Wikijunior talk:South America

Other Questions?
Are there other questions we should answer? Culture? Religion? Music? Any ideas? Lyellin 01:37, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)


 * Oh yes, definitely. I was in fact hoping this issue to focus primarily on those topics. Really, cover whatever you want to write about. Extra content online is a major bonus if we can get it. A few years from now, I hope we're at the stage with content and funds that we could publish issues on single countries, or at least groups. --  user:zanimum

Racism
The only country in the whole of South Americas that's primarily white is Argentina, the rest are primarily Indian or Black. South America is composed of mestizo (Indian - European), mulatto (Black - European) or mestizo-mulatto (Indian - Black - European) people. The white people are a small minority everywhere except Argentina. Are these facts reflected in the books? No, they are not. The books all read like they were written by white supremacists. The only exception is Venezuela and only because I fixed it personally. It's one thing to distort the picture by not mentioning the blatant racism in South America, it takes it to a whole other extreme when you distort such an obvious thing as ethnicity. 70.26.56.242 21:08, 6 November 2005 (UTC)


 * Actually, many of the Wikijunior:South America modules are stubs missing much information. --Kernigh 21:24, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

El Salvador
Why is El Salvador not in this book? Is it because it is in fact in Central America? Some children in New York think it is in South America, and I'm inviting them to participate in this book, and that's why I should like some correct information. I've had one accusation in regard to this book of passing on incorrect information to children, so I should not like another on my conscience. --EuropracBHIT 00:57, 19 January 2006 (UTC).


 * Some people consider Mexico to be in South America too. Look at a map of North America and you will see some important differences.  From a geological viewpoint, El Salvador is actually in North America (it is physically on the Carribian plate, often associated in physical geography with North America) even if it has strong cultural ties to South American coutries.  For now, all we are trying to do is to somehow limit the range of countries that are involved with this Wikibook.  We really do need to eventually expand and move into other regions, and often Central America and the Carribian nations are geographically linked together.  Also, distinguishing between Anglo-America and Latin-America is very artificial and overly broad as well.  And tends to gloss over important groups like French-speaking people in Quebec, Louisiana (OK, Creole there) or Haiti. Or the Pennsylvania Dutch for that matter.  There is also a huge difference in culture between Mexico and Argentina, even though the typical American doesn't see any difference.


 * In this regard, don't try to spread misinformation that El Salvador is in South America. In addition, we do want to get to the Central American countries as well at some time in the future but not at the moment.  I am glad that you are trying to help improve this Wikibook, and I hope that the kids that you are encouraging to work on this have been enjoying the experience.  They would be a group of kids writing for kids, and that is exciting by itself.  --Rob Horning 13:10, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Aztecs?
There is a page on Incas, why not the Aztecs? MiltonT 14:18, 25 September 2006 (UTC)


 * The Aztecs lived in North America. Where Mexico is now. --Xixtas 02:28, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

Revitalizing Wikijunior South America
In my opinion, Wikijunior South America doesn't really work as is. I think there are probably reasons rooted in it being the third book to be started and the push that happened on the first two books for it being as undeveloped as it is.

I find the history/culture/geography approach to be kind of dry. I think that most kids wouldn't find these articles to be very interesting. I would like to propose a major reworking of the book, with new questions, and a new development effort. A relaunch almost. I think we need questions that are more directly relevant to kid's experience.

The new set of questions I would propose for each country are:
 * What are %country's% national symbols?
 * (Flag, Animal, Seal, etc.)


 * What are some famous places in %country%?
 * (Historic places, Big Cities, Natural Features)


 * What important events have happened in %country%?
 * (European Contact, Founding, Elections, Millitary Conflicts.)


 * What is the natural environment like in %country%?
 * (Natural Geography, Climate, Animals, Nature Preserves)


 * What types of things are exported from %country%?
 * (Business & Economy Overview, GNP, Free-Market/State-Run, Natural Resources)


 * What is school like in %country%?
 * (Language, Education System, Age of students, Education levels of kids and adults, Universities)


 * What is the food like in %country%?
 * (Agriculture, Local dishes, specific foods eaten (eg. beef, plantains)


 * What music is popular in %country%?
 * (Indigenous music forms, popularity of music from other parts of the world, dancing)


 * What sports are popular in %country%?
 * (Football (soccer), Olympic Athletes, Notable athletes playing internationally.)


 * Who are some famous people from %country%?
 * (2 sentence biographies, writers, politicians)

Is anyone else up for this kind of effort? --xixtas 05:56, 27 November 2006 (UTC)


 * I have been working on Colombia to demonstrate how these articles might look. --xixtas 21:38, 21 December 2006 (UTC)