Stamps Tell the Story of a Place: Maldives

Stamp collecting is a hobby that takes you out into the world and gets you connected to other places. Stamps are more than just postage, they carry messages about people and what they are like and what they value. Most stamp collectors and clubs are ready to help young people get going in the hobby, so find one and have that collector show you how the hobby works.
To show this let me take the example of the Maldives. Islands just southwest of India, they are rather unknown by most people. What can be learned about them by stamp collecting?

They once were British colonies and would have some ties to Britain today. The stamp above is indicative of the method by which colonies picked up post offices. Early colonial stamps were often from other colonies (Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, in this case) or the colonial power with a new colonies' name imprinted on the top. Especially when using stamps from the colonial power they marked the outside influence, as in the King here.

This is the first local stamp from 1908. Note the Middle Eastern looking tower (Minaret of Juma Mosque) and the four languages on the stamp. This shows some cross-cultural nature to the islands. Obviously the colonial power is shown (by the English), but Arabic and other South Asian languages indicate involvement with India and the fact that the Maldives are Islamic. Islam arrived as part of the giant spread of the faith in the centuries after the times of Mohammed.  with Islam came Arabic.

The physical side is illustrated by this stamp of tropical fish. They have a number of fish oriented issues. Being islands fish are likely a major local food. Other elements show would be such as trees, butterflies, and birds.  The physical environment is important as tourism is a major business.  They have pristine beaches with wide ocean views.

Soccer on this stamp indicates a British time, or at least European. elements of culture show up on stamps. The major local game is taken from Europe. The culture was once dominated by the British.

On a different track is the fact that many small nations with limited industrial opportunities sell stamps to collectors on a wide variety of topics. Many of these have nothing to do with the Maldives or that other spots, but they are exploiting the topical interests of stamp collectors to raise money. Mickey Mouse is not theirs, but many collectors exist who buy anything Mickey. The same is true of Elvis, living presidents of the US, princess Diana, and a wide list of general things like, nude art, movie stars, birds, fish, and such.
So just by looking at a countries' stamps, you have a geography unit in the making. Some might find a lifelong hobby that puts foreign places right in front of you.  You can certainly find geographers who got their interest in the field by collecting stamps and learning where all those strange places were.

Onsen

 

Bathing is very important in Japanese culture.  The Onsen or sento is the place to do this.  While private bathing is growing, the bath is a public experience.  The volcanic nature of Japan has allowed readily available hot warm.

Bathing traditionally has been with mixed sexes, but law now allows separation. relaxation and conversation are open parts of this process. You meet people and can just be along to think/mediate, too.

The process is to clean yourself first, then use the bath to soak and meditate or talk.  One talks with relatives, friends, or just those present..  The social class rules are suspended as the bath is a meeting zone for people of all classes.  One is to clean and purify the body to communicate with the gods who rest in nature.  These two processes are separated.  To enter the bath to clean like we do would be a social error in Japan.

The water must be hot. Temperatures are in the range of 105 or more so the skin gets red.

The Maldives

 

The Maldives are a group of islands off the coast of India in the Indian Ocean.  They are not well known to most people.  Scuba and skin divers would be the biggest audience having some familiarity with them.  YouTube has a number of short clips to show them off.

The Maldives have a maximum rise of 7 feet above sea level.  The average elevation is only 3 feet.  They are coral reefs.

They must import most of their foods as there is little space for agriculture.  They do export some clothing.

For interaction and integration with us they are a tourist spot, mostly for scuba and skin divers.  They have wonderful beaches and the diving conditions are super.  The other item of interaction and integration, and the most likely place for them in your curriculum, is that they are on the front lines for damage from global warming.  If the oceans rise only a few feet they have little that can be done to save them.  If you are only a maximum of seven feet out of the water, you are first in line for trouble if ocean levels rise.  A place to know.

Henna

 

Henna is widely used in the Middle East and Asia to paint designs on the hands, feet, and other parts of the body.  In the Middle East a wedding is often a time for a bride to be painted.  Designs are often intricate.  Kits are available from Amazon and other places.  The designs generally last about one month and are not permanent tattoos.  The designs are painted on using a stylus.

Tse-tse fly

 

The tsetse fly carries a parasite the caused trypanosomiasis or "sleeping sickness" in humans and animals.  The parasite enters the brain from the blood system and then invades the central nervous system.  This results in changes to the human sleep rhythms and perceptions of the world.  Often the victim loses coordination of the body, too. 

