Could you make it TO high school in 1912?

Originally posted by ChessPraxis
This illustrates how our society in general has brushed aside true education and force feeds today's youth a bunch of fluff.

I think history and geography are exaggerated in importance. I'd be happy if our schools could teach kids to read and write well, and do basic math.

Now we have google to look up geography questions. We don't need to remember every single person and group that settled every single US state 300+ years ago. That's trivia.

Originally posted by SwissGambit
I think history and geography are exaggerated in importance. I'd be happy if our schools could teach kids to read and write well, and do basic math.

Now we have google to look up geography questions. We don't need to remember every single person and group that settled every single US state 300+ years ago. That's trivia.

A test like that, which appears to be a qualifying exam for high school, isn't necessarily based on the importance of the knowledge at hand. It tests commitment and diligence, interest level, etc. as much as anything. One could say it selected for the promising student according to the cultural standards of the day.

(I have only one course called Educational Testing in my college transcript, but I did read the entire textbook.🙂)

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I remember learning that Thomas Carlyle established that "The history of the world is but the biography of great men". The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica is said to be of this school, so this view was in vogue at the time of this test.

Originally posted by JS357
A test like that, which appears to be a qualifying exam for high school, isn't necessarily based on the importance of the knowledge at hand. It tests commitment and diligence, interest level, etc. as much as anything. One could say it selected for the promising student according to the cultural standards of the day.

(I have only one course called Educational Testing in my college transcript, but I did read the entire textbook.🙂)

Instead of saying "isn't necessarily based on the importance of the knowledge at hand", I should have said "doesn't test only the knowledge at hand".

I remember being verbally grilled, standing by my desk, in Ancient History class (freshman HS), on the campaign of Fabian and the strategy he used.

The content of the grilling came at random, and was the ONE part of the chapter I had seriously studied. I aced the semester on that one event.

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Well, obviously we have not changed the teaching method enough for students to grasp the relevance. 😕