Are You Being Dumbed Down? Want to Take an 8th Grade Test From 1895 To Find Out?, page 1
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reply posted on 3-4-2008 @ 08:23 AM by stikkinikki
That's pretty neat to see what they thought was important. What was so important about 1800 and 1849? I bet there is some lost history waiting to be remembered.

According to a random search
infoplease take on history


1800
Napoleon conquers Italy, firmly establishes himself as First Consul in France. In the U.S., federal government moves to Washington, D.C. Robert Owen's social reforms in England. William Herschel discovers infrared rays. Alessandro Volta produces electricity.




1849
California gold rush begins.



They also include this:


1897
Theodor Herzl launches Zionist movement.



I thought that was a myth.

[edit on 3-4-2008 by stikkinikki]


reply posted on 3-4-2008 @ 08:39 AM by harddrive21
reply to post by stikkinikki



My Guess :

1800 - either first prez in white house OR first congress in DC
1865 - either Lincoln killed OR Civil War ends


reply posted on 3-4-2008 @ 09:47 AM by battlestargalactica
reply to post by sizzle



I understand your point, and wholly agreee we are being dumbed down. However this question doesn't quite pertain, as do several others, due to the time period differences:

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?


Bushel of wheat? We would of course NOT be familiar with exactly what a bushel of wheat dimensions are (we of course can look it up online ) something rural 1895 farmers would know off the top of there heads.

Also, many of the things that were important to education 'back then' are no longer held to such high standards or regards, or perhaps not even being taught any longer.

For instance, english grammar rules used to be strict and verbatim, now held to much looser standards, other things are more important like science, technology, learning to be creative, etc.

Also, ever notice how neat and elegant cursive script was in the past? Most of the people on average had about the same sort of flowy looking (beautiful) cursive style of writing. Now of course its kinda personalized, add to that the computer and text and type and well...its all changed.


[edit on 3-4-2008 by battlestargalactica]


reply posted on 3-4-2008 @ 10:24 AM by thought
reply to post by Sleuth



Politics? When did schools talk about politics? The schools I went to avoided it like the plague, it being such a hot-button issue.


reply posted on 3-4-2008 @ 10:40 AM by Sleuth
reply to post by thought


My ex-SIL is a public school teacher. They brought politics into the classroom at least two decades ago. Instead of building solid foundations in math and language they're allowing them to use modern tools like computers and calculators to speed up the process. This leaves more time to use the teacher's desk as a pulpit to espouse political and environmental views. All this does is undermine the goal of any educational institution, particularly K-12.

The classroom is not the place for politics. It is where young minds are trained to think and problem-solve in an objective manner. Subjectivity should come later in the process when the child is ready to think for himself. No one should be standing there feeding him their own personal opinions. He should be allowed to freely form his own views.

I could go on and on, but I'm not interested in flamewars.

Teachers should teach and allow the young minds they're teaching to evolve on their own. It's that intellectual diversity that we're missing in today's youth.

When I look at the youngsters I see everywhere today they remind me of canoes, precariously balanced and rudderless. When you spoon-feed for years, that's what you're going to get, a person who can't handle adversity or make wise decisions on his own.

Need evidence? In the US, all you have to do is people watch at a mall or some other area where there are large groups of people on the move. It's heartbreaking to realize where our country is heading.
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