geography

For Bob Carson, professor of geology and environmental studies at Whitman College, the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 was a chance to teach and learn from witnessing an active volcano in the backyard of his own state. Carson shared that knowledge Wednesday at the Walla Walla Public Library, where the children's section became a virtual classroom.

Geography isn’t what it used to be. Nowadays, that subject is often buried—and therefore inadequately covered—in a social studies curriculum itself under siege because of the extended commitment in schools to reading and math.