The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Timothy on June 16, 2011, 08:30:57 PM
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Can you make the grade?
1. What are the colors of our flag?
2. How many stars are there in our flag?
3. What color are the stars on our flag?
4. What do the stars on the flag mean?
5. How many stripes are there in the flag?
6. What color are the stripes?
7. What do the stripes on the flag mean?
8. How many states are there in the Union?
9. What is the 4th of July?
10. What is the date of Independence Day?
11. Independence from whom?
12. What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?
13. Who was the first President of the United States?
14. Who is the President of the United States today?
15. Who is the vice-president of the United States today?
16. Who elects the President of the United States?
17. Who becomes President of the United States if the President should die?
18. For how long do we elect the President?
19. What is the Constitution?
20. Can the Constitution be changed?
21. What do we call a change to the Constitution?
22. How many changes or amendments are there to the Constitution?
23. How many branches are there in our government?
24. What are the three branches of our government?
25. What is the legislative branch of our government?
26. Who makes the laws in the United States?
27. What is the Congress?
28. What are the duties of Congress?
29. Who elects the Congress?
30. How many senators are there in Congress?
31. Can you name the two senators from your state?
32. For how long do we elect each senator?
33. How many representatives are there in Congress?
34. For how long do we elect the representatives?
35. What is the executive branch of our government?
36. What is the judiciary branch of our government?
37. What are the duties of the Supreme Court?
38. What is the supreme court law of the United States?
39. What is the Bill of Rights?
40. What is the capital of your state?
41. Who is the current governor of your state?
42. Who becomes President of the United States if the President and the vice-president should die?
43. Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
44. Can you name thirteen original states?
45. Who said, "Give me liberty or give me death."?
46. Which countries were our enemies during World War II?
47. What are the 49th and 50th states of the Union?
48. How many terms can the President serve?
49. Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?
50. Who is the head of your local government?
51. According to the Constitution, a person must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible to become President. Name one of these requirements.
52. Why are there 100 Senators in the Senate?
53. Who selects the Supreme Court justice?
54. How many Supreme Court justice are there?
55. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?
56. What is the head executive of a state government called?
57. What is the head executive of a city government called?
58. What holiday was celebrated for the first time by the Americans colonists?
59. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
60. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
61. What is the basic belief of the Declaration of Independence?
62. What is the national anthem of the United States?
63. Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?
64. Where does freedom of speech come from?
65. What is a minimum voting age in the United States?
66. Who signs bills into law?
67. What is the highest court in the United States?
68. Who was the President during the Civil War?
69. What did the Emancipation Declaration do?
70. What special group advises the President?
71. Which President is called the "Father of our country"?
72. What Immigration and Naturalization Service form is used to apply to become a naturalized citizen?
73. Who helped the Pilgrims in America?
74. What is the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?
75. What are the 13 original states of the U.S. called?
76. Name 3 rights of freedom guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
77. Who has the power to declare the war?
78. What kind of government does the United States have?
79. Which President freed the slaves?
80. In what year was the Constitution written?
81. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?
82. Name one purpose of the United Nations?
83. Where does Congress meet?
84. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
85. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?
86. Name one benefit of being citizen of the United States.
87. What is the most important right granted to U.S. citizens?
88. What is the United States Capitol?
89. What is the White House?
90. Where is the White House located?
91. What is the name of the President's official home?
92. Name the right guaranteed by the first amendment.
93. Who is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
94. Which President was the first Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
95. In what month do we vote for the President?
96. In what month is the new President inaugurated?
97. How many times may a Senator be re-elected?
98. How many times may a Congressman be re-elected?
99. What are the 2 major political parties in the U.S. today?
100. How many states are there in the United States today?
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I used to give that to my intro to government class at UT. The scores would make you weep.
FQ13
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82. Name one purpose of the United Nations?
Uh, you stumped me on this one.
And even if there was a purpose, what does that have to do with United States citizenship?
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Uh, you stumped me on this one.
