Jeopardy: Who won teachers' strike of '01

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer

I know how to end this strike stuff quickly: Let's take a test. Whoever scores higher wins.

I know the teachers don't want any testing, and Cayetano doesn't like to be questioned either, but this test is easy — so easy that an eighth-grader can pass it. In fact, it's an actual eighth-grade test, administered in Kansas in 1895.

First side to get a score of 90 or above gets all its demands met. No cheating.

Part one. Grammar. Time: One hour.

1. Give the 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? Conjugate do, lie, lay and run.

5. Give the rules for principal marks of punctuation.

6. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Part two. Arithmetic. Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.

1. Name and define the fundamental rules of arithmetic.

2. A wagon is 2 feet deep, 10 feet long and 3 feet wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. Find the cost of 6,720 pounds of coal at $6 per ton.

4. Find the interest charges on a loan of $512.60 for 8 months at 7 percent.

5. What is the cost of 40 boards, 12 inches wide and 16 feet long, at $20 per meter?

Part three. 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. Describe three prominent Civil War battles.

5. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn and Howe?

6. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Part four. Geography. Time: One hour.

1. Upon what does climate depend?

2. Name and describe the mountains of North America.

3. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

4. Name the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

5. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

Part five. Modern Day. 15 minutes.

1.Think about what's happened to American public education in the past 100 years.

2. Ask yourself what it really takes to improve education in Hawai'i, and if you're willing to pay for it.

3. Support a striking teacher today.

Mike Leidemann doesn't know all these answers either, but you can ask him other questions by phone (525-5460) or e-mail (mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com).