I haven’t been posting too much lately. I’ve been involved in the audiobook production for Grievous Deeds and searching for a new story to write. But I want to keep releasing posts, even if it’s slower than usual.
I saw this the other day and thought it was incredible. It’s the eighth grade exam for Bullitt County, Kentucky schools. Can you imagine our eighth grade students being able to pass this test today?
It’s time to raise our standards.
8th grade exam 1912
I didn’t remember to note where I found this image… if it’s yours, please let me know and I’ll credit you!
old spirituals 
Test like this one have “risen from the ashes” over the years and caused “modern” Americans to realize they are not as educated as their grandparents and great-grandparents. A comment on another site begged public schools to teach the use of a ruler and/or a tape measure, i.e. the value of the tiny lines.
It will become progressively worst as “AI” is integrated into our daily lives. Spell check and texting have eliminated the need to learn to spell and write in cursive. Old letters and documents, written with a fountain pen, are works of art today.
The proper use of “Me” and “I” has been lost; often replaced with “myself.” Many cannot converse without using “like” repeatedly in a sentence. And, “actually” must be used for emphasis each time an experience or occurrence is explained. (“Like, I actually wrote this comment.”) It can be dizzying.
LikeLiked by 1 person
When you realize that Laura Ingalls Wilder taught in a one room school house, so grades 1 -8, when she was 15 years old and married and ran a farm at 16 years of age, you understand just how far we have fallen and how wasted our youth is in this generation. I work at a local college (junior college in the States? You know, they hand out diplomas and certificates as opposed to degrees.) Anyway, I hear these kids talking and whining and most of them seem to still be stuck in a middle school mentality. There is a reason Asian kids come over here and beat the pants off our kids in terms of testing and grades. Our kids basically play games until they are adults and then are suddenly expected to learn how to work hard and study. That’s not how it works folks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree, Jennie
People need something important to strive for and fight for and live for…humans need a purpose. When they don’t have one they fill their lives with nonsense (video games, etc) as a distraction from the emptiness.
LikeLike
My oldest daughter teaches fifth grade and a granddaughter teaches high school history in CA. They are required to pass students on to the next grade regardless of a student’s grades. You have no idea of what a good teacher goes through. I won’t even go into the thinking of school districts and politicians that are destroying our youth and discouraging good teachers. It infuriates me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hear you, Judy! I’ve heard from friends and acquaintances that charter school teachers have a much better experience than public school teachers. They have more freedom in how they teach and focus on classical subjects rather than the agenda of the teachers union and the politicians.
LikeLike