The Good Old Days

`I am going to read you some sentences. Listen carefully and you will notice that some of them say things that are always new and sensible, while others say things which are always false and foolish. I shall read a third kind of sentence also, a kind which says a thing sometimes true and sometimes false.

If the sentence is always true and sensible, put a tick. When I read one that is always false and foolish, put a cross. If you do not know, put a tick and a cross. I will read each item twice and give you ten seconds to write your answer.’

If a caller comes to your house, whom you do not want to see, it is best to go out and tell him you are out.

As a boy gets taller his height becomes greater.

Every man is his father’s son.

It is wrong for a dog to keep barking.

My cousin’s mother is my mother’s sister.

Some 11+ children would love to have test of this nature. They would enjoy the rhythmic and orderly presentation of the test. Oral presentation would certainly relieve the time constraints some children feel pressured over.

Dr J Cornwell, back in 1952, devised such a system for testing children. That was over fifty years ago. I wonder if it is time for the `good old days’ to return.