My elementary school was, like many of its era, named after the president. Except Roosevelt-Wilson was named after two.

In third grade, I asked my mom (a first-grade teacher at the school) about Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. She promptly handed me an encyclopedia (remember those?) and showed me where the two fell in the line of succession.

Being a teacher, she encouraged me to read more about the presidents. “Why don’t you see if you can memorize them in order?” she asked. So I did, going from number 1 (George Washington) to number 37 (Richard Nixon) in short time. Then I learned what years they served, their parties, and the states they came from, forever cementing my status as a nerd in my third-grade class.

More than 30 years later, I still can name the presidents, including last names only in less than 20 seconds. (I call it my party trick.) I’ve taught two of my children to name them all as well, hoping that knowing the order will encourage them to learn more about each president’s place in U.S. history.

Sadly, only 7 percent of Americans can name the first four presidents in order, according to a new survey by the U.S. Mint. And only 22 percent know there have been 43 presidents to date. We shouldn’t laugh at the on-the-street skits that Jay Leno does on late night TV; we should be ashamed.

The Mint hopes to improve Americans’ knowledge base by issuing a series of $1 coins featuring each of the presidents. It also has developed a series of interesting facts and information on the presidents and posted them on its website (www.usmint.gov).

A worthwhile project? Indeed. Whether we test it or not, history continues to inform us, even though we seem to repeat our mistakes. Perhaps when the next survey is done, we won’t repeat this one.

Glenn Cook, Editor-in-Chief