The dumbing down of education becomes clear to even the staunchest of public school supporters once they read text books from a hundred or more years ago and compare them with present day offerings.
When you use a Participle, as "walking," implying "when,"
"while," "though," "that," make it clear by the context what is
implied.
"Republics, in the first instance, are never desired for their own sakes. I do not think they will finally be desired at all, unaccompanied by courtly graces and good breeding."
That's from an 1840s grammar text for 12 and 13 year-old boys. Today's 12-13 year-olds must puzzle out if the the proper nouns in this sentence are capitalized.
Anita's favourite stop is the Spicy palace Restaurant.
A year later students are required to identify the misspelling of plural nouns. They are not required to know the correct spellings.
Ann uses special flour mixs when she bakes loafs of bread for bakerys.
And in grade 8, when the darlings are nearly ready for high school, students are required to identify more incorrect spellings of plural nouns.
Jeff likes anchovies, tomatoes, and bananas on pizza.
Math didn't escape being dumbed down either.
Ray's Arithmetic about 1880:
A cistern containing 36 gallons is fed by a pipe at 6 gallons per minute and discharged by a pipe at 9 gallons a minute. How long before the cistern is empty.
That's a grade four question!
Now from a modern math college competency test.
3 + 5 x 7=
The taxpayers and the students are being shafted. Next time you visit your kid's school take along a few old texts ( you can borrow them from a good library) and then compare them in front of the teacher. Then ask for an explanation of what has happened to education.
Stand up. Home school if you can.
