Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-12-31

| sO' StSat q OcvIdliOUs All persuaded
that It is not due to Il lack OF belief ii
the theory advanced by the committe,
OF ten. i have assigned in my owl
Judgment, three or four reasons which
may or may not be good ones; they are
1st. the condition of instruction in the in
4 termedfate and grammar schools End TIL.
tfanSitory condition of the course o
study "rd the lack of equipment OF
teachers, and the poor quality of instruc.
ton given in the high school
When we consider that the method OF
instruction in the elements of higher ma.
thematics is equally important as Il sub
Ject itself. we are led TO believe that
where the instruction in common arith-
| meuc and other elementary studies is
faulty. certainly algebra and geometry
can not be safely pursued. Too many of
our pupils are being instructed i'm text
book rather than subject. How can pupils
VINO are unable to compute accurately
| ana well. who are taught to follow the
| artificial reasons of Il badly arranged text
book with answers, advantageously pur-
| sue a course of instruction in advanced
| mathematics i'm the lower schools?
| The condition of fhe course of study is
/ second element fatal to the successful
| pursuance of advanced mathematics in
the common schools. To explain perhaps
| more definitely what mean by the con-
! dition OF the course of study. | will say
| that in many schools. in the course OF
study in arithmetic: everything is re-
| Iuired between the covers. Arithemati-
| cal brush wood is piled shoulder deep. to
| be waded through for a purpose unknown
To pupil or teacher A six per cent bond
| selling at a hundred and four may have
| "A certain value in gold. but / doubt
whether there are many of us here. even
We. who have seen either the bond or the
value Of il in gold. and yet have worked
hundreds of them in my time. The COM
putation of Il note i'm compound interest.
even where such is allowed. may have a
certain value to Il pupil. especially when
taken from q table of rates. but l have
never discovered it. | might be able to
sit down and compute the equated time
of various bills of goods. but the success
full computation of it would be due more
to my common sense. and the fundamen-
tai principles of simple business. long
since acquired. rather than anything L
ever learned under that topic as a pupil.
The following story is applicable right
here.
Prof. Stafford of Williams College tells
the following: II was called upon a few
years ago to do an example in partial
payments. said example being the out
come of an actual note in existence. 1t
had been tried and given up. both by
the holder of the note. who was mer-
chant of considerable business reputa-
ton. by the maker of the note. and by
his two daughters. who were normal
school graduates. and by actual high
school teachers in Massachusetts. 1t was
no more difficult than many given In our
ties knew the answer. Comment is un-
necessary. There is still third factor
in the successful pursuance of algebra
and geometry in the lower schools, and
that is the equipment of the teacher-and
here is the vital point of the whole mat
ter. One OF the results of poor teaching
is pupils adherence of theK subject.
The day is long past when a teacher can
take up ii new subject and teach it sue
cessfully by keeping ahead of the class.
The tp:irllPr pnaDi. the mimi to get
clear and defined notions. at the begin
ming. what the purpose and the end OF
subject is. and l do not believe that
these can be pointed out by teacher
who knows not the road he is travelling
nor whittier it leads. | know there are
two or three admirable text hooks now
coming into use, that offer easy passage
over easy grades and well paved mathe-
NAUTICAL roads. both in elementary alge-
bra and geometry. OF these books il
algebra and Geometry for Grammar
grades, published by ID. c. Heath 4 Co..
and Geometry in Grammar Schools by
Hunt. and the perusaT Of these excellent
books would almost convince the casual
reader. that they contained sall the
knowledge necessary and the, only thing
to do was follow your nose. Nothwith-
standing all this. | still aver most en-
phatically. that it is necessary for Il
teacher to have a complete course in
plain and solid geometry. and algebra.
If the suggestion of the committee of
ten is to be carried Dut.l cannot conceive
how teacher can give intelligent in
Struction. even to the extent of sim
pie familiarity with algebraic expressions
and symbols and methods of solving sim
pie equations who knows what 4 radical
equation is or knows it only us the boy
knew the ten OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES he
saw them. The fourth element for the
successful pursuance of this subject. is
the quality of teaching in the high
school. Primarily. the object of clemen-
tary mathematics in the common schools
are threefold.
1st the yielding of useful knowledge.
second the discipline of the mind; third,
the stepping stone or IL tool for pursu-
ance of higher work. .-,
1t seems odd to me that while every
nerve is strained to improve the mode of
instruction in the lower schools, the quail
ity of work done in many of our high
schools simply consists in listening. TO Il
recitation. | would like for the curiosity
of the thing. to know how many high
schools in the State of Maine have any Z
objective teaching or practical applica-
ton not only i'm the pursuance of advanced
mathematics but in other studies where
objective application is possible: and yet !
l believe that not only is objective teacls-s
ing possible in the high schools but II isSs
absolutely necessary for the SUCCESSIVE
out of the subject now In discuss
sion. Evidences of wrong method are too
often prevalent. and the results of wrong
are often worse than no In,
structiOn at all. u
1t Is not my purpose here to arraign,
teaching of the high school simply
produce certain conditions. or what l be-r
lieveSf6 be certain conditions. and try to
show their influence on the question In
discussion. and the point | maintain. is so
long - the difference between instruc- J.
ton in the secondary schools and elemen-
tary schools IL SO radical. 1t will have a.
bearing upon the successful pursuance
of any subject that takes it's beginning in
the elementary schools. Is
The next question. and withal. the main
question. is how much? 1t behooves us
to look carefully HIST for the aim and
end to be attaine9 l have already indi-
Gated what | believe To be the purposes
first the knowledge. s&alue--the' possess
sion of concretc4 tactical knowledge at
the beginning. or as they say In CONNER
cial college. business from the start: sec
Dnd, mentals discipline. that expression
which acOvers such u multitude of sins.
and third the power for acquiring high
aT knowledge. The knowledge value I
have placed first. because ! believe II to
BE- the most Important OF thesehree in
HI elemantary schools. The value is IL
Fu1tratedW nearly an the manifold oc-
cutlqe 49, a life. The wood worker. the
40t1 III ~ 8tolle. In metal. whether ar
~ or 1lif depend upon II. either con-
~ alneQnseiOusly. Even the
"a tthIS6 and &Ying out his
~ 49, t.rtr-