posted 04-18-2006 04:12 PM            

Today, I went aroung my school, Elwood John H. Glenn High School, stopping people in the halls and at lunch, asking one simple question. "Who was the first man to walk on the moon?"

In the IMAX Movie, "Magnificent Desolation", the film makers brought young children into their studio, and asked similar questions. I can understand them not knowing the answers, but give me a break! THIS IS HIGH SCHOOL!!!

The answers I got were absolutley pathetic!

Here are some of the top answers-----

- "Lance Armstrong"
- "John Glenn" - C'mon, your school is named after him and you don't even know what he did!
- "I don't care" -
- "That guy...I forget his name."
- "Wasn't it a Russian? -
- " I have no idea"

My favorite was from the Turkish student. He has been in America for about 3 years, and speaks near perfect English.

- "I don't know who the first was...,but I know the second was Bill Gates" -

Do this for yourself. Tell your kids or grandkids to do this at their school, or even just stop a few people on the street. I am interested to see what they say.

These people must have never been told who Neil Armstrong was, or maybe they just couldn't care less. Whatever the reason is, this really upsets me.

My Results:

Out of the 52 people I asked, only 12 answered "Neil Armstrong".
Making only 23% knowing who the first man on the moon was.

It is very sad!

------------------
Mike

[This message has been edited by FutureAstronaut (edited April 18, 2006).]

posted 04-18-2006 05:03 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Astro Bill:
Does anyone know how many minutes passed before Buzz Aldrin joined Neil Armstrong walking on the surface of the Moon?

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About 15 minutes.

posted 04-18-2006 05:21 PM               

That is very pathetic as far as people not knowing who was first to walk on the moon.

Did you Educate those who didn't know? (I hope you did!).

Keep up the good work and thanx for the Easter E-Card.

posted 04-18-2006 05:22 PM               

Regards,

posted 04-18-2006 05:28 PM            

(1) Which U.S. President delivered the Gettysburg Address?
(2) Which U.S. President ordered a nuclear strike (against which country?) in 1945?
(3) Who was the last U.S. President to be assassinated?
(4) Who was U.S. President before George W. Bush?

I would be genuinely interested to hear the results. Are you confident (are any other CSers confident?) that the answers will be much better than 23% correct?

posted 04-18-2006 06:02 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by zee_aladdin:
Hey Mike:

That is very pathetic as far as people not knowing who was first to walk on the moon.

Did you Educate those who didn't know? (I hope you did!).

Keep up the good work and thanx for the Easter E-Card.

- Zee

---

Yes, I surely did educate them. Most, after I told them, remembered Neil.

posted 04-18-2006 07:49 PM               

The bottom line is that NASA needs better "press." They should be more active in informing the public about the benefits of space research. The fact that some people do not know Neil Armstrong is partially his fault because of his reclusiveness. For nearly 40 years he has shunned public appearances, with very few exceptions. I doubt that 1 in 100 people would recognize Armstrong in an elevator.

posted 04-18-2006 07:57 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Astro Bill:
Does anyone know how many minutes passed before Buzz Aldrin joined Neil Armstrong walking on the surface of the Moon?

---

posted 04-18-2006 08:15 PM            

No, I am not in any way implying that because they don't know the name of the first person to walk on the moon that they are a "moron", or less intelligent that me at all. I am just implying that space exploration should be more widely taught in schools. Like I said, my social studies textbook only has 3 pages on the subject. This is in my opinion the greatest achievement of mankind it it's entire existance, and should be taught just as much as the American Revolutionary War or the Industrial Revolution.

------------------
Mike

posted 04-18-2006 08:19 PM               

Americans don't even know where countries are on a map. This is why China, Japan and India will surpass the U.S. in the next 50 years with innovation and robust economies. Even Harrison Schmitt felt that way. In fact, he said China was working towards a lunar landing "right under our noses" and that the media hasn't caught on yet.

We are a spoiled nation that has lost its educational traditions. Our leaders are the same- the President couldn't name leaders of the world before he was elected the first time.

That is why I love to collect early space material. It is a lost generation of people that learned math and science and loved it. We are in a dark ages when it comes to that spirit.

posted 04-18-2006 08:22 PM               

Ask your classmates to tell you who Adolf Hitler was. You will be shocked to hear what they say.

Glad to see that there is at least one student interested in space history!

posted 04-18-2006 11:03 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Moonpaws:
Not enough.

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Moonpaws,

What does "not enough" mean?

I originally asked the question above about how much time separated Armstrong's step on the Moon from Aldrin's because to me they are equal. They BOTH landed on the Moon at the same time. Yes, Armstrong was first to actually step out of the LM and step on the lunar surface. A few minutes later (15-17)Aldrin joined him. So Armstrong's claim to fame is 15 minutes on the Moon by himself.

posted 04-18-2006 11:15 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by FutureAstronaut:
"You are equating knowledge with intelligence. Just because someone does not know the name of the first man to walk on the Moon does not mean that he/she is a "moron." "- AstroBill

No, I am not in any way implying that because they don't know the name of the first person to walk on the moon that they are a "moron", or less intelligent that me at all. I am just implying that space exploration should be more widely taught in schools. Like I said, my social studies textbook only has 3 pages on the subject. This is in my opinion the greatest achievement of mankind it it's entire existance, and should be taught just as much as the American Revolutionary War or the Industrial Revolution.

---

FutureAstronaut,

My comment above regarding equating knowledge with intelligence was meant for Blackarrow, not for you. Blackarrow stated, "Basically, the world is full of monons."

posted 04-19-2006 10:25 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Astro Bill:
The fact that some people do not know Neil Armstrong is partially his fault because of his reclusiveness. For nearly 40 years he has shunned public appearances, with very few exceptions. I doubt that 1 in 100 people would recognize Armstrong in an elevator.

