Some have probably seen or heard of this before but for those that haven�t it I think it is worth repeating.
In a roundabout way it explains a lot of what is going on today.


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This is what was required to graduate from 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 , KS , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.


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, 1.25 hours)

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 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050 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 6720 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 State s.
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)

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
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.'
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, fain, 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.
7. 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 what�s become of our education system... and, NO! I don't have the answers.


So what is the problem with our schools today? Maybe this has something to do with it.
https://commongood.org/burdenquestion-2.html

Well, I certainly failed that one.

But on the other hand I could have, at the end of 8th grade, given accounts of WWII, told the white mans version of the history of New York State, describe the basics of a rocket propelled vehicle and written some equations in chemistry, explained the respiration of plants (photosynthesis), demonstrated perspective and anatomy though art (when I couldn't find a good enough art teacher I started to study and copy the works of Leonardo da Vinci) with the assist of my art teacher, written and demonstrated the science of prisms and light/color, as well as explained the structure and components of a DNA strand as it was known at the time (I had assisted in constructing a 10 foot model with accompanied term paper). I also had voice and music training, had dissected several critters to identify anatomical parts and wrote reports and essays certainly more than a thousand words long. I was also interested in charting and grafting information into display format, and I wonder how that would have gone if I had access to a MacOS X back then. I couldn't have have said a dam thing about Orthography, but still somehow I manage to communicate and understand fairly complex language in reading and writing, even though I never heard of that word before. Those concepts were drilled in somewhere along the line and thank god I never had to be bored to death with defining it.

I think that what we learn and why we learn changes over time and much of how well we do it has more to do with our parents than our teachers.

__________________
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA1nw...eature=related I'd Rather Go Blind
This is not medical advice. Just opinion. Whatever you decide to do your your health is strictly your business and your choice.
Visit www.HealthSalon.org

The problem I see with our current school system is that it is being run like a manufacturing assembly line. The kids are treated like they are a toaster moving down the line and at each stop/grade a new part/information is added.

While this is an efficient way to make toasters it�s a poor way to instruct kids. As each kid has they�re own interests, likes and dislikes plus they will not all learn at the same rate. Thus when forced into a ridged system of advancement some are not going to able to keep up and then quit trying, while others who can quickly understand the lesson but then get bored waiting the rest of the class to catch up can after awhile also quit trying.

Of course it would not be PC to treat kids with different aptitudes differently.

In Dallas Texas, the local culture figured a way out on how to deal with it.
Kids and the families that want to learn apply to and go to magnet schools. Those that don't go to trash local schools. And thats it. Its the great divide. The rif raf separated from the cream. A few fall through the cracks I'm sure. If a family cares their kids prosper. If they don't they may learn to read and write.

__________________
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA1nw...eature=related I'd Rather Go Blind
This is not medical advice. Just opinion. Whatever you decide to do your your health is strictly your business and your choice.
Visit www.HealthSalon.org