This makes sense to me. I recognize that the point of the meme is to shock people, but it seems like a pretty reasonable test for 8th graders. Sure, we do some things n a different order now, and our focus is different but none of this is crazy.
Yeah - often people will pull up tests from the 1800s and see all the Greek and Latin, then say “oh kids today couldn’t do this!”
But kids today are much better equipped at understanding higher level math and science. I don’t think 19th and early 20th century high schools often got up to offering calculus.
We don’t see Greek and Latin as useful or necessary to be an “educated” person anymore. We do more highly value those STEM skills.
Our understanding of history is also different. Those 1912 students could name generals, dates and battles of the Civil War - but you can be damn sure they were learning a manipulative and inaccurate Lost Cause narrative. Knowing who George Washington is and that “he could never tell a lie” is not the same as understanding the full context and meaning of the American Revolution. Sir Walter Raleigh would be a great jumping off point to discuss state sponsored piracy, and the politics of his death might be interesting, but they probably just learned that he was a brave man with a sense of adventure and determination!
This makes sense to me. I recognize that the point of the meme is to shock people, but it seems like a pretty reasonable test for 8th graders. Sure, we do some things n a different order now, and our focus is different but none of this is crazy.
Yeah - often people will pull up tests from the 1800s and see all the Greek and Latin, then say “oh kids today couldn’t do this!”
But kids today are much better equipped at understanding higher level math and science. I don’t think 19th and early 20th century high schools often got up to offering calculus.
We don’t see Greek and Latin as useful or necessary to be an “educated” person anymore. We do more highly value those STEM skills.
Our understanding of history is also different. Those 1912 students could name generals, dates and battles of the Civil War - but you can be damn sure they were learning a manipulative and inaccurate Lost Cause narrative. Knowing who George Washington is and that “he could never tell a lie” is not the same as understanding the full context and meaning of the American Revolution. Sir Walter Raleigh would be a great jumping off point to discuss state sponsored piracy, and the politics of his death might be interesting, but they probably just learned that he was a brave man with a sense of adventure and determination!