its funny how stupid we americans got?

Question

I saw an article on the past of education, in like the 1800's, and it showed what 8th or 6th grade kids had to study in their final exam, and it was like high college stuff. I dont have the artice with me but when i do ill show some questions we had to answer, it just shows after 200 yrs. we are stupid! Even final exam standerds were lowered to accomadate the stupid students )every one)

Herre are the questions from a booklet called Stephenson's Iowa State Eighth Grade Examination Question Book. The 59-page pamphlet, published in 1924, was to help eighth-graders take the test at the end of their elementary years that would qualify them to move on into high school.

The bottom line is that most high-school seniors in 2006 would find the eighth-grade guide of 1924 quite a challenge. The questions covered 10 different subject areas—and you might enjoy (or you might not) matching your wits against those of a typical Iowa eighth-grader 80 years ago.


Arithmetic. A wall 77 ft. long, 6 5 ft. high, and 14 inches thick is built of bricks costing $9.00 per M. What was the entire cost of the bricks if 22 bricks were sufficient to make a cubic foot of wall?

Geography. What waters would a ship pass through in going from Duluth to Buffalo? With what would the boat be apt to be loaded? What, probably, would it be loaded with on a return trip?

Grammar. Define five of the following terms: antecedent, tense, object, conjugation, auxiliary verb, expletive, reflexive pronoun.

Physiology. (a) Beginning with food in the mouth, trace the course of digestion, naming the juices with which the food is mixed and the results. (b) What is the reason that spitting on the street is dangerous to the health of a community?

Spelling and Orthography. Select the proper prefix and place before each word in the following list (up, under, out, fore, over): Spread, balance, hold, sight, ground, shine, current, brush, roar, burst.

Writing. Give five movements to develop accuracy in penmanship. Tell what you seek to do in using each movement.

History. (a) What colonies were founded in America because of religious reasons? By whom was each founded? (b) Give the cause, time, and result of each of the wars in which the United States has been involved.

Civil Government. Name three township, three county, and three state officers and state what office each person holds. Why do so many men dislike holding township offices?

Music. Draw a staff. Place on it the scale in half notes in the keys of G, D, and F. Write the scale that has a sharp on the fifth line and another sharp on the third space.

Reading. Who were Hamlet? Lochinvar? Naomi? Socrates? Gathergold? What are the three most important topics now being discussed in the newspapers? State two reasons for reading a newspaper. Give five uses of the dictionary. Do you use the dictionary while studying?

Answer 1

Well you are demonstrating it with the horrible spelling and syntax you used in your question unless that was intentional.

I overall disagree with your premise. I don't think we have become more stupid. There is a significantly greater amount of information required of a person today than there was 200 years ago. Further formal education hardly existed in the country prior to the 1860's. If you are looking at a test from that period it most likely was from a private academy where then, as now, students were put up to more vigorous standards.

Additionally, most young people completed their education by the age of 14 and were moved into apprentice programs to learn a trade. The number of young men, remember most young ladies were excluded from formal schooling, who actually attended college were minute when compared to today's world.

Most people in this country never received a formal education and the level of illiteracy was in excess of 50%. As opposed to today when the level is less than 20% for adults.

Answer 2

Actually, that's because 200 years ago there were no laws requiring children to get a full education by a certain age. Most kids were expected to drop out or not even go to school because they had to get a job or work the family business. In Mexico they still practice this "technique" of sqeezing in as much educational material before a child reaches the second grade; I know because I started school there. When I got to America, the course work slowed down because it is THE LAW that children start school by the age of at least five and finish all the way through high school. Such laws were also put into place because during the industrial era, many children as young as pre-schoolers were made to work in horrible and dangerous conditions instead of getting an education. So, in reality, it's not that American's are more stupid; the standards of a continuous education have just been improved. However, the material varies from school district and based on school politics and how good scores make the school officials look. That's why many kids don't know close to anything these days... that and the fact that because of the whole politics school politics thing, some school districts are passing flunkers to "up" their money funds from the state, city, or local funding... There are obvious pros and cons...

Answer 3

Our American education system has gotten worse and worse since the 1950's. Americans are near the bottom of the least educated people in the world. Many people in America can't even answer basic 4-th grade level questions about their own government.

Answer 4

I agree. I fear for the education my son will get in the coming years. Private school seems like the only decent thing to do. What I can't stand even more is that in California, they are trying to have the final high school exit exam to be given in Spanish. You think Americans are stupid...

Answer 5

At the core, Americans are no different from anyone else. Our great strength lays in the fact that there are so many different kinds of us. So, to answer your question, we re all of the above. It doesn't matter where in the world we live, we all want the same kinds of things and possess universal traits.

Answer 6

In the 1800's education was far from universal. The fact that they were still going at 6th or 8th grade made them a pretty selective bunch.

Answer 7

Speak for yourself please.

Putting a question mark at the end of a sentence doesn't make it a question. Judging by that and the rest of your poorly written 'rantlent', I'd say you speak from personal experience about stupidity.

Answer 8

It used to be that if you wer dumb, you just dropped out of school. Now, you stay in school. Also, just like evrything else, people are quick to shirk responsibility to other people. Back in the day parental influence was that much greater.
Another point. Public school isnt just learning about reading and writing. It also is about learning social practices and forming the basis of your character. Just like in college, most of what you learn that helps you most in life is learned out of the classroom. Just my opinion

Answer 9

Yeah but think about it, we no longer need the information that they taught then and some kids are purposely being stupid. We have kids on drugs and drinking.

Answer 10

I agree.. I hate standardized testing and public schools.. ok check that .. ALL schools.. public and private.. I learned NOTHING.. I am in college and still I learn nothing.. All you learn in school is how to cram, memorize **** for a week and then forget it, and to follow directions.. 20 years of education all for that !!