An 8th Grade Education...in 1895

[Scotty]

My first thought: wtf is a bushel, and how big is it?

[luvs10s]

Bushel

[Charlie02123]

What struck me is the depth of knowledge required back then. Leaving out the math problems that were specifically related to the life many of the children would lead, farming, the questions on grammar, history, orthography and geography cover areas that are just not covered today. Children are taught to pass a test not to increase knowledge of and about the world they live in. These questions go into a subject in depth. Today schools concentrate on an overview.

Many of our older relatives were sheepish about admitting they had an 8th grade education. I think we can say they knew more than some college grads today.

That's a good point. School used to be based on practical knowledge. Even in college there were classes like "home finance" etc. An 8th grader a century ago could very well know how to run a house better than a college grad today.

[Charlie02123]

My first thought: wtf is a bushel, and how big is it?

(Scotty prefers "shavedels.")

[rabbit]

Hmm, interesting. I mostly agree with jadesa's excellent post, and with suliso that I wouldn't be able to ace my 8th grade exams unprepared today.

Also, in this 1895 exam, some of the questions which seem obscure today would have been pretty relevant then. For example, it asks where Monrovia is. Most 8th graders today wouldn't know it as the capital of Liberia, but back then, it was very much in the news because of the migration of freed slaves back to Africa. I mean, most 8th graders back then wouldn't know where Abbottabad is, but it would be answerable today.

On the other hand, I also agree with Ti-Amie and others that the test seems to be going for more depth and content than those today in the US (from what I know). Like, why would the Juan Fernandez islands (looked it up on wikipedia ) be a question topic? I don't necessarily believe that this type of education is very relevant today (we now have better ways to store information than in human brains), but I think it's probably true that school exams were much more challenging back then than now.

::

On the topic of memorization, there's this recent controversial viral video of a 2.5-year old (!!) kid reciting all sorts of information about India, apparently from memory. It's beyond impressive. Many people think it's almost child abuse. I disagree because it's possible (and it also seems from the video) that the kid just enjoys remembering stuff.

[Kirkus]

One day there's going to be a world-wide computer crash; all information stored in computers will be unreachable. And when that happens people are going to become stupid, in the blink of an eye.

[suliso]

One day there's going to be a world-wide computer crash; all information stored in computers will be unreachable. And when that happens people are going to become stupid, in the blink of an eye.

Never mind eight graders, but do you have any idea how much information about science/technology we have accumulated? It's orders of magnitude bigger than anything even the smartest human being can keep track of.

In my own field (organic chemistry) about 30,000 pages of primary literature is published every year in the top 4-5 journals alone. I do try to keep up with it, but it's becoming more and more difficult. I have plenty of other responsibilities and, unlike grad students and academics, I'm not willing ("encouraged") to spend 60-70 h a week on it...

[Kirkus]

Never mind eight graders, but do you have any idea how much information about science/technology we have accumulated? It's orders of magnitude bigger than anything even the smartest human being can keep track off.

In my own field (organic chemistry) alone about 30,000 pages of primary literature is published every year in the top 4-5 journals alone. I do try to keep up with it, but it's becoming more and more difficult. I have plenty of other responsibilities and, unlike grad students and academics, I'm not willing ("encouraged") to spend 60-70 h a week on it...

Which illustrates my point... computers will someday rule the world.

[Charlie02123]

One day there's going to be a world-wide computer crash; all information stored in computers will be unreachable. And when that happens people are going to become stupid, in the blink of an eye.

I'm not sure if you're being cutesy or not, but I disagree with this profoundly. ()

[Kirkus]

I was sort of being cutesy, but also not so much.

I wonder how many high school students today, compared with those of 35 years ago, can accurately do mathematics with a pencil and piece of paper?

[rabbit]

I wonder how many high school students today, compared with those of 35 years ago, can accurately do mathematics with a pencil and piece of paper?

Suppose you're right. Less students can do multiplication of large numbers accurately by hand now. Is that bad? I don't see it as such....there's much, much more to math than routine manipulation of numbers. In school, you learn about proofs using algebra and geometry, which require creativity, artistry, a way of thinking, and these things we don't know how to computerize.

Math is actually in one of its golden periods right now. It's helped by the fact that computers can do long tedious computations, whereas humans can focus on more of the creative part. I just see more reliance on computers to do arithmetic as a natural progression in the way we've evolved, not necessarily something wrong that needs to be fixed.

P.S.: I agree that doing arithmetic with pen and paper builds mathematical intuition and gives you a more hands-on grasp of what's going on. That part, we'd still want to teach to kids. But once you're in, say, 8th grade, I don't think kids should be made to add or multiply manually.

[Kirkus]

Suppose you're right. Less students can do multiplication of large numbers accurately by hand now. Is that bad? I don't see it as such....there's much, much more to math than routine manipulation of numbers. In school, you learn about proofs using algebra and geometry, which require creativity, artistry, a way of thinking, and these things we don't know how to computerize.

Math is actually in one of its golden periods right now. It's helped by the fact that computers can do long tedious computations, whereas humans can focus on more of the creative part. I just see more reliance on computers to do arithmetic as a natural progression in the way we've evolved, not necessarily something wrong that needs to be fixed.

P.S.: I agree that doing arithmetic with pen and paper builds mathematical intuition and gives you a more hands-on grasp of what's going on. That part, we'd still want to teach to kids. But once you're in, say, 8th grade, I don't think kids should be made to add or multiply manually.

A-ha!! See? That's what I'm saying. You never use a pen. You always use a pencil in case you have to erase.

[rabbit]

A-ha!! See? That's what I'm saying. You never use a pen. You always use a pencil in case you have to erase.

Nope, you use your ipad stylus.

[Kirkus]

Nope, you use your ipad stylus.

LOL. Touche.