My father had an eight grade education. But to his dying day, he could recite that poem word for word. As well as "O Captain, My Captain", "Old Ironsides", "The Concord Hymn", and the entire lyrics to "Big Bad John".
My father could also proofread better.
Passing 8th grade was hard, 100 years ago. We’ve come along way.
As for memorizing ... Google has replaced our brain.
But in our info ago, I have come across a few great cartoons that teach American history and culture.