MOUNT VERNON — Browsing through an old local newspaper, I came across an interesting item to share.
The Feb. 4, 1913, issue of the Democratic Banner contains an article sharing the examination that had just been given to applicants wishing to get a county certification for teaching in Knox County. This was the test that was used by the state Board of Education to certify teachers all over the state of Ohio.
It is fascinating to study, and a bit intimidating. Teachers were expected to have a real depth of education in many areas, with detailed questions about literature, physiology, and more. Not surprisingly for a mostly rural state, there is also an emphasis on agriculture.
But, to be fair, while few teachers could answer all these questions today, there is also a much wider range of material which must be addressed today by educators, including much more science, computers and other technology, and an additional century of history and culture.
Also interesting is the number of questions that would be subject to potentially biased preferred answers. Many such questions would never fly today. And some of the scientific terms have changed over the last century, as well.
And then there are issues of sexism, cultural bias, etc. What this examination amounts to is a glimpse back into a different age.
Go ahead and take the test, and let us know how you do. Heck, I’m a book guy and I struggled with the literature questions (though I can probably still muster a quote from Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade”).
Meanwhile, while you’re taking the test, we’ll include a miscellany of pictures of Knox County schools for inspiration.
Physiology:
1 How much interest should you as teacher take in the cleanliness of the pupils under your charge?
(State your opinions definitely.)
2 Define isoculation, contagion, vaccination, isolation, and antitoxin.
3 What are some of the most common acid poisons and their antidotes? Name a metallic poison.
4 Write some practical suggestions that one should observe in the care of the ears. Name the different parts of the ear.
5 What useful purposes do our clothes serve? What facts do you teach about the choice of clothing?
6 Define acromion cardiac orifice, cornea, emetic, mesentery, plasma, pylorus, and tentanus.
7 Name the cavities of the heart and describe the heart action. How long does it take for the blood to make a complete circulation?
8 To what extent and for what purpose do you favor athletics in schools outside of city districts? What part, if any, should girls take in athletics?
Literature
1 Who wrote “The Pilgrim’s Progress”? Show, by a brief description, that you have read the book.
2 Name a poem written by Thomas Campbell, by Wordsworth, by Byron, by Gray, and by Tennyson.
Write four line quotations from two of the poems named.
3 Choose one of the novels written by Charles Dickens and in a few sentences show that you have read the book.
4 Name four great English poets and the masterpiece of each. Who was England’s greatest novelist?
Dramatist?
5 Take “Snowbound” as your lesson, and write six leading questions you would ask your class. The questions should show that you have read the poem.
6 Have you read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”? Do you encourage your pupils to read this story? (Give reasons for your answer.)
7 Name at least five of Longfellow’s shorter poems that are suitable for your eighth grade class to study.
Arithmetic
1 If corn is planted in hills 3 ft. 6 in. apart each way, how many hills will there be per acre?
2 How many quarts of berries can be put into a box the bottom of which is 14 inches square on the inside, and at the top 18 inches square, the depth being 8 inches.
3 The interest on a certain note at 4 per cent for 3 threes is $31.20. What is the face of the note?
4 A invests a certain sum in 6 per cent stock at 107-1/2 and twice as much in 5 per cent stock at 89-1/2, brokerage 1-1/2 in each case. What does he invest in the first if his income from both is $500?
5 If wheat loses 18 per cent on being ground into flour, how many bushels of wheat are needed to make
a barrel of flour?
6 A and B own a stack of hay in conical form. It is 15 feet in height, and A owns two-thirds of the stack, how many feet must he take from the top for his share?
7 If I pay 75¢ for a ream of typwriter paper, how many sheets do I get for one cent?
8 I bought two houses for $11,700, paying 25 per cent more for the one than the other. I sold the cheaper house at a profit of 20 per cent, and the other at a profit of 16-2/3 per cent. What was my total gain?
