On 20 Aug 2003 21:15:01 -0700, jim rozen
pixelated:
In article , David L Peterson
says...
The general public is getting dumber and dumber. Most the
population lives in a world of magic and black boxes. Tehy don't care
how or why thigns work, they just want things to make life easier and
more entertaining.
To be somewhat fair one would have to point out this has
always been true to some degree.
Consider this test from 100 years ago vs. current kids.
They didn't dumb down the entire class for the slowest
kid back then and look how many scientists/inventors it
produced. To wit:
--snip--
8th grade final - 1895
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, KS, 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, 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 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
around 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)
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.
**********************************************
Also notice that the exam took six hours to complete. Gives the saying
"he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?
--snip--
The difference is, in the 30s there might have been one
or two items that fit that catagory, and they were strictly
amusement or pleasure devices. Now nearly eveyone simply
cannot do their job when the worm shuts down their computer
network or the power goes off. No gas for the car? No
way to get around. The technology basically has a full
turn around the workers and is starting to squeeze. This
is how constrictors work.
Did someone mention Texas oil and its "boa" owners? Even
electricity in the West can't get made without their old
natural gas pipelines.
-
The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier.
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