One tool that Dora used for exploration was the character Map. The show uses anthropomorphism to depict Map as an interactive character. It appears in every episode as Dora must read it to reach her destination. Note that Dora has to read it as a paper scroll. It is not depicted as a GPS unit. She memorizes the landmarks on the map, puts away Map into her backpack, and expects her viewers to recall the milestones. At no time is there a device guiding her step-by-step to her destination.
This map memorization method that Dora uses has been a standard for travelers since the dawn of map-making. On long family road trips, I remember reading the paper map for landmarks to confirm that we were traveling in the right direction. As a kid, I also was curious about when we were crossing into a new state. The map showed me to look for an upcoming river, ridge, or other notable landscape feature that would indicate the point of crossing. This habit even encouraged me to keep track of the states I have visited in the hopes of visiting all 50 states.
I recently decided to perform an exercise with my close friends. I gave them a blank map of the United States and asked them to fill in the state abbreviations. There was no prize. It was simply an activity to show what everyone knew about the location of the states. The teen girl in the group got about 15 labeled correctly. One lady in the group got 20 correct. I scored well with about 35 correct. As the cover photo shows, I struggle with identifying the Western U.S. states & the small Eastern states. I attribute that missing information to not doing enough research to set a goal to visit Vermont, Montana, or the Dakotas.
However, I know where the states I’ve visited are situated on the map. This awareness helped me on a recent visit to Massachusetts. While I was in Boston for the 2023 NAACP National Convention, I swung by a city in the regional area to see Plymouth Rock, an iconic piece of American history. Without this awareness of the USA, I might’ve never crossed off seeing something that I’d placed on my bucket list through watching “Schoolhouse Rock”.
Much of the shift in learning and retaining the skill of reading maps is due to the proliferation of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. This innovation has introduced convenience into the act of finding one’s way around anywhere. People are no longer required to maintain location awareness by using landmarks or being familiar with their surroundings. GPS technology will guide travelers from start to finish with only rare errors due to neighborhood development.
Convenience is wonderful until the power goes out. Systems can fail even with redundant failsafes. Devices have a much lower threshold for failure. The potential to get lost can happen. Despite the fairly common notion that memorizing the states of the country in which you live is a useless waste of brain cells, sharpening map reading skills can be an invaluable asset.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of Joel A. Johnson's work on Medium.