The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: MinotBob on April 02, 2009, 07:36:40 PM
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Thought you guys would enjoy this---came from the Salina Journal in Salina, Kansas.
Tim
What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...
Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.
8th Grade Final Exam: Salina , KS - 1895
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,’ play,' and 'run.'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time,1 hou r 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
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?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.
Orthography (Time, one hour)
(Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals& nbsp;
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
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.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, f ain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.
Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.
Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?! Also shows you how poor our education system has become and, NO, I don't have the answers!
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Well, give me an "F".
....... and I've got an MBA!
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WOW! Reminds me of my then hated (now loved) teachers. You know, the ones that made you LEARN and brooked no nonsence.
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I know that the point is to show how hard the test was... but as a fan of progress, I note an almost complete lack of the physical sciences and philosophy on the test... not surprising the a largely agrarian society focused on climate and irrigation issues however...
I wonder how much the focus on "facts & figures" (largely memorization issues) and rules (math and language) combined with the lack of nurturing critical thought and scientific methodology had to do with the eventual decline of education in the US in general.
I'd also like to know the "correct" 1895 answers to:
Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
-RJP
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I know that the point is to show how hard the test was... but as a fan of progress, I note an almost complete lack of the physical sciences and philosophy on the test...
I wonder how much the focus on "facts & figures" (largely memorization issues) and rules (math and language) combined with the lack of nurturing critical thought and scientific methodology that had to do with the eventual decline of education in the US in general.
I'd also like to know the "correct" 1895 answers to:
-RJP
Rob,
I know what ya mean but with out basic FACTS you have nothing upon which to build your opinions or theories. That is what is lacking today, a bed rock of math, grammar. geography and history.
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If it weren't for the oceans the moon wouldn't have anything to do. The rivers provide the liquid of life* and facilitate transportation.
*actually thats whisky
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Rob,
I know what ya mean but with out basic FACTS you have nothing upon which to build your opinions or theories. That is what is lacking today, a bed rock of math, grammar. geography and history.
Seriously? Where do you think those "facts" come from?!?
Study, Question, Experiment, Discover... Repeat.
Facts without questions lead to dogma and demise.
Give me a critical thinker and I'll put him up against an encyclopedia any day of the week when it comes to survival and progress. The truth is that we should have BOTH.... not one or the other, but without the questions and an environment that encourages them, you may never get real answers... you just accept what you're told!
-RJP
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I really missed this stuff for three days!!!! :)
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Seriously? Where do you think those "facts" come from?!?
Study, Question, Experiment, Discover... Repeat.
Facts without questions lead to dogma and demise.
Give me a critical thinker and I'll put him up against an encyclopedia any day of the week when it comes to survival and progress. The truth is that we should have BOTH.... not one or the other, but without the questions and an environment that encourages them, you may never get real answers... you just accept what you're told!
-RJP
ROB!
I'm not arguing against learning to think! BUT if you don't know history, math or grammar then you have nothing to base your thinking on.
One of the things we 2Aers always say is READ the Fed papers and LEARN the history of 2A and this country.
I have (to the best of my ability) given my son the lessons that are no longer taught. Morals, integrity, history, geography....etc. and I ENCOURAGE him to 'think' about what I and others teach him. To bump them against reality and see which ones stand up. To see a new answer based on experience, history AND his on intelligence and good sense.
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Too bad it's fake. http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp And 10 years old.
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Too bad it's fake. http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp And 10 years old.
Oh, go flex your avatar's pecs!
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In general the more spent on public education the dumber the victims, I mean students get.
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In general the more spent on public education the dumber the victims, I mean students get.
Which is why they're better educated than those at expensive private schools? Bottom line is that talent follows money, accountabiliy keeps talent honest, and that money spent on a good education system is about as wasted as the money you spend on retirement or paying your mortgage. Bottom line you get what you pay for. Look I do this for a living. I think Rob and Haz are both right. I wish I'd been given more of a classical education at university. More Shakespeare, and the greeks and less non-cannon lit. I wish I'd gotten more western civ and less current politcs critical of western civ. But without those things I would just be mouthing old truisms and not understand that there's more to the world than just dead white guys and that the US was not always on the side of the angels in places like Latin america. Its a trade off. Its easy to write off our public schools. Its a duty to fix them.
fightingquaker13
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In general the more spent on public education the dumber the victims, I mean students get.
not entirly true. The rub is, money wasted. many school districts have more adminstartors then they do teachers.
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Give me a critical thinker and I'll put him up against an encyclopedia any day of the week when it comes to survival and progress. The truth is that we should have BOTH.... not one or the other, but without the questions and an environment that encourages them, you may never get real answers... you just accept what you're told!
