The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1898-12-22
THE THREE r S.
Reading, 'R1ting and 'Rithmetic in the
Public Schools.
people.

Public Schools.
Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic-the
three RS, were once considered the
main pillars of good education. The
first two will doubtless hold their
places, but the third will diminish Ii
Importance as soon as teachers and
the general public see school matters
in a clearer light. AS rule boys and
girls of eighteen years have spent from
fourth to one sixth of their time ia
studying mathematics mostly arith-
metic. Yet, in most cases, they know
next to nothing about arithmetic. If
you dont believe this just ask your
boy or girl to compute the value OF
1875 pounds of hay at $950 a ton, or
hand out real, genuine partial pay
ment note and require the amount DUE
Ten chances to one he can't solve such,
or if be does it will be by some tedious
roundabout method, such as no bust
ness man would use. OF course your
dear boy or lovely daughter is not at
all to blame for this state Of affairs.
+" The fault, dear Brutus. is not in our
stars, but in ourselves" The fault is
partly in the text books, partly in the
teaching, but mostly in the way in
struction in mathematics is looked up
on in our courses of study. The
mathematics superstition is still very
strong in our country. Mathematics is
thought to be more practical than
language study, science or history.
That it is an unrivaled discipline for
the reasoning powers is easily disprOv-
ed. AS a means of culture, mathematics
is not to be compared with literature
or history. At the same time it has its
place in a course of study.
AS rule, children study arithmetic
from five years up to twenty years of
age. The child first goes through" a
primary arithmetic, then he "goes
through" or cover" an advanced
arithmetic, devoting fully one half of
his time to the very same topics found
in his primary. When your boy goes
to the High school, he is given another
dose of arithmetic. Instead ofreveling
in the delightful imagery of the Mid
summer Nights Dream" or walking
hand in hand through Westminster
Abbey with Irving, he must thrill his
mind with the soul stirring subjects of
allegation or averaging accounts.
Shelley's " Cloud" must be put aside
for circulates.
Parents and teachers are beginning
to see the waste of time and energy in
all this. Arithmetic, rightly taught, is
a topic of very practical Importance.
Many subjects usually found in the old
style of text books are now omitted in
the modern texts. The Wisconsin
manual gives about the right topics
which ought to be considered.
In the first three or four years of
school life ! would have no formal
study of numbers. Just little count
ing, measuring, the learning of the
fifty combinations in addition with one
places number, that's enough. At
this stage let the child's time be mostly
occupied with reading, writing, spell
ing, nature work.
At the age of nine or ten let him
begin in some good mental arithmetic,
combined with a certain amount of
written work. Drop every thing in the
text book except the following essen
tials of arithmetic: Four rules, frac-
tons, decimals, factoring, ratio,
measurements, percentage as applied
to interest, commercial discount, profit
and loss and square root considered as
a case in factoring. An arithmetic
should contain neither rules, cases nor
answers. Children should be taught
to prove their work. Use no long and
distressing numbers. They take up
time and add nothing to mental dis
cipline. A pupil, properly taught, will
know at Is all the arithmetic he will
ever need. Instead of taking so much
time with arithmetic, let the pupil be
taught the elements of geometry, a
study far older, vastly more useful and
more easily taught than arithmetic. A
child of eight can easily learn the ele-
ments of geometry; much more easily
than he can master the multiplication
table. Did you ever see it tried? IF
not, you will most likely dispute the
above statement. w. G..
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