And even if there was a purpose, what does that have to do with United States citizenship?
To waste our tax money?
I was only asked 5 questions when I did my citizenship final interview.
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9. What is the 4th of July?
Well obviously it's the day after the 3rd of July! ;D
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72. What Immigration and Naturalization Service form is used to apply to become a naturalized citizen?
I was born here, how the hell would I know that ?
The only INS form I ever heard of was a "Green Card", which apparently you don't need if you can swim.
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They said Emancipation Declaration instead of Emancipation Proclamation. It just doesn't sound right.
I too wonder what the U.N. is good for.
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I didn't write the questions, they were given to me by a friend who is a History major. I scored 91 and I took the test in about five minutes. A few of my mistakes were due to speed or typos so I'd say I could have gotten close to 100...
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I didn't write the questions, they were given to me by a friend who is a History major. I scored 91 and I took the test in about five minutes. A few of my mistakes were due to speed or typos so I'd say I could have gotten close to 100...
And thats the thing, its a fair test. There is a bit too much touchy feely stuff about stripes and stars, and the usefulness of the UN is anyone's guess. Still, most of the questions are fair and germain. What scares me is that an intro to American government class at UT Austin averaged about a 72% on this test.This should scare the crap out of you. Native born students in a conservative state barely able to pass? No, we don't need to spend more money on teachers, talent doesn't follow money ::). Pay bottom dollar and expect top drawer result, Rush says its true, it must be so. ::)
FQ13 who wonders when folks will realize that teaching basic civics is a good idea.
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72. What Immigration and Naturalization Service form is used to apply to become a naturalized citizen?
I was born here, how the hell would I know that ?
The only INS form I ever heard of was a "Green Card", which apparently you don't need if you can swim.
Tom, the answer is N-400 BTW. You really only need to know this if you become a naturalized citizen ;D. Since that is the list of practice questions from the N-400 application I would understand why most people would not know that one.
Neil, who once had a "green card" that was not green.
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I hope you understand that I have no beef with folks like you and my BIL who followed the rules.
The "wink, wink, nudge, nudge," attitude toward illegal immigration is even more insulting to you than to those born here.
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Welcome to America, Mericet.
I know it is belated, but just found out :D
I'd say that by your presence on this forum, you have embraced the elements of Freedom and Independence guaranteed and protected by our Constitution, that we here cherish.
I have much respect for naturalized citizens. All 4 of my grand parents were immigrants and they worked harder to gain their citizenship than those of us born here.
Glad you are here to join us in our struggle to maintain those rights and ideals.
Take care.
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And thats the thing, its a fair test. There is a bit too much touchy feely stuff about stripes and stars, and the usefulness of the UN is anyone's guess. Still, most of the questions are fair and germain. What scares me is that an intro to American government class at UT Austin averaged about a 72% on this test.This should scare the crap out of you. Native born students in a conservative state barely able to pass? No, we don't need to spend more money on teachers, talent doesn't follow money ::). Pay bottom dollar and expect top drawer result, Rush says its true, it must be so. ::)
FQ13 who wonders when folks will realize that teaching basic civics is a good idea.
Sorry, but that is really #$^*ing stupid. The problem is not that we are not paying them enough, hell most make way more than they deserve for the results they provide. They problem is tenure and unions. How hard would YOU work if you didn't ever have to fear losing your job and benefits?
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"Sorry, but that is really #$^*ing stupid. The problem is not that we are not paying them enough, hell most make way more than they deserve for the results they provide. They problem is tenure and unions. How hard would YOU work if you didn't ever have to fear losing your job and benefits? "
Don't forget teacher bias either, too many of the current crop of teachers would rather teach/preach the prevailing liberal culture viewpoint than the actual subject matter. My oldest son spent quite a bit of time during high school in hot water because he would call out his "history" teachers when they would teach their “interpretations” of history rather than present the material. He even went to the point of calling one of his teachers, who was rewriting the American role in the south pacific during WW2 to suit his own antimilitary stance, an ignorant fool. He offered to take the teacher to the local VFW so he could learn the history he slept through while getting his degree. That one almost got him a suspension for “lack of respect”; when I heard about that I told the principal that I would be happy to have my son accept the suspension provided the teacher received corrective action for his "lack of understanding" of the material required to do his job properly. My son was not suspended.
