A recent article in our local newspaper about evaluating the qualifications of teachers around the turn of the 20th century caught my attention. The writer related some of the questions that were used when assessing candidates for teaching positions in public schools. Here is one of the questions used to assess a potential teacher’s ability in mathematics about 120 years ago:
Suppose I pay 331/48 cents per bushel for carting my wheat to the mill, the miller takes 1/16 of a cent for grinding, it takes 41/2 bushels of wheat to make a barrel of flour, I pay 25 cents each for barrels and $1.25 per barrel for carrying the flour to market where my agent sells 60 barrels for $367.50, out of which he takes 25 cents per barrel for his services. What do I receive per bushel for my wheat?