Its has had a powerful impact upon world history in that those spreading the Islamic faith south in Africa, following the time of Mohammad, were riding horses that were also impacted by the tse-tse.  The southward spread of Islam was thus limited in Africa.  Hence northern Nigeria is Islamic and southern Nigeria is not, etc.

The World Health Organization of the United Nations describes this disease in the following:  "The tsetse fly bite erupts into a red sore and within a few weeks the person can experience fever, swollen lymph glands, aching muscles and joints, headaches and irritability. In advanced stages, the disease attacks the central nervous system, causing changes in personality, alteration of the biological clock (the circadian rhythm), confusion, slurred speech, seizures, and difficulty walking and talking. These problems can develop over many years in the Gambiense form and some months in the Rhodesiense form; if not treated, the person will die."  [See World Health Organization.  2012.  http://www.who.int/topics/trypanosomiasis_african/en/ ]

The Nature of Images

 

Behavioral geography is the study of the behavior of people in, and in respect to, space. The spatial environment in which a human being lives massively influences personality and resulting behaviors. One of the important elements of this environment is the image that the human being has of it and its pieces. This image is a mental picture and the associated ideas. It essentially is the world as perceived by that person. This image may be a simple picture of a mountain, say for Switzerland. It may also be complex with multiple frames and pieces. For example the image of Switzerland for one who has made multiple visits may involve rich images of mountains, towns, people, roads, flowers, and animals. It may have a detailed information base of business and personal activities involving he Swiss. All of this becomes a set of images and facts in the mind.

This image is the perceived world. It is of great importance because we act on our images and perceptions. The real world imposes limits that may force corrections when reached, but the image guides behavior, not reality. For example, Texans may perceive North Dakota as a frozen wasteland, but this is not the full reality. North Dakotans may perceive Texas in terms of the television program Dallas, or in terms of cowhands and cattle, but this is not the full reality of Texas. Yet people act upon these perceptions. A Texan will resist moving to North Dakota because of the image that there is nothing here. The reality to the Texan is what he or she knows, not what others might know.

Essentials of the Image Process

The above chart outlines the sources of images. The brain is constantly learning about places from travel, events, parents, information, movies, television, music, books, magazines, religion, friends, people, maps, art, and other items. These elements are interpreted in terms of personal and cultural filters. The image is built in the mind. Action results from using the mental information in situations. The personal and cultural filter is also used to adjust the nature of output so that the action is personally and culturally appropriate or understandable. Some details:

• Sources. The sources of our images of places are varied. For any particular place we may have traveled to it and gained on-the-spot information. We may have seen it in movies, heard our parents talk about it, read a novel set in the location, fell in love with a song about it, seen it on maps, or dreamed about it after viewing a famous artists paintings of it. In all of these we are developing a perception of a place and building an image in our minds. On a personal level, my image of California is varied and complex, but it began with images generated by beach movies in the 1960's, the songs of the Beach Boys, Sunrays, Jan and Dean, and the Eagles ("Hotel California"), travel to San Francisco and San Diego, and a massive set of news events. California begins on a beach, slinks along in the sleaze and sex of Hollywood, builds to an earthquake, then smothers itself in a plethora of bad news. The pictures are numerous, yet they are the California I relate to and teach about.
• Personal Cultural Filters. There is no objective world. We all see a subjective world that is influenced by our personality and our culture. Our view of any place is determined by the intermixing of our personality and our cultural perspective. Multiculturalist philosophy asks that we maintain our sense of ourselves and glorify our "original" sense of place. Our view of the world is that of our group, with leeway for the vagaries of our own development as a person. We subjectively view the world and build our image through our cultural lens.
• Stereotypes. A stereotype is a regularized image, thought, symbol, or other form that a society holds about another person, group, thought, idea, or place. Part of the personal-cultural filter is the stereotype. With places, the stereotype is related to distance. Separated places, those with little regularized need to fully deal with each other, develop stereotypes to simplify the process of relating. One society simplifies another in order to grasp some essential understanding of the other society, yet not to mark it for detailed effort. Alternatively we might stereotype to make learning easier for children, or to ensure a unified knowledge base is held in common among a people. What is amazing is that stereotypes can be so widely held. The postmodern media makes this easy, yet such stereotypes predate the power of postmodern television and films.
• Action. When we act, the same filters come into play. What we do rarely reflects a total letting go of what we feel. We control ourselves because we have learned this is socially required. We have also learned that our society expects communication to occur in certain ways. We have a set of words that define the nature of communication and the message. For example, Americans have a limited set of words to describe snow types compared to Inuit peoples along the north coast of Canada and Alaska. Our communication about snow is therefore limited. We will also express recognition and understanding of stereotypes. These aid communication within a group.