-RJP
Gosh...Rob is more than just a pretty face.
Great observations, Sir.
,
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Which is why they're better educated than those at expensive private schools? Bottom line is that talent follows money,
fightingquaker13
That sounds like real nice theoretical stuff. The reality for me is that my son does go to a private school, totally unsubsidized, and the cost of tuition is about half what is being spent per student in the Jefferson County, CO. school district [the county where my son's school is located]. While the public school students average in the 50th percentile, at my son's school, the students average in the 80th percentile. Please don't bring up the tired old argument about the public schools having to take everyone, because they do not test the special needs children.
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That sounds like real nice theoretical stuff. The reality for me is that my son does go to a private school, totally unsubsidized, and the cost of tuition is about half what is being spent per student in the Jefferson County, CO. school district [the county where my son's school is located]. While the public school students average in the 50th percentile, at my son's school, the students average in the 80th percentile. Please don't bring up the tired old argument about the public schools having to take everyone, because they do not test the special needs children.
I worked in the Information Systems department of a 50,000 student district for several year.
The the average achievement for students was dismal.
However, in what were called "Magnet" schools, schools where some type of specialized education was provided, the records of the students equaled those of students in private schools.
In this district, entry into a magnet school was "first come, first served".
Parents who wished to have their children enrolled in one of these schools would spend a day or two camped in like to apply.
The common element here is parental involvement. A parent who will sit in line or choose to pay the extra expense of private school tuition has a commitment to their child's education. This, I believe is what makes the difference.
However, it is not fair to try to compare the per student cost of the public school system to that of a private school.
This district was responsible for providing transportation for all students, not just ones attending the systems schools. This was by state law.
They were also required to maintain the health records of all students in the district.
Also, they were required to provide seating and teachers at minimum state levels within days of the opening of school or lose a portion of their state funds. They might have a good idea of attendance, based on past history, but they had to be sure to over staff because of the time it would take to get any needed extra staff online.
These are just a few of the "added" costs I remember off hand.
The major difference here is that the public school answers to state and federal regulators where the private school answers to the parents who will pay the tuition.
Parents, it seems, make the difference.
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Give me a critical thinker and I'll put him up against an encyclopedia any day of the week when it comes to survival and progress. The truth is that we should have BOTH.... not one or the other, but without the questions and an environment that encourages them, you may never get real answers... you just accept what you're told!
Isn't both where common sense comes from? I would have failed that test today, but I pride myself in being a good balance between a bookworm and thinker
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However, it is not fair to try to compare the per student cost of the public school system to that of a private school.
Sure it is, private school systems on the whole are far more efficient in their use of money, it only makes sense, they are directly accountable to parents, not insulated like the public schools. Another benefit is that my son is not being subjected to government brainwashing, disguised as teaching The public school system has churned out a huge mass of Obama zombies.
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Sure it is, private school systems on the whole are far more efficient in their use of money, it only makes sense, they are directly accountable to parents, not insulated like the public schools. Another benefit is that my son is not being subjected to government brainwashing, disguised as teaching The public school system has churned out a huge mass of Obama zombies.
I think you just hit the nail on the head.
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Sure it is, private school systems on the whole are far more efficient in their use of money, it only makes sense, they are directly accountable to parents, not insulated like the public schools. Another benefit is that my son is not being subjected to government brainwashing, disguised as teaching The public school system has churned out a huge mass of Obama zombies.
The point I was making, which seems to have been missed, is that the Public School system maybe paying part of the expense of operating the Private School. Unless the cost to the public school system is deducted from the per student cost of public schools and added to and calculated in the per student cost of private schools, they cannot be an accurate comparison
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The point I was making, which seems to have been missed, is that the Public School system maybe paying part of the expense of operating the Private School. Unless the cost to the public school system is deducted from the per student cost of public schools and added to and calculated in the per student cost of private schools, they cannot be an accurate comparison
Let me bottom line it for you, the government schools are crap at any price.
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In FL we spend over 7,000.00 PER STUDENT in public shools. In private , get yer own butt there and if'n ya want sports you will pay extra to the public school EVEN though you pay taxes!
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Let me bottom line it for you, the government schools are crap at any price.
If you notice, I do not defend them at all...and I agree.....most anything run by or controlled by the government is less effective that a private venture or one run by a more local government (not that local government bodies are more efficient but that the people have more control over them),
But if I see an invalid argument, even if it supports my view and opinion, I will point it out.
Our side will not benefit by using faulty arguments to further our cause.
We often criticize the Anti-firearm proponents for their use of incorrect statistics, semi-truths and outright lies in their arguments. We not only lessen our arguments, but ourselves also, by doing the same.