1895 school exam, are we dumb?

[darkbeaver]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] The Schools Are Doing a Wonderful Job![/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]by Butler Shaffer[/FONT][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]
by Butler Shaffer
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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]~ Mark Twain[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]I sometimes grow weary listening to people complaining that the government schools are doing a terrible job. I have many objections to this horrid system, but I must give it credit for accomplishing its actual – but unstated – purpose, namely, to dumb-down the minds of people so as to make them unquestioning and obedient vassals of the established order. There is nothing so disruptive to the status quo as a society of self-directed, independent-minded people both capable of and insistent on informed, analytical thought. It has been the purpose of government schools to assure that such conditions do not arise; to continue to produce a society of capable workers but who, nonetheless, have passive and contented minds.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]The contrast between systems of learning that focus on helping students become epistemologically independent and competent, and the government schools, is often difficult to make other than by anecdotal examples. When I was in the eighth-grade in a government school, we were required to study Latin. That revelation, standing by itself, conveys little to a listener. Only occasionally am I able to find some past curricular evidence with which to compare modern school offerings. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Thanks to the Internet, however, I have rediscovered an interesting item that helps make my point. It is an eighth grade exam that students in Salina, Kansas, were required to pass in order to advance to high school (i.e., the ninth grade). The exam was given in 1895, and consists of the following subject areas and questions. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]"Grammar (Time, one hour)[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]7–10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]therein that you understand the practical use of the [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]rules of grammar.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts. per bu, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $.20 per inch?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]file:///E:/Documents/sat13th/shaffer206_files/donate-new2.gif [/FONT]​

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Orthography (Time, one hour)[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]orthography, etymology, syllabication?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]4. Give four substitutes for caret "u."[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]5. Give two rules for spelling words with final "e." Name two exceptions under each rule.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]6. Give two rules of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, super.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: Card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]9. Use the following correctly in sentences: Cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Geography (Time, one hour)[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]4. Describe the mountains of N.A.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]1. Where are the saliva, gastric juice, and bile secreted? What is the use of each in digestion?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]file:///E:/Documents/sat13th/shaffer206_files/butler2.jpg2. How does nutrition reach the circulation?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]3. What is the function of the liver? Of the kidneys?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]4. How would you stop the flow of blood from an artery in the case of laceration?[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]5. Give some general directions that you think would be beneficial to preserve the human body in a state of health."[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]If you have any eighth-grade children in government schools, you might consider taking this set of questions to your next parent-teacher conference and ask if the students are learning at a substantive level that would allow them to provide intelligent answers. If you feel even more courageous, you might ask the teacher whether he/she is capable of giving the kinds of responses once expected of thirteen year-olds in Kansas. You will probably be told that the subject matter of this earlier test is peculiar to the time and place in which it was given; and that nineteenth-century teenagers would likely be unable to name the first winner on the "American Idol" program, or to write a sentence that includes the phrase "fer sure, dude", or to locate the site (sight? cite?) of Neverland Ranch![/FONT]

 

[YukonJack]

To see what a wonderful job schools are doing, all you have to do is watch the TV show: "Are You Smarter Than Fifth Grader".

Then weep.

Thanks for the Teacher's Unions.

 

[darkbeaver]

Bankers control education Jack, teachers are less important than the janitors and bus drivers, and the students are just little consumers. PS I won't be going to grade nine unless I start cramming.

 

[countryboy]

1895 school exam, are we dumb?

Um, yes. Wee seme 2 bee loosing our ability to spel wurds kerrektly, wich iz wun indikayshun that sumthing iz rong with thu sisstum.

 

[YukonJack]

darkbeaver, the Teachers's Union defends any slug, masquerading as a teacher. NO BAD teacher can be fired. Moreover, they can collect their bloated pension for life, for a life dedicated to dumb down innocent, knowledge-hungry kids.

If you don't want to go back to Grade nine, it's your business. But perhaps, you should.

 

[Johnnny]

i would have been killed on the grammar section, slightly killed in the orthography. But the rest i feel comfortable with

So no were not dumb, just some other people for example who i think should know stuff like basic geography and trig would rather count there Xbox gamer score LOL

 

[darkbeaver]

darkbeaver, the Teachers's Union defends any slug, masquerading as a teacher. NO BAD teacher can be fired. Moreover, they can collect their bloated pension for life, for a life dedicated to dumb down innocent, knowledge-hungry kids.

If you don't want to go back to Grade nine, it's your business. But perhaps, you should.

I agree. However if you were offered those same terms could you refuse? It does no good to address a problem from the wrong end. Start with the trough eating maggots you elected. I'd love to go back to grade nine, the love of my life sat in front of me, I can smell her farm fresh scent now. I'm going to cry a little.

 

[countryboy]

I agree. However if you were offered those same terms could you refuse? It does no good to address a problem from the wrong end. Start with the trough eating maggots you elected. I'd love to go back to grade nine, the love of my life sat in front of me, I can smell her farm fresh scent now. I'm going to cry a little.

