The next time your child complains about how tough school is, show him this eighth grade test taken from 1912.
According to an article in the Huffington Post, the master document was donated to Bullitt County History Museum in Kentucky.
Apparently the test was a big deal for rural students, who assembled once or twice a year to sit the "Common Exam," which then determined who got scholarships and who went on to high school. A rarity for many farm kids.
The 101-year-old test went viral, garnering the museum some 200,000 [hits].
"It's quite a challenging test," admits the museum's director, David Strange. "I do try to remind everyone it's a 1912 test and you need to place yourself in that mindset sometimes. I remember having a similar question [as is on the test] when I was in school. I wouldn't want to take it again."
Define cerebellum. What is the difference between a personal noun and common noun? And who in the devil invented cotton gin? See how many questions you could answer... Then again, here's a good argument for not wanting your kids to be too smart.
Proof that we have dumbed down in recent generations, or is much of this knowledge now obsolete?
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