The Penn's Grove record., 1910-09-09
Board Of Education Lively Meeting
Brooks Arithmetic, the County
Standard, Voted Out For
a Gift Book

boIy On molhldy hiShV poo""s
contrary man who has''made more trouble
81 uce he has been in the Board than was
ever in it before"
J. w. Trumbull presided with the
following members present; G. H.. Elkin-
ton, Esq. w. F. Yeager, A. ]. Bodine,
Walter Bali, N. S. Wood.
When the Board met Mr.. Newell,
agent for the Southworth & Stone arith-
metic was present and a hearing was
given him first. He said that at the
meeting. OF the Board on August LIST, the
S. Ks. arithmetic was endorsed by the
Board with one dissenting vote. He
learned later that the act was reconsider
ed at the adjourned meeting Oh the I'D,
when the Hamilton arithmetic was
ordered bought and that they were o
in the hands of the pupils i'll the school.
He thought the action OF the Board OH
August LIST the final and received no no
LITIGATION of the meeting Oh the Esd when
the reversal took place or he would have
been present to defend his book.
He said the Southworth q Stone aritil-
metic was used in Chicago, Seattle, Indiana
and largely thru the West. Mr.. Unger
had it. put in the Millvile School and
Mr.. Barr largely on whose recommended
ton the Board accepted the s q S. book
had put in it in Salem schools. With
the large usage and high recommends
tions which he presented he considered a
sufficient proof that it was the best aritL-
metio. Besides one of the authors is
now teacher of the Montclaire IN. J.)
Normal School.
1.-THE Board will ship all the Hamilton
and Brooks arithmetic to his publishing
house they will give the Southworth d
Stone arithmetics free, except the differ
ence in price. He would give a book for
each one OF Brooks (price 65c) and ask
only the difference in price between the
Stone and Hamilton book. The price of
the Hamilton book in three series is 35,
40, 45 cents; the Stone books AZ, 45, so
cents, with 20 per cent off of all prices.
Mr.. Yeager said he considered the action
unjust and would have been present if he
| had known it. Mr.. Elkinton also con-
| sidered it the same and asked Mr.. Trum-
| bull why he changed. Mr., Trumbull re-
| piled that like other members of the
| Board he had not had copies OF the Ham
ilton book to examine andwhen he learned
| that the Stone book taught the inductive
| method the same as the Baird books on
which the children have been failing, he
| did not think it should be in the school.
The meeting Oil the 23d was an adj
journed meeting from the LIST when the
other members were present.
Mr.. Summerill chairman OF the Educa-
tional Committee, explained why the
change froIn the S. & Stone to the Hamil-
ton had been made. After being elected
to the Board last March he began %investi-
eating the system and books to learn
where the fault lay for not getting the
educational results. There was a wrong
some where %butnobody told where. After
interviewing the teachers and getting a
llSt OF all Gu6 DOOks III tle SCllooi lc
learned that while Brooks arithmetic,
the standard book recommended by the
County S~uperintend, was used in the 9Th,
grade, the Baird books OF a contrary
| method, called spiral induetiye, were used
below. Children jumped from a 9th
| year book in the 7tl grade to an Sth year
book which was used in the 9th grade
until three years ago.
At the July meeting OF the Board he
| recommended that the Brooks arithmetics
be used in all the grades. Only one
| teacher expressed a disapproval.
Mr.. Newell called several times before
the meeting August LIST, and asked to have
| the S%outhworth & Stone arithmetic re-
| commended. He was frankly told it
ductive method book like, the one now
| used which was a failure. Not one III
the books has a complete multiplication
table in. 1t is not as complete an arith-
| metic and does not specifically teach prac-
| tical and approximate measurementslike
| the Brooks and Hamilton books. As a
library book of reference it would not be
| given shelf room and as a gift book to
teach children l would preferred TO dis
card it and go to the expense of buying
either oil the others.
Until the Board voted on August LIST,
for the S. Is. book with only one dissent
ing vote, there was no suspicion OF any
artful manipulation by a shrewd book
agent. The two books were put into the
hands of the five resident teachers. The
Sth grade teacher emphatically said she
had no use for the book and children re-
stricted to it would never pass the county
examination for promotion. The 4th
grade teacher was of the same opinion
and only one out of five cared for the
book. The 7th grade teachers does not
consider it as good as the Baird book used
last year.
The law says the course of study shall
be arranged by the Board of Education
in consultation with the county superin-
tendent.
On August 4th, the Stone and Hamilton
books were put into the hands OF the
County superintendent. They were new
to him. In fact never heard of, nor had
others until the agent came. His opinion
was That the Stone book would not meet
the required examination as another i'll
ductive method book had been tried in
the county and had proved a failure. The
f, Hamilton book would work in the lower
grades better to prepare for the Brooks
arithmetic, the best he had ever found
1t is written by theformer superintendent
of Philadelphia schools and sthe standard
Z in that citu