Hey DB, I love that farm fresh scent! Brings back memories of the little country school out in the rolling wheat fields of Manitoba. The farm girls were, uh, "biology-wise" and...well, maybe I'd better quit while I'm ahead. :lol:

 

[darkbeaver]

Weren't they beautiful though, not like todays crop at all. I'll pay for that.

 

[countryboy]

Weren't they beautiful though, not like todays crop at all. I'll pay for that.

You betcha'! They had naturally beautiful complexions, lots of brains, weren't afraid to work hard, and they could spell too! (And they were indeed biologically-savvy...which came from observing farm animals doing what comes naturally!)

 

[L Gilbert]

"1895 school exam, are we dumb?"

Not everyone. Dumb defined means unable to vocalize.
The abilities of schools to educate kids varies; some are better than others. This set of questions is such that some high-school graduates would have trouble getting anything past an average score. Most people not in high-school or university/college/tech school, wouldn't do so well, because as we learn a career we lose information that isn't applicable in our lives anymore. EG, why would a chem lab tech need to know which cities are the capitals of which countries unless she/he was playing Trivial Pursuit or something?

 

[YukonJack]

Re #7.

darkbeaver, when I was a kid and the question: "What do you want to be when you grow up" came up, it was a given that teaching was a vocation, not a profession, like a lawyer and certainly not just a job, like janitor.

You wanted to be a teacher, because you wanted to educate children, unselfishly, and because you believed their generation deserves to be better than their parents and your own.

All that went by the wayside with the totally regrettable rise of UNIONS. Teaching became - at least according to UNIONS - is equivalent to unloading ships, shovelling coal and cleaning mall bathrooms.

Strike, and the Hell with kids! Slow down and screw the kids! Work to rule and F**k the kids!

I think, though, that if there was a secret vote among teachers as to who want to be part of a union, the decent ones would want to have absolutely NOTHING to do with the incompetant unionist free-loaders.

 

[countryboy]

"1895 school exam, are we dumb?"

Not everyone. Dumb defined means unable to vocalize.
The abilities of schools to educate kids varies; some are better than others. This set of questions is such that some high-school graduates would have trouble getting anything past an average score. Most people not in high-school or university/college/tech school, wouldn't do so well, because as we learn a career we lose information that isn't applicable in our lives anymore. EG, why would a chem lab tech need to know which cities are the capitals of which countries unless she/he was playing Trivial Pursuit or something?

Hmm, I think you make a good point. It does make me wonder if some of our rather specialized education and pursuits (none of them "trivial", of course! :lol: ) have gone to an extreme. I realize that the value of specialization is to focus on specific fields and thus create experts who can develop better solutions to all kinds of problems.

But, have we become so expert that we are beginning to lose some of our valuable general knowledge? Perhaps that has led us to all kinds of "ills", right down to the political splits that exist here.

It could be that either extreme is bad - having "jacks of all trades" (generalists) coming out of schools wouldn't be all that great, but breeding experts in everything exclusively might also not be the be-all and end-all...would make it hard for the various groups to actually carry on a decent conversation, if it were carried to an extreme.

I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other, but it does make me wonder why general conversations seem to be getting more uncompromising these days. Maybe it's just old age creeping up... :lol:

 

[Dexter Sinister]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] The Schools Are Doing a Wonderful Job![/FONT]

Maybe check sources a little more carefully, and think about what the claims actually mean. snopes.com: 1895 Exam

 

[L Gilbert]

Maybe check sources a little more carefully, and think about what the claims actually mean. snopes.com: 1895 Exam

Exactly my point. We simply retain the info that is relevant to our lives at any particular time. Those questions are relevant to students. A lot aren't relevant to everyone.

 

[Spade]

Kids taught in 1895 are all dead. Fat good a "bushel" of knowledge did them!

 

[TenPenny]

It's not like being able to calculate how many bushels fit in a wagon is of much value to anyone.

 

[Bar Sinister]

There seems to be a good deal of teacher bashing here, most of which appears to be based on ignorance. Given the obstacles modern teachers face I find that they do an excellent job. But then I am biased I used to be a teacher.

As for the 1895 exam I would have little difficulty with it except for the sections that are anachronistic. For example I know very little about the istorical "epochs" of the USA whatever they were or the history of Kansas.

 

[JLM]

Kids taught in 1895 are all dead. Fat good a "bushel" of knowledge did them!

Very true Spade, but I think that exam would be as good today as it was then, with possibly a few alterations (to metric of course) That type of exam makes you think.

 

[Spade]

Spade's 1895 test for bloggers
English
" A horse's neighs bring tears to a Scotsman's ayes." Discuss.
Mathematics
How many quarter horses are there in two clydesdales?
Agriculture
What game does a team of horse play?
Logic
Can a frog be hoarse? Can a horse have afrog in its throat?
History
Which is the older country - Canada or germany?