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Thread: Educating the masses

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    Default Educating the masses

    Subject: 1895 - 8th Grade Final Exam

    Let’s try asking some of our current day Form Four students – How many could answer even half of these ?

    What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

    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 , 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 hour 15 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 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 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 6,720 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 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)
    [Do we even know what this is??]
    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.' (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, 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. 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 you how poor our education system has become and, NO, I don't have the answers
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: Educating the masses

    Failed miserably if I was around in 1895. Den

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    Default Re: Educating the masses

    We'd have known chimney brickwork from the inside.

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    Default Re: Educating the masses

    Quote Originally Posted by happy daze john in oz View Post
    Subject: 1895 - 8th Grade Final Exam

    Let’s try asking some of our current day Form Four students – How many could answer even half of these ?

    What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

    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 , 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 hour 15 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 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 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 6,720 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 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)
    [Do we even know what this is??]
    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.' (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, 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. 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 you how poor our education system has become and, NO, I don't have the answers
    TV Quiz question just now - Which Dutch City is known for its International Court - Answer - Belgium, no, that is wrong, I will pass to the other contestant - Geneva was his answer ffs

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    Default Re: Educating the masses

    Watched that myself Tony, she was not that young, i was amazed that both of them had no idea, kt
    R689823

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    Default Re: Educating the masses

    Quote Originally Posted by Tony Taylor View Post
    TV Quiz question just now - Which Dutch City is known for its International Court - Answer - Belgium, no, that is wrong, I will pass to the other contestant - Geneva was his answer ffs
    Hi Tony.
    Was that on Tipping Point?
    Des
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    Lest We Forget

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    Default Re: Educating the masses

    Always thought Antwerp, but then maybe nay twerp will do.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: Educating the masses

    Quote Originally Posted by Des Taff Jenkins View Post
    Hi Tony.
    Was that on Tipping Point?
    Des
    yes, that was it, two of them, I dont think they teach basic subjects any more.

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    Default Re: Educating the masses

    They probably both had degrees in politics . There is such I have been told . JS
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    Default Re: Educating the masses

    Hi Tony
    I am stunned at the ignorance of the people on that program, but that does not only involve the UK but here in Aus we have a nightly quiz show and most taking part are teachers, and like the German said they " I know nothing." I despair for the younger generation.
    Des
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