In the end, the images we hold are our understanding of places. Just as when our understanding of one we love is shaped by our image, we act upon the reality as understood by our mind, not the full reality of the world.

Perception-Image Examples

Our image is a very serious thing. Given that it is a source of action, its inaccuracies can be costly. Take the following examples:

• The Prairie. Pioneers misunderstood the prairie. While the prairie has turned out to be a splendid productive resource, as settlers coming from the east first encountered it, they viewed it as worthless. They were people of forested areas. Forests were perceived as signs of good soil. Finding a treeless zone they assumed it was of no value. Their image varied from reality.
• Deserts. Europeans faltered in their ability to interpret the world as they explored it over the last 500 years because early reports of the Sahara area conflicted with culturally held beliefs about the percentage of the earth that was well watered. Finding such a desert was fully observable, yet they discounted it because the cultural filter called it impossible.
• Indian Markets. American firms have made differing investment decisions concerning India over the last several decades. Some corporate leaders have understood the giant potential of the Indian middle and upper classes, while other have seen it as a place of the poor. Executive images guided corporate policy on investment. Some correctly saw the large market for numerous goods, others failed to see these opportunities.

Thus our images and perceptions have great importance.

Simple Notes on Using Bulletin Boards in the Geography Classroom

 

Bulletin boards are a part of every classroom in the United States. Those bare walls need decorating and teachers for generations have covered them with educationally meaningful materials. Becoming even more important, is that with so many students with visual learning styles, the use of the visual media in education has grown.

Bulletin boards are a convenient way to handle visual-learning components in a classroom setting. They involve the visual presentation of a message using bright, colorful materials. While they have their own special features, they do share many graphic components with other presentation formats: posters, computer graphics and web pages, comic books, billboards, multimedia, etc.

Bulletin boards require that you have a focused message. Boards have a gross character to them, a lack of great detail. Just like comic books, they do not present a pictorial or fuylly detailed view of anything. They communicate a simple message to the passer by.

Bulletin boards can be a project for students as easily as they are one for teachers. The goal of this type of project is to produce bulletin board materials, fully appropriate for school use, that deal with topics from geography. The producer of the boards, you or your student(s), will integrate and manipulate class content while developing skills useful to teachers and of personal value as a creative activity.

The specific objectives of this type of project might be to:

1. increase the learning of class materials through the completion of research and presentation activities.
2. incorporate the skills and talents needed to organize and create bulletin boards into one's repertoire.
3. integrate class materials with pre-teaching experiences such that the class materials are understood in terms of their expected use and positions in elementary, middle, junior high, and high school programs.
4. accurately assess student achievement of the course goals and objectives using a methodology that reflects career-oriented practice (graphics use).
5. engage the student in active learning through the production and presentation of appropriate materials for the audience.

At the completion of this project, the you or your student(s) will have met outcomes from among the following:

1. produced a bulletin board that integrates class materials through a creative process, the result being increased learning of the course materials.
2. presented a short address to the class about the bulletin board, thus becoming more comfortable with oral presentation situations and having increased the learning of class materials through teaching of those materials.
3. developed bulletin board production skills through practice and reaction to criticism.

In a classroom setting, the teacher is normally the producer of bulletin boards. Teachers do let students take over this function as a project, and this is certainly to be encouraged. If students engage in bulletin board production as a project the following assessment criteria might be considered:

1. The overall quality will be assessed, say on a on a scale from 0 to 10. Considered in this grade, but not limited to these factors, might be: (a) meaningfulness of the message, does your board have a message that is worth the effort?; (b) clarity of the message, does the board convey its message in an effective way?; (c) innovation, does the board show the innovative use of materials and concepts?; (d) originality, does the board use only original materials, as opposed to photocopied or purchased items; (e) size, is the board large enough and bright enough to effectively communicate a message in a bulletin board situation?; and (f) relative quality, can your board be considered a "quality" piece of work against the standards of local, state, and national peers?
2. Excellence in artistic quality. The board shall display a sense of pride and artistic quality appropriate for display in a classroom. It shall be constructed of the best affordable materials and appear to have required some effort to complete. Pride should certainly be a part of this. Does the board display a sense of pride in workmanship?
3. If an oral presentation accompanies the unveiling of the board then excellence in orally presenting a summary, etc. of the board's message to the class by the student(s) should be assessed. The talk should illustrate full understanding of the concepts and facts involved. For details on specific items within the above three categories, see the grading sheet attached at the end of this document.

