Back to School Issueby TT (with crib notes from Allen) |
They did this in Salina, Kansas in 1895, where the local education district was light years ahead of our current "No Child Left Behind" movement. Remember when our grandparents and great-grandparents said they only had an eighth grade education? Well, maybe that's what we should aim for now. Who said eighth-graders don't know what they want in life? They sure did in the 19th century. Allen's maternal grandfather went all the way through high school. He told a story about a teacher who asked him what he wanted to be when he graduated and he said, "Bald." ...And he was. His hair pattern was the same from age 17 until his death at age 75. Okay, so how does this relate to back to school? We humbly offer a 21st century approach (Allen's) to the 1895 Salina, Kansas Eighth Grade Final Exam. The questions come from an original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina and reprinted by the Salina Journal <http://www.saljournal.com/> Q. Define case; Illustrate each case. Suitcase, Briefcase, Court Case. All related to traveling lawyers. I would gladly illustrate these except that I can't draw worth a darn. Q. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic. A. The answers are in the back of the book. Q. A wagon box is 2 feet deep, 10 feet long, and 3 feet wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold? Genetically engineered or organic wheat? Q. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 pounds. What is it worth at 50 cents per bushel, deducting 1050 pounds for tare? It doesn't matter. The government will subsidize the final price if you promise to grow less wheat next year. Q. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt. "a Bank Check" Q. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus. Columbus came from Spain with a boat full of happiness. The Indians were really relieved to see him. They brought flowers and thanked Spain for liberating them from a lack of alcoholism and resistance to small pox. Q. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas. Once upon a time there was a flat, square piece of land that no one wanted. Someone named it Kansas. Q. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion. A. Forest Moon of Yavin: Destroyed original Death Star. Q. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe? The senior partners of a very expensive law firm. Q. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, and linguals. Trigraph - if at first you don't plot, tri, tri again. Q. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup. Bi the light of the silvery moons. Q. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean? Fishing and whaling. Q. Describe the mountains of North America. Tall. Some of them have snow on top. Q. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each. [I was able to do this in 8th grade ...not any more.] Notice that the exam took SIX HOURS to complete. Puts the saying "he only had an eighth grade education" in a whole new light. Also shows you how poor our education system has become... Yeah, it's a pity that today's kids don't even know what a bushel is! |
Ahhhh?.September. The leaves begin to turn, heralding the change of season. The days get shorter. And students herd back to the classroom, like cattle to the slaughter.