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"Sorry, but that is really #$^*ing stupid. The problem is not that we are not paying them enough, hell most make way more than they deserve for the results they provide. They problem is tenure and unions. How hard would YOU work if you didn't ever have to fear losing your job and benefits? "
Don't forget teacher bias either, too many of the current crop of teachers would rather teach/preach the prevailing liberal culture viewpoint than the actual subject matter. My oldest son spent quite a bit of time during high school in hot water because he would call out his "history" teachers when they would teach their “interpretations” of history rather than present the material. He even went to the point of calling one of his teachers, who was rewriting the American role in the south pacific during WW2 to suit his own antimilitary stance, an ignorant fool. He offered to take the teacher to the local VFW so he could learn the history he slept through while getting his degree. That one almost got him a suspension for “lack of respect”; when I heard about that I told the principal that I would be happy to have my son accept the suspension provided the teacher received corrective action for his "lack of understanding" of the material required to do his job properly. My son was not suspended.
The oldest is having the same revelations. It's taken her a couple years but she now follows the "trust but verify" motto. Her teachers are REGULARLY found lacking. Her history teachers seem to be the worst. AP Gov and they spent the entire time collecting money for a school in South America. US History and they spent two weeks on Haight/Ashbury but only a class period on ALL of WW2. This year she was told that the US has no significant exports to anywhere, but found out we're actually third in the world for exports of raw materials and agricultural products.
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Which reinforces my point. Talent follows money. I've taught a whole lot of required intro to American Government classes at private and public schools. Here's one thing I'll tell you, the sharpest chisels on the bench aren't the education majors ( and what jackass made pedagogy a major, rather than an addendum to a real major like math or history?). Instead, you see the smart kids in engineering or the sciences or polisci/pre law or business. Eg, something that pays well, but demands talent. A starting teacher will make a little under $30k a year. A starting engineer will make a bit less than twice that. Where do you think the smart kids will go? You can't pay crap wages and offer poor working conditions and expect top talent. Its BS. Look, lets forget those in place now. Assume we want to phase them out by getting better teachers. Do you seriously think you're going to get top talent at current wages?
FQ13
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Rant On
I don't necessarily agree that it is wholly a case of follow the money. Are they the best wages out there? No, but they are far from the worst and in most cases the benefits are well above local averages. You don’t have to be the sharpest tool to teach well if you teach the basic material. If you are not sharp enough to understand the material then you should never have received your teaching certificate.
I see it more as accepted subpar performance because of the power of the teachers unions and active social engineering. These teachers are very good at teaching the “agenda”, they suck at teaching anything else. Then you get the unions and education groups that drive curriculums based on “studies” and “teaching theories from Berkley”. Case in point for the later, when my middle child was entering first grade our school system switched to “whole language learning” as a way to teach reading, writing, grammar ect. This was pushed by the teachers unions and touted as the next great thing. By the time they dropped this wonderful program my son was in the fifth grade. His entire class, and the classes behind him were all subpar at grade level communication skills. The curriculum went back to more traditional approaches and the teacher’s and school system’s response to the students struggling to adapt amounted to “sucks to be you, work harder”. The fact that students were failing because they had failed to impart basic skills didn’t enter into their gestalt. There was no accountability, they all just washed their hands said “gee that didn’t work” and walked away from the mess they made. OK rant off.
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Lenin wrote "Give us the child for 8 years and he will be a Bolshevik for life".
The proof that FQ is wrong is the fact that our most"prestigious" schools are little more than socialist indoctrination centers.