United States History (Including Civil Government)
1 By whom was Georgia settled? What were the chief purposes of this settlement?
2 What were the Intercolonial Wars? What great battle settled the controversy in America between France and England?
3 When Washington became president, what were the great questions confronting him?
4 What was the Webster-Ashburton Treaty? Who invented the electric telegraph?
5 Describe the struggle between the North and South for the possession of Kansas in 1854. How was the dispute settled?
6 Name the Chief Justices of the United States that were made famous by their important decisions.
Who is the present Chief Justice of the United States?
7 Trace the territorial growth of the United States on the American continent from 1776 to the present time.
8 Article five of the Constitution of the United States specifies how amendments are proposed and ratified. Discuss the provisions of this section, showing that you understand them.
Agriculture
1 Discuss the relative values of the average corn and wheat crop. For what reasons other than the crop
is wheat sown in Ohio?
2 What is a dead furrow? How is soil formed?
3 What are the three leading crops of your county? What is the average yield per acre of each.
4 State the benefits farmers receive from weeds. What is a weed?
5 Explain the value of spraying in the spring, and name several kinds of trees that are much benefitted by this treatment.
6 What is the Babcock milk tester? Explain the value of its use.
7 Why were so many farmers discontented and forced to sell their farms from 1890 to 1900? Do you notice this discontent among farmers now?
8 What does Carver say are the most important factors of agricultural productions?
Theory and Practice
Based in part on Graves’ “Educators of Three Centuries”
1 Explain briefly the method of reasoning and study introduced by John Locke.
2 Who was the founder of Kindergarten schools? What is the present tendency toward establishing such schools?
3 When are members of Boards of Education elected? How many members constitute the Board of Education in township districts?
4 Do you consider that untrained teachers are qualified to teach school? Who do you consider are trained teachers?
5 Why is it not possible for teachers to become professional by following the directions of books on how to teach school?
6 Do you believe that children should be required to take their books home to prepare their lessons at night? Justify your answer.
7 How do you teach penmanship in your school?
8 Define “teaching” and “study.”
Grammar
1 Define syntax, prosody, orthography, and a word.
2 How do you determine when a verb is transitive, and when intransitive? Show how many verbs may be used as transitive or intransitive.
3 Illustrate and discuss the subjective complement in all its forms.
4 Discuss the relative pronoun as to inflection, antecedent, and use.
5 What are co-ordinate conjunctions? Subordinate conjunctions? Correlative conjunctions? Illustrate each by a sentence.
6 Write the synopsis of teach in the indicative mode, passive mode.
7 Make a complete classication of the pronoun as you would teach the subject of the pronoun.
Geography
1 What is erosion? Where is erosion most rapid? What conditions are most favorable for rapid erosion?
2 What are glaciers? What is a terminal moraine?
3 What are tides? How often do tides occur?
4 Name and locate ten of the largest ports of Europe, and name the five chief exports of Europe.
5 For what are the following cities noted: Pittsburgh, Denver, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Duluth, Buffalo, and Portland.
6 In what counties are the following cities of Ohio: Lima, Dayton, Toledo, Sandusky, Painesville, Marietta, Chillicothe, Newark, Tiffin, Washington C. H.?
7 Name the states of the United States that are crossed or touched by the 40 th degree of latitude. By the 80th degree of longitude.
8 Draw a relief map of Ohio, showing the chief rivers of Ohio and the divide between the Ohio and the Great Lakes.
High School Agriculture
1 What are the chief causes of waste land? How may most waste land be put under profitable cultivation?
2 Name the principal kinds of waste labor. Who suffers on account of waste labor?
3 What is the relative importance of sheep, cattle, horses and hogs in your county? What is the approximate weight of the average fleece of wool in Ohio?
4 What is the approximate market value at your market of the following farm products, at the present time: Eggs, butter, wheat, oats, corn and hogs?
5 Name several materials that are good fertilizers. Are weeks considered fertilizers?
6 What are fungous diseases? Among what fruits are fungous diseases most destructive? When and how often should fruit be sprayed for fungous diseases?
7 What is the average rainfall of Ohio? What is a good growing temperature?
8 Where does a fence post rot most rapidly? Why? How may this be remedied to a great extent?