---

Facial recognition and name recognition are two very different things. Ask most adults who Neil Armstrong is and they'll likely know. Ask them to pick him out of a police line-up and they'll probably fail.

The fact that Neil doesn't self-promote more often has nothing to do with a shocking lack of history knowledge many people have. To blame it on Neil's "reclusiveness" is a bit extreme. That's like saying that more people would remember Abe Lincoln's accomplishment had he made more public appearances and not died as early as he did.

Or look at it this way. Buzz Aldrin is a great self-promoter and has talked extensively about his moon landing. Yet ask most kids who Buzz Aldrin is and they'll probably tell you he was a character in Toy Story.

Certain things are considered great moments in history. Man walking on the moon is one of them. It shouldn't require that Neil continually do the talk show circuit yelling out "Hey! I walked on the moon!!" to make people understand what happened. After all, I would hope we have the ability to learn history without requiring that the key players in that history being responsible for teaching it to us. After all, FDR isn't available these days to tell us about the New Deal.

I don't expect people to recognize Neil Armstrong on the street. But that name should probably trigger a bell in most people's minds that makes them remember that, yes, we did land on the moon. With the current state of things, I'm afraid more kids are growing up believing it was all a hoax.

If I had any say in the matter, certain subjects like the moon landings would be taught to kids when they are around ages 7-10. At that age, they are more likely to be interested in space than they would be if you wait until they are 15-18. After all, if you need to identify a dinosaur, ask an 8-year old, not an 18-year old.

posted 04-19-2006 11:21 AM               

(Just kidding of course)

Congratulations for being a high school student and knowing a lot of the good suff. I cry for the next generation.

Back in 1999(?) when the Climate Lander was supposed to land, I was at work watching streaming vido on the computer. A coworker asked what was watching and I told him I was waiting to see if the lander survived the landing. He said "are there people on board?" I had to leave the building for a while after he said that. I think I screamed when I went outside.

posted 04-19-2006 11:23 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by tegwilym:
.

Back in 1999(?) when the Climate Lander was supposed to land,

Tom

---

Whoops! I meant POLAR LANDER.

posted 04-19-2006 02:43 PM               

One of my career goals is to NEVER see one of my students interviewed by Jay Leno on Jaywalking. I hate it when Leno does that, I find it depressing.

posted 04-19-2006 03:46 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by BobbyA:
I am a teacher (7th grade civics in Winchester VA), but 2 years ago I was teaching US history in Lake Orion Michigan. While teaching the 1960s the other history teachers spent about a week on music, I chose to focus my time on the space program. It was a good lesson, each student was assigned a mission and they researched on line. But whenever I mention that the last time man was on the moon was 1972 they are all shocked. "Then where does the Space Shuttle go?" Is a very common question.

One of my career goals is to NEVER see one of my students interviewed by Jay Leno on Jaywalking. I hate it when Leno does that, I find it depressing.

Bob

---

Thats good to hear. I was at the Cradle of Aviation museum a few weeks ago. I overheard a dad telling his 2 or 3 year old son, "This is what goes to the moon"., while pointing to a model of Columbia. I felt like going over an smacking him on the side of the face!
1- The shuttle never went to the moon!!!
2- Don't make your son grow up knowing thinking the shuttle did!!!
3- It isn't what GOES to the moon. Even if it HAD, you would say it WENT, because we haven't been there since 1972!!!
4- It isn't what GOES to the moon, because it was destroyed!!! REMEMBER!
5- Only 2 people landed at once. Do you even know how many go on current shuttle missions?!?
6- IF YOUR AT THE CRADLE OF AVIATION, YOU SHOULD HAVE A BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF SPACE EXPLORATION!!!!!

Of course..., I had to keep my coments to myself.

------------------
Mike

posted 04-19-2006 04:01 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by FutureAstronaut:
Of course..., I had to keep my coments to myself.

---

I used to spend a lot of my free time after classes at the University of Maryland at the National Air and Space Museum. Sometimes I would sit in the Milestones of Flight Gallery, listening to what people said as they encountered the space artifacts. When I heard someone make a mistake (and after giving them a moment or two to either find the descriptive plaque or attempt to ask a docent by themselves), I would walk over and politely offer the correction. Never did anyone respond rudely or with anger. Some just shrugged off the information but there were more than a few that replied with additional questions, which I was more than happy to answer. The end result was that they left with a deeper appreciation of the artifact they were viewing.

Next time, don't stay quiet. Don't be rude or condescending, but offer the correction. You might be pleasantly surprised by the results.

posted 04-22-2006 05:06 AM               

"Does anyone know how many minutes passed before Buzz Aldrin joined Neil Armstrong walking on the surface of the Moon?"

If you sincerely wanted to know the answer to that question, then why didn't you ask it yourself on an original post of your own instead of attempting to hijack another's thread?
It is EXTREMELY disrespectful to others here, especially interested highschoolers who are OUR future, when the very first reply to a topic from an adult does not even acknowledge the post, nor the poster and is about something that has nothing to do with the topic at all.
Keep your questions to the topic at hand, show some respect and save your other questions until you find time to post them yourself.

'Pertinently' yours,

Rob

posted 04-22-2006 02:46 PM               

May i just say that i had a very funny moment not so long ago,my boss went to a "pub quiz" and at 10.00 0`clock at night phoned me up to double check the answer to a question that was asked,the question was "who was the 1st man in orbit",he answered Buzz Aldrin to which i quickly corrected him and he is old enough to actually remember having been born in 1953 !

All the best,
Alex.