I don't mean to sound argumentative. However, although what you say is true, it's just not happening. Ask the average person under the age of 30 who was president during the Civil War. It's true the children of today are for the most part rather adapt at using computers but at the same time, computers like television have contributed to the 'Dumbing of America' in general. Children are no longer required to learn. All the information is stored on the net for them. As a result, most feel no need to remember or learn. The attitude seems to one of laziness combined with a lack of pride in self accomplishment combined with a total lack of shame when failure results. As a nation, we are surely doomed if we continue on our present path. The letters written by soldiers fighting in both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War clearly reflect a society of individuals with a much better command of the English Language than exists today. I find it curious that many are filled with false pride. Why are we so filled with self deceit that we are unable to admit to ourselves and our children that we have failed where our ancestors succeeded? Surely, this continued self denial of our own shortcomings will insure we become the poster child for that old cliché about history repeating itself. In our case, the fall of yet an other great empire. Chuck Ward aka [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Andrew Cally" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, April 28, 2000 8:24 AM Subject: Re: Could You Have Passed the 8th Grade in 1895? > Not necessarily true -- Kids today have learn twice as much American > History, a hundred times as much science, and a little thing called the > computer....... > > At 05:11 PM 4/27/00 -0700, you wrote: > >And today they pass uneducated kids just to get them out of the way for > >a crop of new kids that may be just as poorly educated. To bad most > >people can't why we are going down. > > > >"Ward, Marsha" wrote: > >> > >> Hi, > >> I found this and thought you all might find it interesting! > >> > >> enjoy, > >> Marsha > >> *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* > >> > >> Could You Have Passed the 8th Grade in 1895? ...Take a Look: > >> > >> This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, Kansas. It was > >> taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical > >> Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted by the Salina Journal. > >> > >> 8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas - 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 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. > >> > >> 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 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. > >> > >> 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) > >> > >> 1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phoneticorthography, > >> 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 (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 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. > >> > >> -------------------------------------------------- > >> Imagine a college student who went to public school trying to pass this > >> test, even if the few outdated questions were modernized. Imagine their > >> professors even being able to pass the 8th Grade. Can Americans, student and > >> professor alike, get back up to the 8th Grade level of 1895? > >> --------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > Scott Andrew Cally > Graduate Teaching Assistant > University of Florida > > 320 SE 3rd Street Apt D-7 > Gainesville, FL 32601 > (352) 337-1839 > [email protected] > >