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[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Here are some questions from an 1895 eighth-grade final exam.

Grammar

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 do, lie, lay 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.

Math

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 50 cts. per bu, 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 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 inch? 
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 around which is 640 rods? 
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

US History

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

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, super. 
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

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 N.A. 
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 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 inclination of the earth.

And that was eighth grade. Yikes! 

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@gardenman 

What no diagramming sentences.....?!?!?!?!?!?

[Spurt]

Never underestimate the value of coloring maps while you learn about the different states and countries.....

Whats interesting when my friends and I get together and we play Trivial Pursuit, no one wants the geography questions but me.....(and all these people have college degrees...) 😄😄😄

[proudlyfromNJ]

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@songbird wrote:

Geography in public schools was eliminated long time ago.  They thought it was not necessary.  

The most common problem are mixing up continents with countries.  Many people assume Africa, Asia and Europe are countries.  Also many people don't recognize North America on maps.  there was something on TV where they asked Americans to find North America.  Many couldn't.

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@songbird  That is just not true. Geography is taught in schools at least ones I am familiar with on the east coast. 

[Spurt]

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@Kalli wrote:

In truth, there was a lot I didn’t know when I graduated from HS. My K-12 education was just the beginning.

Right now, I’m more concerned with young folks showing respect for others, treating others with compassion and understanding the importance of being able to delay gratification.

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Thats all fine and good but you need some basic skills (ability to do simple math without a phone or computer, how to read, and some legal documents do require a signature both written and printed, there's composing an intelligent letter or email instead of just "netspeak"....or "texting abbreviations".....)

[Spurt]

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@RoughDraft wrote:

So strange to keep attacking young people.  Who do many of us call to get our computers working?

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@RoughDraft 

I think the focus on the "attack" is the education system in the U.S. ant not the young people....we used to be top ranked and now we have fallen.....

The US consistently scores lower than many other countries in benchmarks such as math and science. According to the Business Insider report in 2018, its education ranking was 38th in math scores and 24th in science.

[Spurt]

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@Starpolisher wrote:

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@Sooner wrote:

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@Kalli wrote:

In truth, there was a lot I didn’t know when I graduated from HS. My K-12 education was just the beginning.

Right now, I’m more concerned with young folks showing respect for others, treating others with compassion and understanding the importance of being able to delay gratification.

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@Kalli If they are as dumb as some of these bunnies are they will have to delay gratification when they become adults.  

And as far as schools, all we hear is how underpaid teachers are and how overburdened.  If that's the case somebody should be worrying about finding out why our kids aren't learning in school.  WHAT is holding them back and burdening teachers at the same time?

Something is very very wrong here!   It simply doesn't add up does it? 

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If you want to know, "WHAT is holding them back and burdening teachers at the same time?" Read this. As a retired teacher, I find it very accurate.  This, government bureaucracy and the idea from some parents that it's  the sole responsibility of the teacher to educate THEIR child!

SMH!Amber Lynn - A day in the life of a teacher... Me: Ok class,... | Facebook
https://m.facebook.com/amber.guerreiro/posts/10157929216059365

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@Starpolisher @Kachina624 @On It

Here in Texas the prime focus seems to be passing the Tas tests so the School District gets more money....and they dont appear to use it for the students it all goes to District Adminstrator's salaries.....

And your right, parents need to be involved---my mom read to me and gave me love of reading and books, taught me my ABC and colors, simple math, before I even got to kinder....

Retired NBA Star, David Robinson started a school here....one of the requirements was that parents had to be involved with the kids education---what a success it was---the kids scored higher than their grade level......

[BirkiLady]

@Spurt   I still love to diagram sentences!! Weird, I know. 

[CelticCrafter]

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@proudlyfromNJ wrote:

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@BirkiLady wrote:

It astounds me how many posters haven't or didn't travel with their families. Our family traveled throughout the US (all 50 states) and abroad. It was part of our education, as well as family vacations. 

We did the same with our son. And now my son, DIL and grandson are doing the same. It's a lifestyle for learning within the family.

Not all education is expected from schools and teachers; it begins within the home and family. Educational games were always played in our homes. The conversation during those games included additional education, which was absorbed by osmosis! Who knew learning was being passed on? LOL

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@BirkiLady  Traveling with your children is all well and good. When I grew up in the fifties, we had very little money. Dad was a postman and Mom stayed home with her kids. Vacations were once a year driving and then camping. Not everyone was brought with enough money to travel the USA and Europe.

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@proudlyfromNJ agreed.  My father worked for the federal government and my mom was home with us.  They were more concerned about putting food on the table, clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads so we didn't have vacations.  My grandparents lived in upstate NY and that's where we spent the summers. My father would come for the weekends.

[BirkiLady]

@Spurt   Trivial Pursuit is another favorite game!!

Years ago, did you play "Authors"? I don't know if it's still around, but I still have that game too! My sister and I loved that one when we were little kids; then my son and his cousin played it when they were little. Great card game for learning about book titles and their authors.    

[jonbon]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@Kalli wrote:

In truth, there was a lot I didn’t know when I graduated from HS. My K-12 education was just the beginning.

Right now, I’m more concerned with young folks showing respect for others, treating others with compassion and understanding the importance of being able to delay gratification.

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Thats all fine and good but you need some basic skills (ability to do simple math without a phone or computer, how to read, and some legal documents do require a signature both written and printed, there's composing an intelligent letter or email instead of just "netspeak"....or "texting abbreviations".....)

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We go through this frequently--legal documents do not need a written (cursive) signature. Your "signature" is simply how you sign your name.