Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1879-01-14
NEW AarHMETIcAl PROBLEM.
what Prefssssr Rlins Thisks OF
oar Bchsel Artth0ssies-ssme.
shisg for People and Presepsors
10 Psnder over.

Following communication Of Prof.
Flint to the Enterprise is republishsd for
the purpose OF aeitating the subject
mattsr treated Of and thus to call out
the truth. Following Is Mr.. Flint's
opinion:
Permit me. through the medium Of
your paper. to call the attention OF the
State Board OF Education TO q serious
embarrassment our public schools have
bsen suffering under for some time past,
and which greatly impairs their et.
hcisncy. The evil to which I wish to
call especial attention Is In respect to
~illy-selectsd textbooks, particularly ip
the matter Of Arithmetics. The younger
scholars throughout the State are gro
ping and fioundsring along hopslessly.
from year to year. without any clear
comprehension Of the principles Of the
science OF arithmetic. owing to the fact
that the Textbooks now In use are not
at all suited 10 their capacity. Parents
Who make the discovery that their chill.
dren are not getting on well in arith.
metic very generally lay all the blame
on the teacher. when in reality the most
serious drawback and obstacle 10 the
child's rapid advancement consists in
being compelled to use q textbook not
at all adapted to It's mental capacity.
Al present only two trsatises upon the
subject are in use In the schools and
which are supposed to ft all grades Of
scholas-the Primary" and the I'm
proved" arithmetic. the first named
being only at for the nursery aud tile
second solely ft for the high school.
The primary arithmetic. upon careful
inspection, will be found to be such q
one rs q child might study q whole year
without the slightest advancement what.
ever as far as any benefit derived from
tho text book Is concerned. The general
scope and magnitude Of the problems
found In the book are about a. follows:
III one apple cost n cent, how much
will two apples COST" From this d.
luted namby.pamby apology for an
arithmetic the pupil makes atremendous
leap into the "Improved" arithmetic
which. a. stated before. 10 only suitable
for use In q high school. In addition to
the fact that Il is filed with glaring
error In respect to the signs and sym.
bols employed ~ well a. in the answers
to the problems. found at the end Of the
book.
Unfortunately. however. children even
in the primary departments are required
to use the "Improved" arithmstie-a
book filled with mathematical profundi.
ties and intricaciss entirely above their
comprehension. with all the supple
mental explanations furnished by the
teacher.
now state q proposition In which I
shall DO borne out by the experience OF
every practical teacher throughout the
State. that in the event the public
schools are to be afflicted still longer
with the aforesaid arithmetics IN inter.
mediate treatise. to bridge over the chasm
between the primary" and tho elm.
proved" Is An absolute necessity.
Among the many works upon the sub
jsct which might answer the purpose Is
what is known as "Robinson's Rudi-
msnts OF Arithmetic" n small work
costing only a half dollar. which Is pro.
vided with q large number OF practical
questions in the four ground rules ex-
sctly adapted to the comprehension Of a
child ten years Of age. and which leads
him or her along. by An easy and grad.
nal transition. through fractions and
compound numbers, winding up with
interest.
In conclusion. I have only to add. that
10 the State Board OF Education. at their
earliest convenience. will take the ne
csssary steps to remedy the evil COM
planned Of, they will earn the lasting
gratitude Of parents who have the inte.
rests Of their children at heart. and
cause every lad. who has hitherto been
facing and fighting insurmountable OBJ
stacles to his advancement in arithmetic,
to toss up his hat for joy. Yours truly,
J. N. FLINT.