Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Snake oil

The one thing this neck injury has taught me is how presumptuous people are that you want their advice on how best to 'fix' the problem.
Image source

Yes it's frustrating that it's taking so long to get to the bottom of it and find a suitable treatment. But not once have I said that I don't have faith in the medical specialists who are working with me. Each one has told me it will take time - it's not a straightforward problem. I don't see this as an indication they don't know what they are doing.
But every day I have some well-meaning person trying to get me to try something different. It's exhausting.
'Get a second opinion' is usually the first piece of advice. Closely followed by 'have you tried eye of newt/rescue remedy/reflexology/iridology/chiropractic/a sangoma?
I have seen, first-hand, the effect of this kind of ignorance. One of my nephews is profoundly deaf because his mother 'didn't believe in antibiotics'. A simple ear infection as a baby was treated with snake oil. Both of my own children spent a good couple of years on antibiotics to treat Vesicoureteral reflux and I send a little word of thanks to Alexander Fleming every day. Between them they have 4 healthy kidneys because of his petri dish.
I am not uninformed, cursed or bewitched. My blood type has absolutely nothing to do with this. It's an injury. And I don't believe there is an instant cure. The 'alternative' remedies would have made it into conventional medicine if there was any indication that they worked. I have no intention of being a guinea-pig for someone who has taken a 6-month online course in hand-waving, juju-speaking, incense-burning incantations.
Bog-standard physiotherapy has provided relief for the referred neck pain. I'm seeing a shoulder specialist (shock! horror! he has an actual medical degree) this week to investigate the shoulder injury.The physiotherapist referred me to him, she believes I need his help since the shoulder is getting worse rather than better. She also has an actual degree from an actual university.
So please. Enough with the recommendations.


Friday, August 10, 2012

The state of education today

MyFriendRosie sent me this email, the subject line said 'Only for the more literate friends'
I have no idea why she thought I could manage this...send me your comments (but only if you failed, I need some cheering up after this!)

1895 8th grade final  exam
What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated  that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is  the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, USA . It was taken from the original  document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society
and  Library in Salina, and reprinted by the Salina  Journal.



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 rulesof grammar.


Arithmetic  (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
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 3,942 lbs., what is it  worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 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 6,720 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 caret 'u'  (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.'  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. 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?!
           
No wonder  they dropped out after 8th grade. They already  knew more than they needed to  know!