For Many Students, Presidential Names Don’t Ring A Bell At Schools Named After Former U.S. Commanders In Chief, History Doesn’t Pack Much Punch

As the nation celebrated Presidents Day on Monday, a sampling of students at schools named after former commanders in chief showed White House history doesn’t pack much punch.

“You mean Cleveland High was named after a former president?” asked Mildred Monroy, a junior at Grover Cleveland High School. “I always thought it was named after that city in Canada.”

“John Adams? He’s dead. That’s all I know,” said 14-year-old Nazrio Carillo, a student at John Adams Middle School.

James Monroe High School teacher Caryn Cornell offered to let students in her detention class out early if they could tell her who Monroe was.

“Fifteen kids, but nobody knew. Nobody. Their mouths all just dropped open like `Duh,”’ Cornell said. “It’s not funny; it’s sad. In this classroom, we have pictures of every U.S. president hanging on the wall.”

Fair’s fair, though, and even teachers admit they don’t know all they should.

“James Monroe may be the namesake of our school, but he wasn’t exactly among our most distinguished presidents,” Assistant Principal Alice Parrish said. “If someone asked me, I could maybe mention the Monroe Doctrine and not much else, and I’m a history teacher.”