The Geography Tutor

Using a format similar to the Tell Me Why shows, The Geography Tutor aims to introduce young viewers to the subject of geography without any concessions to the fact that we're living in 1992. Which is not to say the information is dated, but rather the production has the look and feel of an old 16mm film. We examined the opening and closing volumes in the series: Map & Globe Terms (Vol. 1) and Global Problems & Issues (Vol. 6). Volume 1 covers globes, maps, distortion and projection, latitude and longitude, the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, meridians, the international date line, and the parts of a map. The information is presented in a straight, no chaser, manner guaranteed to miss the target audience of junior high students. Volume 6, while a bit more lively in subject matter (air pollution, the ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, rain forests, water pollution, decreasing natural resources, diminishing wildlife population, etc.), mixes older 16mm footage with newer video footage accompanied by the same dry narration and an incredibly repetitive musical soundtrack. A less expensive and much more accessible choice is Video Marketing, U.S.A.'s Visions of Adventure geography series (reviewed in the May, 1991 issue). The Geography Tutor while solid in its informational content is quite out of step with the times, audio-visually speaking, and is therefore not a necessary purchase. (Available from: Tell Me Why, Inc., 730 Washington St., Marina Del Rey, CA 90292.)