Posts: 986
From: Norfolk UK
Registered: Feb 2005

posted 11-18-2007 05:54 PM               

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I was selling space memorabilia all weekend at a US Air Force base 'somewhere in East Anglia, UK'. On my stand I had several flown Apollo items, labelled with details such as 'Carried to the Moon's surface by A15 Astronaut David Scott'.

Over the weekend I had no less than six American ladies and gents telling me the items could not be genuine, because "...no one's ever been to the Moon, Sir!" How prevalent is this opinion in the US?

Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

Posts: 986
From: Norfolk UK
Registered: Feb 2005

Posts: 582
From: Oregon
Registered: Feb 2003

posted 11-18-2007 06:20 PM               

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Hmmm, I have never heard that there were possibly a large number of people in this country who never learned of the moon landings, I will admit, that none (and I mean NONE) of the classes I took before college had the space program in their curriculum. I did have one history teacher in the 8th grade who had grown up in the 1960s become really passionate about the topic in the months leading up to the STS-95 launch and she felt the need to add some space history to the class...but that was it. So, I suppose its not that surprising. Plus, I went to private schools up through high school that made a big deal about teaching more and better than public schools and even they didn't mention it. I constantly tried to get my high school history teacher (who I am still good friends with) to cover it during his Modern World History course (which heavily covered the cold war) and in AP American History...but to no avail.

So, I guess its really not that surprising.

Posts: 1527
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007

posted 11-18-2007 07:19 PM               

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Being that some people in this country cannot correctly answer basic questions such as:

• Who is the current Vice-President?
  
• Do the United States and Australia share a common border?
  
• Who was Thomas Edison?
  
• Which countries did the United States fight in WWII, and what years was it fought?
  
• Point to the United States on a Globe.
  
• Who is considered the father of our country?
  
• Identify pictures of people like FDR, JFK, Neil Armstrong, Charles Lindbergh, Ronald Reagan (while nailing pics of Michael Jackson and Britney Spears)

...and exhibit a shocking lack of knowledge and awareness of many other historical events and people.

It's not surprising. They need to bring back that old game show "It Pays To Be Ignorant."

Posts: 59
From:
Registered: Oct 2005

Posts: 609
From: Morris County, NJ, USA
Registered: Jan 2006

Posts: 6222
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006

posted 11-21-2007 11:13 AM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by Delta7:
They need to bring back that old game show "It Pays To Be Ignorant."

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Oh, can I play, can I play?? You're working for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno? Can I provide silly answers? No?

Chris.

Posts: 445
From: Switzerland & France
Registered: Nov 2003

Posts: 168
From: London
Registered: Jan 2007

posted 11-21-2007 03:38 PM               

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David, I'm curious as to the approx. ages of these ladies and gents - those born after the moon landings missed out on all this (the poor things!!) and we can only but feel sorry for them not only to have missed out on such an eventful era, but also never to have been taught about this. As for anyone alive at the time of Apollo, there is no excuse for not knowing about the Moon landings - I know people in the third world who could name US astronauts, spacecraft etc.

Pat

Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007

posted 11-22-2007 03:39 PM               

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Another thing to consider as well is for a lot of service people (enlisted rather then officer grades), they come from poorer regions of the country and military service is considered a way out of the poverty region for them. That also goes for the spouses who might be high school sweethearts from the same places. The income level of such people is good, but they practically remain chained to the base and shop at the local Base Exchange for their needs since getting them off base is pretty expensive (especially in the UK right now with a poor performing dollar to the pound sterling).

They probably got a good education, but I doubt the space program was even thought of as a subject in either history or science (assuming they even had a good science teacher as the pay scales for some teachers are pretty low, be it inner city or rural areas). Officers on the otherhand are college level educated and have higher income levels. So they have more knowledge about such things and can go off base more to expand their experiences.

I personally don't look down on somebody who isn't educated. If they have a closed mind and aren't willing to open it, that is different from somebody who just hasn't learned it before.

I don't see it as being any different from the class mates I went to Space Camp with over two decades ago. Living in Texas and Nebraska most of my life, I had seen cows since I was very young. But a few of the girls in the camp class never had. When our bus would leave the Alabama Space and Rocket Center to head to Marshall SFC, we would pass by a pasture with some cows grazing. As we would pass by, a pair of the girls would go to the windows and go "Hey, look at the cows! Moo Moo, Moo Moo!" It got to be pretty silly for those of us who HAD seen cows before.

Posts: 438
From: NSW, Australia
Registered: May 2005

posted 11-22-2007 11:42 PM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by Jay Chladek:
Living in Texas and Nebraska most of my life, I had seen cows since I was very young. But a few of the girls in the camp class never had. When our bus would leave the Alabama Space and Rocket Center to head to Marshall SFC, we would pass by a pasture with some cows grazing. As we would pass by, a pair of the girls would go to the windows and go "Hey, look at the cows! Moo Moo, Moo Moo!" It got to be pretty silly for those of us who HAD seen cows before.

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Reminds me of the Billy Connelly routine, talking about when they would be taken to the country for the day as kids.

The teacher would say:

"Right. See the green stuff? Grass. See those things standing on the grass? Coos. Don't break 'em and be back in half an hour."

Posts: 48
From: Wesley Hills, New York
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 11-24-2007 05:24 PM               

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Even in top-rated school districts and private schools, manned space history and current activity is given little to no attention.

My son, now 14, was never taught about the US space program in school. I taught him all that he knows, and he has done "show & tell" and various projects/presentations over the years using some of my memorabilia and books. I've taken him and friends to the local Challenger Center, which is a nice way of getting an introduction to the space program. That and regular visits to KSC has given my son a good appreciation of manned space activity.

Posts: 438
From: NSW, Australia
Registered: May 2005

Posts: 618
From:
Registered: Aug 2006

posted 11-26-2007 11:39 AM               

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I can't believe that any adult from America would not know about the moon landings.

If that is truly the case, the military better be a bit choosier on whom they allow to sign up and the taxpayer better demand a refund for educating these so called adults. They are simply less than bright.

Posts: 48
From: Palm Coast Fl. USA
Registered: Aug 2007

Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-26-2007 02:42 PM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by Obviousman:
Call me old fashioned, but I wish kids would want to work at Mission Control rather than be a rock star.

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Hey, if I had the chance to work at Mission Control I would even wear a tie!

Posts: 115
From: Winterport, Maine, USA
Registered: Jul 2004

Posts: 3165
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 11-28-2007 02:44 PM            

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Seeing a video like this gives you both hope (the kid) and despair (the adult) - as well as a laugh. For you European readers, you'll love this one...

As part of the science center / museum education community, I have to say, there are a good number of great teachers out there doing an incredible job, despite prescribed curriculum limitations placed on them.

I think museums and science centers have more of a vital role than ever to play in educating both youth and adults, both in working with these teachers and with families, and thank you to all of those who support those efforts.