Driving home from Kindergarten on Friday, M informed us that…
“January 19th is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!”
I was curious to see, what exactly, M was learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. I mean, there is a big difference between knowing the date of a school holiday versus knowing the reason and meaning behind observing a day off to honor a great man.
“And what did Martin Luther King, Jr. do? Do you know who he was?"
I asked M, as I looked at my friend Amy, who was riding with us, and winked.
“He gave people back their minds and helped them find their personalities.”
Amy and I exchanged slow, wide-eyed glances. After a beat, Amy said,
“Well, now THAT’S an interesting interpretation of Dr. King’s message!”
Indeed!
1 comment:
A diverse group of 2,000 high-school juniors and seniors from all 50 states was recently (2007) surveyed: "Starting from Columbus to the present day, jot down the names of the most famous Americans in history."
The top three answers were:
1) Martin Luther King, Jr.
2) Rosa Parks
3) Harriet Tubman
Benjamin Franklin made the top ten, with Oprah Winfrey, but not George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John F. Kennedy, Daniel Boone, Thomas Paine, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, etc.
(See http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-02-03-most-famous-americans_N.htm )
In another study, nearly 1/4 of 17-year-olds couldn't identify Adolf Hitler (10% thought he was a munitions manufacturer!), and more than a quarter thought Columbus sailed after 1750 (a quarter also didn't know that it is the Declaration of Independence that declares that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights”)!
But 97% knew that the "I have a dream" speech was given by Martin Luther King, Jr. In fact, the report states, "Except for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, iconic 'I have a dream' speech, there is not a single historical figure or event—including Pearl Harbor and George Washington’s service as head of the Continental Army during the
Revolutionary War—that 90 percent of 17-year-olds could accurately identify."
(See http://www.commoncore.org/_docs/CCreport_stillatrisk.pdf [PDF])
So, you probably have another 12 years of hearing odd interpretations of Martin Luther King, Jr., material...but if your children are like many these days, that's about all they'll get. Don't worry about hearing about the topics of a broad-based, in-depth education. :-(
But I sure love reading your stories, Pretty Lady! :-)
Post a Comment