Anonymous wrote:OP again. Never did I say that I was a high school teacher.

I might be a piano teacher. Maybe I am a hitting coach or perhaps I teach life skills. Then again its possible that I teach basket weaving, counsel on drug addiction, or teach kids to drive.

I learned something. When asking a question that is unpopular or that exposes the ignorance of the people who populate this site they will gang up on you and try to make you look like a fool.

OP, it's also "fewer than 1% of students" not "less than"

OP - surely you must see the irony in what you think students should know and your grammar mistakes. I would much rather my children understand the differences among they're, their and there than who Thomas Wootton is and his significance in Montgomery County.

Knowing the history of the country is important. Knowing the history of the State is interesting. Knowing the history of Montgomery County is low on my list of educational priorities for my high school kids.

I grew up in Mo Co. (Went to BCC FWIW). I remember an adult saying to me once "I hear you have a high school here named after a baseball player. I scratched my head and responded "Is it Walt Whitman?"

Well, I guess my "fund of knowledge" turned out okay eventually since I majored in literature.

OP, even you must see the irony in a "isn't the lack of education these days appalling!" post with a homophone error in the subject line. People in glass houses...

OP again. Never did I say that I was a high school teacher.

I might be a piano teacher. Maybe I am a hitting coach or perhaps I teach life skills. Then again its possible that I teach basket weaving, counsel on drug addiction, or teach kids to drive.

I learned something. When asking a question that is unpopular or that exposes the ignorance of the people who populate this site they will gang up on you and try to make you look like a fool.

Anonymous wrote:Can someone smarter than I am please tell me who these people are: Walter Johnson, Thomas Wootton, Richard Montgomery, TC Williams, Charles E. Smith, St Stephen & St Agnes, and Benjamin Banneker. I know I could Google it, but since many people here are saying it's so easy and obvious to know who a school is named after, I'm hoping you'll answer. TIA for making me more informed.

I hope that this is a joke. Montgomery County was named after Richard Montgomery. He was a Revolutionary War general. Walter Johnson was the greatest right handed baseball pitcher of all-time. He lived right down the street from the site of the present school and later was on the county council. He pitched for the Washington Senators.

Thomas Wootton is the father of Montgomery County. If it weren't for him we would be living in Frederick County.

Charles E. Smith was a famous philanthropist who started the school and as a result the school is named after him.


I am the OP. The answer to my original question is that I have never encountered a Wootton student who knew who their school is named after. Churchill, Whitman, Walter Johnson, and Richard Montgomery students always know and can tell you facts that are not well known.

Anonymous wrote:Can someone smarter than I am please tell me who these people are: Walter Johnson, Thomas Wootton, Richard Montgomery, TC Williams, Charles E. Smith, St Stephen & St Agnes, and Benjamin Banneker. I know I could Google it, but since many people here are saying it's so easy and obvious to know who a school is named after, I'm hoping you'll answer. TIA for making me more informed.

Thomas Sprigg Wootton, a former member of the Maryland Constitutional Convention and the founder of Montgomery County.

Richard Montgomery, an American General who died while attempting to capture the British-held city of Quebec. (to RMs credit they have a page on their website about him)

Walter Perry Johnson, nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher.

Charles E. Smith, real estate developer and philanthropist in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

I knew Walter Johnson (from Big Train baseball) and obviously Charles E Smith since his name is all over the place, but I'm afraid I was not up on the founder of my County or General Montgomery.

My kid goes to a school named after "an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works." He knows the first part, not so sure about the second part.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe, but then again I think a high school teacher should know proper English grammar.

It should be "Do you think a high school student should know who his (or her) school is named after?" Alternatively, "Do you think high school students should know who THEIR school is named after."

You beet me two it.

Anonymous wrote:I feel to see how this is important.

Oh, and to the pps, you're also wrong. It should be "Do you think a high school student should know FOR WHOM his or her school is named?" or the alternative, "Do you think high school students should know FOR WHOM their school is named?"

Never end a sentence with a preposition. And the word "after" is both an idiom and a preposition in this context.

Nope. "Named after" is a phrasal verb. It is correct to end a sentence with a phrasal verb.

The only reason we are giving OP a hard time about grammar is because OP is a teacher bemoaning her students' lack of education.

Can someone smarter than I am please tell me who these people are: Walter Johnson, Thomas Wootton, Richard Montgomery, TC Williams, Charles E. Smith, St Stephen & St Agnes, and Benjamin Banneker. I know I could Google it, but since many people here are saying it's so easy and obvious to know who a school is named after, I'm hoping you'll answer. TIA for making me more informed.

Why not? Otherwise name it after a geographical feature. I think it's a valid question I hadn't put much thought into... I attended a couple of elementary schools named after people I'm not aware of.. Let me discover my past.

Some schools are named for people with little significance. My middle school was named for a long serving school board member. I believe in geographic naming.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the namesake was a national or international (Churchill) "celebrity," then yes. If the school was named after a county commissioner from the 40's, well, then, not really.

So by your thinking students at Walter Johnson should not be expected to know who he was?

OP, are you tutoring these kids? Perhaps that is your answer.

My DS, who is 10 and will likely not attend WJ, already knows about Walter Johnson (including the location of his old home anytime we drive by there.) Fortunately my high school is named after its location, and not a person. I personally like the location related names >> historic names. Just my two cents.

Whatevs. I never knew who John T. Baker was, and I survived junior high.