I saw this a week or so ago and wanted to comment on it. When High school students were sked to name the most famous Americans in history, high school students put 20th-century black Americans in the top three slots. Here are the top 10, with the percentage who chose each:
1. Martin Luther King Jr.: 67%
2. Rosa Parks: 60%
3. Harriet Tubman: 44%
4. Susan B. Anthony: 34%
5. Benjamin Franklin: 29%
6. Amelia Earhart: 25%
7. Oprah Winfrey: 22%
8. Marilyn Monroe: 19%
9. Thomas Edison: 18%
10. Albert Einstein: 16%
I will post a follow-up this weekend. But I think there are some interesting questions to ask of this poll. For one I did a similiar poll in my U.S. History class and came up with a different list provided by my students.
i’m very surprised there were no athletes on the list. when thinking about the most famous americans of all time Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan have to make the list.
but i’m very proud of our youth for naming MLK #1. He undoubtedly deserves it.
and…is Einstein even American? born in germany, became a citizen of switzerland… but was he ever an american citizen?
No disrespect to those on this list because most of them are certainly worthy of recognition, but it really bothers me that not even Lincoln or Washington are named. I don’t think that says anything complimentary about the way education is going in this country.
One of my readers last week noted that the voters could not select a president or first lady, so we need to view these results with that in mind. I will have a follow-up post soon…
Chris
Ah! Well, that makes it a bit better.