The decline of public education

[itisstarry]

 I got this in my email and thought it an extremely good example of how far public education has fallen over the  years.

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 , KS , 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, 65 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 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 meter?
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, and  1865.

Orthography  (Time, one hour)(Do  we even know what this is???)

1. What is meant by the following:   alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, and  syllabication.
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3.  What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, sub vocal,  diphthong, cognate letters, and lingual.
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-, and 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 d iacritical 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?  This also  shows you how poor our education system has become... and, NO! I don't  have the answers

[jejstover]

May. 2, 2008 at 11:10 AM

"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?  This also  shows you how poor our education system has become... and, NO! I don't  have the answers" 

Great post Jess! And it definitely brings new meaning to the 8th grade education comment we typically hear (while pointing out the sad shape of our educational system)

Guess I do have some suggestions/points to ponder for the original author of the email regarding answers to fixing the problem  ;-)

1) Get rid of the Department of Education and bring the funding and oversight of our schools back to its local origins.

2) Re-think the lobbying capabilities of such organizations as the National Teachers Association.

3) End the outmoded practice of teacher tenure.

4) And bring the teaching of civics back into the classroom ... which will teach our nation's children the tools and traditions of reason, logic, civility, creativity, discourse, debate and dissent!  

 ... How's that for starters?

[MamaDragon4Ever]

May. 3, 2008 at 2:01 AM

Grade Requirements Lowered In Fayetteville

POSTED: 6:51 pm CST January 25, 2008

UPDATED: 6:54 pm CST January 25, 2008

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Students no longer have to get good grades to graduate in Fayetteville.The Fayetteville school board decided to lower requirements for seniors.Until now, students had to achieve a minimum grade-point average of 2.0, which equates to a C average, in order to get a diploma.

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Officials said the move was made because too many students were dropping out of Fayetteville High School.

 

This is what's happening with schools at my section of state.

 

And this was my response.

 

 This is pitiful. Just because people are dropping out doesn't mean that standards should be lowered for everyone else. I graduated with great grades from FHS. It is possible. I just think that the farther standards are lowered, the more stupid that our future will be. I don't want my son graduating just because he went to a building for three years!

[PeaceJaway]

May. 4, 2008 at 2:29 AM I firmly believe that the continual extension of the time we're expected to spend in school (at risk of being less worthy of employment than those who do their time - let me stress that I have nothing against continued education; only against extended schooling in which the same amount of or less information is imparted, as this post illustrates) is not a matter of learning more, but of keeping one in social training longer and of allowing the elders to move out of the workforce through retirement rather than having to risk being displaced by the up-and-coming.

[ST6153]

Jul. 27, 2008 at 8:12 AM

Holy cow... I have no idea most of the answers to those questions... I feel so... stupid! LOL.