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And thats the thing, its a fair test. There is a bit too much touchy feely stuff about stripes and stars, and the usefulness of the UN is anyone's guess. Still, most of the questions are fair and germain. What scares me is that an intro to American government class at UT Austin averaged about a 72% on this test.This should scare the crap out of you. Native born students in a conservative state barely able to pass? No, we don't need to spend more money on teachers, talent doesn't follow money ::). Pay bottom dollar and expect top drawer result, Rush says its true, it must be so. ::)
FQ13 who wonders when folks will realize that teaching basic civics is a good idea.
It doesn't matter how much, or how little, teachers are paid if they still won't or can't teach civics. Point being, in recent years civics seems to be seen as less important by the educational powers that be than it was when we were kids. Throwing money at it ain't gonna solve that kind of problem.
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It doesn't matter how much, or how little, teachers are paid if they still won't or can't teach civics. Point being, in recent years civics seems to be seen as less important by the educational powers that be than it was when we were kids. Throwing money at it ain't gonna solve that kind of problem.
Throwing money WILL determine whether I teach it or do research for lawyers. I'd rather teach ,I mean I'm good at it and enjoy it. But $50k doing research vs $35k teaching? Well, you know where I'll be, as I have to pay the ammo bill somehow. The question is, do you want me teaching your kid civics, or the vegan frat boy I gave a C- to last year? If you want me, it'll cost you (though I'll coach a rifle, fishing or canoeing club for free). Talent DOES follow money. Its an iron law of economics and all the right wing ideology in the world won't change that. The more highly valued a commodity, the more folks will offer for it in varying flavors. Education is no different than drugs, guns or anything else.
FQ13
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FQ, your UT students at 70% eclipsed the average American by 40 points.
Most folks can't pass this exam, period! I would suspect that most folks on this forum would score in the 80-90 percentile but then, we pay attention and study history as a matter of survival.
I needed to know this stuff to graduate from HS 36 years ago. My kid probably had one week of one semester in HS that covered our standard of Government. She can't answer half of these questions.
Plain and simple, our schools are failing for a myriad of reasons. MA probably has some of the highest paid educators in the US and I can take them all to task with my piddly little HS diploma!
Most educators are boneheads IMO!
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FQ, your UT students at 70% eclipsed the average American by 40 points.
But they made it into the flagship school of TX. We're not talking folks off the street here. And yet one in three fail to meet the standards we demand of new immigrants? Is it me or is this a problem? Maybe we should attract some better teachers. Just saying.
FQ13
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But they made it into the flagship school of TX. We're not talking folks off the street here. And yet one in three fail to meet the standards we demand of new immigrants? Is it me or is this a problem? Maybe we should attract some better teachers. Just saying.
FQ13
I sent this test to three college educated kids that I work with today. Not one said that they had the knowledge to pass but I asked that they at least try. We'll see how they fare over the weekend. I also offered my pocket Constitution that I keep with me for reference.
None were interested. Average age is about 30...
tears for the future of this country... :'( :'(
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I hope you understand that I have no beef with folks like you and my BIL who followed the rules.
The "wink, wink, nudge, nudge," attitude toward illegal immigration is even more insulting to you than to those born here.
Believe me, I do not have much time or compassion for those that do not follow the rules either. Or those who just let the rule breakers get away with it.
Welcome to America, Mericet.
I know it is belated, but just found out :D
I'd say that by your presence on this forum, you have embraced the elements of Freedom and Independence guaranteed and protected by our Constitution, that we here cherish.
I have much respect for naturalized citizens. All 4 of my grand parents were immigrants and they worked harder to gain their citizenship than those of us born here.
Glad you are here to join us in our struggle to maintain those rights and ideals.
Take care.
Thanks! And I certainly have embraced the Constitution and all it stands for!
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FQ's argument is provably bullshit.
If it were true then how come the most expensive school systems in the country, like Detroit , have piss poor test scores and 75% drop out rates ?
2 reasons, Teachers Unions and tenure.
