From: Forrest Bishop (forrestb@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Sat Aug 31 2002 - 07:14:45 MDT
----- Original Message -----
From: Vanessa Novaeris <novaeris@hotmail.com>
To: <extropians@extropy.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 3:39 PM
Subject: Re: American Education (answer to Greg Burch)
>
> Posted by: dehede011@aol.com Posted on: In a message dated 8/27/2002 11:26:56
> PM Central Standard Time,
> Its really great to see this topic here. But looking to the teachers
> themselves to help the situation is IMHO much to short-sighted. I agree that
> many teachers are not qualified for their jobs, but even here we must turn
> to the modest requirements needed to obtain a teaching certificate. Back to
> my point, the root of the problem really is the curriculum. No matter how
> much a teacher may want to enlighten his/her class, they are restricted,
> sometimes almost completely, to the guidelines set forth in the school's
> curriculum.
The guidelines in turn come from US federal standards, which is totally outside the jurisdiction of the central planners. The scam
works like this: schools have to use socially-engineered, government-approved textbooks and curricula if they receive federal
funding. All publics schools receive at least some federal funding. Catch-22. The 9th Circuit Court's ruling on the Pledge of
Alligiance is a case in point of jurists vastly exceeding thier jurisdiction, something lawyers seldom seem to mention.
> It may sound cheesy, but Education is
> humanity's greatest tool in its quest for perpetual progress.
I agree entirely with this. The collapse of American education does not bode well for our civilization. Abolishing the US Dept.of
Education is as critical for our survival and prosperity as is exterminating the Federal Reserve System. A friend's child tells me
tales of classroom life- the ritual abuse, the druggings, the indoctirnation sessions, the mainstreamed retards- that would make
Franz Kafka cringe.
The following exam for 13-year-olds from the backwaters of 19th Century America serves as a sort of meter-stick for guaging the
deterioration of American education. I don't think most current college graduates can pass it, even with the obsolete terms updated.
=============
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, KS. USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky
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 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 m?
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, 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 North America.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, 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.
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-- Forrest Bishop Chairman, Institute of Atomic-Scale Engineering www.iase.cc
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