611190099
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
RAND MCNALLY WILL AWARD $10,000 to the U.S. school district using the oldest wall map of the world.
When David Wymer became supervisor of social studies for Roanoke County schools four years ago, the first thing he did was replace the old world wall maps in some schools.
"I found one that had the Belgian Congo on it and a few others where Europe didn't look quite like it does today," Wymer said.
The Belgian Congo, the third largest country in Africa, became Zaire in 1971. One school was using a map more than 20 years out of date.
"We're at least into the 1980s with our maps now," Wymer said.
That's good and bad news for county schools.
The good news is that the students don't have to use old, inaccurate maps. The bad news is that the schools will miss out on a chance to win $10,000 in maps, globes and atlases in a national contest.
Rand McNally Educational Publishing launched a nationwide search Monday to find the oldest political boundary world map being used to teach contemporary geography.
The company, a leading map producer, will award $10,000 to the school district, private school or archdiocese that finds the oldest world wall map.
"When I first saw the information kit, I was excited about the idea of winning until I read the details," Wymer said.
In American schools, thousands of students use world wall maps that are more than 70 years old, Rand McNally officials said.
They said some schools are trying to teach geography using world maps that don't show Israel, South Africa and North and South Korea, or that still display the Ottoman Empire, Persia and Arabia among the world's countries.
Israel was founded in 1948, the same year that South Korea became an independent nation.
"We want to dramatize the need for accurate, high-quality instructional material in U.S. schools, and provide a unique vehicle for teachers to help kids get excited about geography," said Dennis DeCock, vice president and general manager of Rand McNally.
"Up-to-date wall maps are critical to the effective implementation of curricula in today's classroom. Wall maps should be updated on a regular basis, just like textbooks," DeCock said.
The national hunt began Monday to coincide with the start of National Geography Awareness Week.
Most maps in Roanoke schools are fairly current, said Rita Bishop, assistant superintendent for instruction.
"We're in pretty good shape, but I'm not saying you might not find an old one somewhere," she said.
When Roanoke renovates and expands schools, it buys new maps and other equipment for the schools, Bishop said.
Gary Galbreath, principal of Roanoke's Hurt Park Elementary School, recalls using old wall maps when he taught in two rural counties in Southwest Virginia before coming to Roanoke in the early 1980s.
"We had some maps that didn't show Zimbabwe [formed in 1980 from Rhodesia] and some other African countries," Galbreath said.
"The world is changing so rapidly that it's hard for map companies to keep up with political boundaries," said Ned Olinger, principal of Virginia Heights Elementary in Roanoke.
Traditionally, schools also have given higher priority to other instructional tools, and funds for maps have often been limited, he said.
Olinger, who was a teacher and principal in several other school systems before coming to Roanoke this year, said he thinks most of Virginia Heights' maps are pretty current.
"But I'll be looking to see what we've got if there is a chance of winning $10,000 worth of maps," he said.
Maps must be at least 44 inches wide to be submitted for the contest. The most outdated political boundaries will determine the oldest world wall map.
Students and teachers can work together and research the world as it was to find the oldest map, using a tip sheet of key place names supplied by Rand McNally. A panel of Rand McNally cartographic experts will judge the maps and determine the winner.
Wymer said schools maps are expensive - a combination world and United States map can cost $200 or more. But they are an important instructional tool and the Rand McNally contest will help focus attention on the need for them to be current, he said.
"Maps give a sense of place and help students better understand the world," Wymer said. "We encourage our teachers to use them often."
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