almost 100 already plus humidity (wchich is rare in SoCal)

Oh and boycott Starbucks if you support your troops (I'll post the stroy later) US troops wrote Starbucks to get coffee, Starbucks reply, 'We dont support the war, therefore we dont support the troops and wont be sending coffee." UGH What a bunch of.... how rude.

I understand not supporting the war (even though I do support it) but their response...

[ 07-16-2006, 06:15 PM: Message edited by: Shawn ]

Thanks for the laughs.... I really needed them today. Not PTO stuff, just life in general. It was 103 here (FL) with the humidity. My air won't shut off and I only have it set at 80. I really don't want to see my electric bill next month. The kids didn't even want to go out side. I finally told them to go and play in the hose. Well, there goes my water bill too. But it's worth it. They're not as grumpy and more then happy to watch movies and play quiet games.

And THAT'S why there will ALWAYS be prayer in school!!!
I know a few eighth graders that would have been praying for mercy with that exam!!!

My question is what is the answer to #5 under Geography? Denver is a city in Colorado, or are they all names of Indian territories?

No humidity here but it was 90 degrees at 10AM! Still too hot!

Why kids used to need school.....


This is floating around the internet-it is supposedly an 8th grade final exam in Kansas in the 1800's.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS -1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of"lie,""play," and "run."
5. Define case; Illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4 District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for
incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849,1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour) Do we even know what this is??
1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caretu.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with finale. Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis,mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise,blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain,feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes! of climate in Kansas?
3 Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba,Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS! to complete. Gives the saying "He only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

WHo needs school, anyway?

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

My boys are 7 and 10. We went with my mother in law, who was extremely happy to get to see a movie with real people instead of being animated.
To the other question, my son quit baseball last year after the coach told them they couldn't get a drink after practicing for over an hour in 100 degree weather in the sun. Had I heard him, I probably would have had a few choice words, but the coach didn't do much coaching and most of the kids didn't seem to care, so I figured my son was better off. I was pretty proud of him for not letting an adult bully him into heat stroke after I got over my shock.
There is no reason practices can't be held within realistic conditions. Considering the increasing number of kids getting sick from parents pushing them, I'm not sure I would charge him the $$ but chalk it up to life lived and learned...but he did offer it to you!
It's about 100 here and the humidity is through the roof. We had a ball game at 9am with one kid and practice at 10am with another. After that, we went home, put on the pjs and cranked up the ac. Oh, and we ate junk food and tv dinners. It's supposed to be 100 or more for the next week with no rain but tons of humidity. I wish we were done with baseball and we could have gone to Michigan for my Great Uncle's big birthday bash-he's "older than the dirt he farms with." They live in a nice farmhouse off Lake Michigan growing apples, corn, tomatoes, and all kinds of good food. Breakfast is always more than can fit on your plate, the coffee is always on, and my Great Aunt doesn't trust skinny cooks-so I fit right in. No peanuts in Coke but the fried okra is pretty good.