Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-08-25
ADOPT NEW BOOKS
SMITHS ARITHMETIC TO DIS.
PLACE sPEER METHOD AND
WHITES ARITHMETIC.
New Books Considered Best Of the
Kind Published and viii Be Used
for Five Years at Least-Action
Taken by School Board Yesterday.

Smiths Primary and Grammar
school arithmetics were yesterday aft
ernoon adopted for use in the schools
of the Ottumwa Independent school
district for period of at least five
years Mt meeting of the school board
held in the office of Secretary j. A.
Wagner. The Smith arlthmetics will
take the place of the Speer method
which has been used for the five lower
grades and the White arithmetics
used in all the grades above the NTH.
BY a unanimous action OF the board
at a meeting held last week 1t was
decided to displace the Speer method
which has been in use in the schools
for the past six years. At that time
the board was undecided as to what
book to adopt in stead of the one dis
placed and it was finally proposed to
make use of the White primary book
temporarily until the board should de-
eide upon a system for permanent
use.
Selection Is Made.
At the meeting held yesterday and
after further consideration of the mer'
its of several books II was finally de-
cided that the Smith books were the
best adapted for the use of the Ottum-
wa schools and the selection was
made.
The Smith system is comprised in
two books called the primary and the
grammar arithmetics. The primary
carries the pupil through the fifth
grade and the grammar arithmetic
through the higher grades. Under the
ARRANGEMENTS made for the exchange
the primary book will be exchanged
book for book for the SDeer method
| The grammar arithmetic will be eX
changed for a White arithmeti anc
80 cents.
Friend of Ottumwan.
David Eugene Smith author OF tn
! books adopted is professor OF mathe
mates at Columbia university, NeS
York City. He is personal friend
1 E C. Pierce of this city, the forme
principal of the Ottumwa high schoo
Mr., PIERCE met Mr.. Smith at the stat
normal school in Michigan. Mr.. Smit
later became president of the Ne'
York state normal school at Courtlan
:, N. Y. and later accepted the professo
ship in Columbia university.
Board is Conservative.
The adoption of the new arithmetic
marks the third change in text book
I. in the past twelve years and shows tn
conservatism with which such actlo
is taken by the board. The Whit
arithmetics which are now displace
t have been in use continuously in tt
! Ottumwa public schools for the pa
: twenty-seven years and 1T is genera
" conceded that until the past two
. three years they have been the be
e published. Since that time there ha'
been some advancements MADE
:. mthods and arrangements and 1t
now thought that the best OF these II
:, provements are embodied in the Sml
books. The Smith books have been
I Gently adopted by the Des Moin
school board and by Waterloo.
Subject Attractively Presented.
d In general method the Smith syste
: does not differ radically from that p
e sented in the White arithmetics I
chief difference is. said to be in t
lie more attractive presentation OF the
d ferent subjects. 1t is also stated by
n old teacher that the Smith meth
u. makes use Of the more practical a
10 valuable features of the Speer meth
l. which it has now displaced In the
n. tumwa schools.