Factors to Consider in Board Construction

There are numerous books and manuals available on bulletin boards. The following represents a synthesis and consensus of these materials about the construction of bulletin boards (see bibliography). Student-produced bulletin boards will be expected to follow these principles.

1. Boards can be categorized into static-message and activity-message types. The static-message type acts as a billboard for some facet of learning. The activity- message type gives the same message, but involves the viewer in some activity. In the latter, the viewer is asked to participate through the movement of pieces on the board, the mental or oral answering of questions, or the filling in of question-answer sheets provided on the board in an envelope or by other means.
2. The literature suggests that boards focus on one simple idea, rather than multiple concepts. Multiple goals tend to lead to boards that are crowded, unappealing to the eye, loaded with small print that is inappropriate to bulletin boards, and other errors.
3. The literature suggests that a good board has balance, whether symmetrical or asymmetrical. The board's message should flow easily to the viewer because the board is organized to help the eye follow that message.
   • One must note that the non-linear (or MTV) style of presentation can be used, but such presentations can cause a severe loss of message impact under most circumstances. For this reason they should be avoided. By non-linear (or MTV) style, a board is implied that has jumbled pieces which force the viewer to work to assemble the message, or may leave it unclear in the viewer's mind.
4. The literature suggests that bright colors and quality lettering are essential in making the board attractive to viewers. Small print should be avoided. If you cannot read and understand the board at a distance of six feet, it is too small. An exception can be made only for limited instructions on activity-oriented boards. These following hints will assist you:
   • DO USE construction paper. It is bright and attractive on the wall.
   • DO NOT USE plain paper with some ink or pencil color scratched across it. These materials have only a small chance of looking good.
   • AVOID using magic markers for small lettering. Markers work well for outlining and drawing on colored papers, but few people can use them well for small lettering. Most often they lead people to write too much. Be careful. If it cannot be read at six feet, it is too small.
   • NEVER use cursive writing (unless writing in cursive is the actual topic). It impedes the message and, for most people, looks sloppy. Cursive, for the most part, immediately tells the viewer you do not care what the board looks like.
   • DO USE big letters cut from construction paper. They really help a board's image.
5. A multitude of materials can be used on boards. Sticking to the wall is the only limitation.
   • Styrofoam, crepe paper, cardboard, cloth wire, string, aluminum foil, grass, yarn, construction paper, pipe cleaners, cereal boxes
6. Thou shalt not be boring. Boards are to be exciting.
7. Stand back from your work and ask yourself if it actually says what you want it to say. Without any explanations is the message clear. This is a major problem for those new to making boards. The board has neat pieces of art, but together they do not mean anything.

Conclusion

The bulletin board has been a part of the classic American classroom. It offers the teacher a way to convey information in a visual way. It can be used as a project for students. It has an appropriate place in the geographic education program.

Selected Bibliography

Alton, Elaine, Judith Gersting, and Kuczkowski. 1978. Bulletin Board Learning Centers. Dansville, NY: Instructor Publications.

Bagan, Paula, and Barbara Forin. 1960. North Dakota Project. Bulletin of the Association of North Dakota Geographers 12 (April): 17-18.

Meartz, Paul D. 1995, 1999. Simple Notes on Using Bulletin Boards in the Geography Classroom. Brochure.

Miller, Lynne G. 1974. Ready-to-Make Bulletin Boards. New York: Scholastic Books.

Olson, Mary Lou. 1981. American Social Studies Characters. St. Paul, MN: Trend Enterprises. (TLC)

Phillips, Loretta. 1993. Bulletin board in a sack. NEA Today (May): 11. Bulletin Boards. Suggests using brown-paper sacks for small bulletin boards.

Smith, Seaton E. 1977. Bulletin Board Ideas for Elementary and Middle School Mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (LIB)

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