Norwich bulletin., 1915-01-21
AToRNEw-AT-LAW
GAVE NORWICH TEACHERS
 TALK ON ARITHMETIC
Asst. Supt RusseII oS Ne~ Haven Outlined Essentials of Successful
 Teaching.

Claude c Russell, one of tEe as sistant superintendents of the New Haven schools, gave 3. very interesting talk on arithmetic to the teachers of the Norwich schools on Wednesday ; afternoon in Broadway school at al : o'clock.
 After few introductory remarks. Mir Russell stated that he considered arithmetic to the best taught sub ieCt in the public schools today. And that is so because the teachers. as s rule. give the most energy, thought and time to 1t.
 Inadequate and Discouraqina.
 But. notwithstanding this fact, the results are inadequate and discourag- ing.
 To find the cause Of thes9 poor 1e- suits, MT Russell has spent much time investigating the subject cf arithmetic as it is taught in the pub lie schools Of New Haven and other places in the state From this in- vestigation he found these facts 70 De true:
 Key to Successful Teaching.
 That teacher in order 10 be sue cessfui in teaching ari'hnletJ2 must have a definite aim, definite pGr- pose in view; she must know yvl2.l she wishes to accomplish.
 Fundamentals,
 In the first i've grades the teacher should work tC. develop accuracy and facility in the four fundamental op- erations. When the child leaves tle fifth grade he should be able to add substract, multiply and divide rapidly and accurately. After that is accom- plished he can turn his attention to using these processes 71 problems Cou- nected with ordinary life. not howcv- CT losing sight of the fact that the work of preceding grades should he continually reviewed. To 50 this the teachers in upper grades should Ce- vote at least five or ten minutes each day to the preservation of the knowI- edge obtained in the fundamental pro- reviews should be both oral aud writ len.
 Method of Presentation.
 The second important essential in teaching this subject is the way the subject. is approached. the me-hod Of It's presentation to the child. Tie teacher should strive to maTe some connection between what the child al ready knows and what sine iS 'tr%i5lg to teach him. As much as possible the work should be made objective when the new matter is first presepteI in order that the child may have some definite mental inlage 1n mind and notl simply be repeating words. And usual iy only Q few minutes devoted to this objective work will tea1 t0 tiN the AeS5Ol more IFID4g III nina man many minutes spent in recitiug just words Under this head wo1l5 come the giv- ing or definitions Jo pupils. Delini- tons are good and necessary things and in most cases we could not do without them, but the basc place for lheGn is generally at tle end o2 the lesson rather than at 1hs beginning.
 Placing the Emphasis.
 The third point made was or ef2- phasiaing the important thing in the lesson This was illustrated by an OK ample in multiplying tacinlaIs. In this example the important thing was how many places shouI1 De pointed off in tl1e product.
 Aim For Simplicity.
 Tn conclusion, HlI. Russell sa.:d that tho simplest way of presenting the new subject was the best, To keep zn GAe Child's mind the methods Of Go- ing the work rather than the difficult rieg of the operation. The tendency among teachers vas to force tkc child to deal with flns observation-disclosures with regard to words rather -nan to keep his mind on the essential facts to be learned. And last, but not least Of ell. 60 give him an arithmeticaI Vocab- ulary necessary % his needs
 During Wednesday Mir. Russell vjs- tied a number of the Norwich schools, expressing satisfacSfo nW1th what he saw, and pTaising the work that tic teaches ara doing.