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FQ's argument is provably bullshit.
If it were true then how come the most expensive school systems in the country, like Detroit , have piss poor test scores and 75% drop out rates ?
2 reasons, Teachers Unions and tenure.
BZZT, wrong answer! How are Detroit teacher's salaries compared to the national average? Are they high enough to get YOU to sign on as a metal shop teacher? I would want serious dollars to walk into that hell hole, in fact, I'm not sure how much money it would take to get me to do that job. And there's the rub. We have a job that needs doing. How do you attract competent people to do it? Cause they won't work for free in a Sh#t hole like Detroit.
FQ13
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Detroit spends more per student than any other city in America. Yes they are high enough wages to get me to apply.
Maybe they would get better results if they skipped the "social awareness " crap and concentrated on Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. Maybe then our test scores would rise above 3rd world shit holes again .
FQ, Compare over the last 100 years, the more socialist BS introduced to education, the less actual "education the students get.
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Some of us just don't think. Teachers have always been "underpaid".
It was the "underpaid" teachers of decades ago that taught historical events that actually happened. What is different today...personal anti-American agenda.
If the "underpaid" teachers can't correctly recite historical events and have a personal dogma to advance then fire them.
40 or 50 taken in one's or two's across the nation should get the point across quite nicely. They may wake up to find out they don't know it all when their unemployment runs out and the only skills they have remaining put them across the hamburger grill from Johnny dropout.
Not all, but too many teachers are driven to be teachers because they desire for themselves and their beliefs to be esteemed for their own self-worth issues...i.e, it is more than a job you enjoy. How better than to be "the focus of all things intelligent" to get on that pedestal? For some reason it appears that decades ago this nation went from having a healthy respect for teachers straight into some perverted god-like deification of teachers and whatever crap falls out of their mouths as being gospel.
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For what it's worth.
The man that taught me more in the six years he was my teacher, at least one class from the 6th grade through my senior year, is still teaching at my High School. He started teaching in about 1966 for the Northview School system and is still going strong today. He didn't do it for the money, he didn't get subverted by the liberal left, he never let a kid get away with anything. I know, I have a permanent dent in my chest from getting hit by a thrown eraser a time or two.. ;D
He is the epitome of what an educator SHOULD be and will leave a legacy that will be remembered for at least five generations of students who became the parents and grandparents of students who's kids were taught by the same man.
Money doesn't drive me, money shouldn't drive anyone to be better at what they do! Money subverts like power subverts.
Money is purely a tool that we need to survive in modern society. If you do well, than you deserve more of it but unless and until you prove you're worth the money, kiss my big white Irish ass...
BTW, you'll find this mans name in the visitor logs and memo's at the G.R. Ford Presidential Library in Grand Rapids, MI as he's been married to Gerry's niece for the last forty plus years...
A great man isn't great because of his income, he's great because he does the right thing....see postscript..
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Timothy,
Would that every teacher could be like that, but I'd guess they are in very short supply.
I went to college and met a guy who was studying to become a history teacher. His stated motivation was that since it was history and it didn't change, once he got his lesson plan written all he had to do for the rest of his career is show up for class and give and grade assignments....and get the summer off to boot.
Big problem is that the "management" and "administration" of schools and school districts come from the same pool that you find the unmotivated teachers.
Find a way to fund colleges by the success of it's graduates, maybe corporate sponsors who get first dibs on grads and then the colleges use high schools as "farm schools" and the high schools use the elementary schools the same way.
I know "corporate" can have a bad influence, but if the profit motive can trickle down and still provide a rounded education, we might get some place. Schools run by businessmen (businesspersons) who interview and vie for the most positively motivated teachers to be had.
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Part of the problem is this BS "veneration of teachers and educators".
The value is in the learning, it isn't about the ahole putting out information a curious student could find on their own.
The socialist agenda puts the emphasis on having some one "smarter" as a teacher or mentor , discouraging curiosity and the plain desire to know more.