The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-28
". J. MEREDlTH.
King County School Superintendent.

muCn
as possible by field work. Do this, not
as an extra study after school hours, but
give 1T q prominent place on the daily
studies Should ,nolde visits he to o sbns
mills and factories, where mans industry
and activity are seen In operation. Get
supplies Of fresh material for the school
marshes and gardens are important in
the school equipment. Have permanent
collections OF rocks and minerals along
anime the objects and make drawings
or them, and also encourage the mount
ing OF specimens, which, although It may
instructive Make use Of experiments
as much as possible.
After the preliminary work is done
ords of. the work and see that the best
expressions are used Text book read
Ing is q poor substitute for nature study,
u Cannot fa to pe 9
The time for this study is an all-import-
ant one, as It embraces geography, physi-
About one-fourth Of the school time every
day should be set aside for the study"
x xx
A FTER the report was read It was
~ discussed in detail by a number of
the teachers present. AT the beginning
OF the afternoon session the discussion
was continued.
The principal subject of discussion at,
the afternoon session was a paper upon
Child Study, Primary Number Work
Based on Psychology of Numbers" by
Hattie Mcclellan Randolph. of La Con-
ner. She said in part:
There have been many fads in teach
ing that are forced upon unfortunate
SO irrational that 1, for one, have be-
come very chary of accepting any meth
DDS which are not Endorsed by teachers
of wide experience. The methods of the
PSYCHOLOGY
ment as that of Prof. Dewey, president
of the Chicago university, considered one
Of the most astute thinkers along educa-
porter is DR.. Mcclellan, spoken of as the
best mathematician in Canada. He has
also nifty years of experience as teacher.
these methods have successfully stood
the wear of several years practice. feel
sure that there will be an entire revoli-
ton in the mathematical development of
the child in the next few years.
THE basic principle of the study Is the
fact that number Is considered the total
OF measurement. The idea of number
comes with consciousness through the
process of measuring. This takes place
whenever vague whole of quantity Is
made definite, We may look at group
number in our minds. We simply observe
the whole. We note the qualitative and
not the cumulative differences. To make
the definite we count the parts-that is
OF the number we must measure or count
the parts that make the whole. Were
there no need of measuring there would
be no need of number. The sequence Of
the mental movement is, first, the vague
whole, second the measuring units, and
third the defined whole.
THE psychological law demands In
teaching of number that there be no fixed
unit system. There is no beginning with
one and aggregatfng this to make guam
titles, but q group Of things which may
n xubo Ia
OF a. unit the powers of abstraction and
generalization are developed which MAY
such an important part In mathematics.
Numerical abstraction without a whole Of
quantity is impossible, hence the fallacy
of the fixed unit system now in use.
Under natural teaching the child does
ton of a single object All are developed
by the measuring activity. Every use of
this is step toward developing the analy-
teal powers A little thought conyiaces
us that arithmeticaI operations are steps
in the advancement of the measuring
idea. In addition, subtraction, multiplica-
ton and division the factors are the
unity to be measured. the. unit of meas
urement and the time of repetition of
the unit of measurement. clear under
standing Of the unit is essential to the
unmeasured thing, 1t is any measuring
part which numerically defines given
quantity"
MI RS. RANDOLPH broadened on this
vi idea and gave q thorough explana-
ton OF teaching primary arithmetic. il
Illustrating the superiority of the psycolog-
zeal system over the unit system in all
the branches of arithmetical work from
addition to fractions. Her paper made
a favorable impression upon the teachers
present and evoked considerable compli-
mentary comment from a number of coun-
~ snperintendents and principals OF
some action will be taken on this matter
when IL comes TO the selection of new
textbooks next June. Arithmetic is ons
of the. courses spoken of as being likely
to undergo several radical changes next
year.
City Superintendent Barnard. Of Seat
tie, spoke In favor of the new mode of
teaching mathematics, A number of nor
NAL school teachers followed In similar
strain.
Books from different publishing houses
exhibited at the association received a
good deal of attention, especially those
dealing with psychological principles are
outlined by Mrs. Randolph. Prof. w. b.
Turner Of chepeyl spoke upon the Rddis