Evening star., 1935-05-27

Dependson
Word Basis
BY ANGELO PATRI.

THE first thing I do when child
is reported as having an arith-
metic deficiency is to ask: Can he
count? Can he use his tables? II he
can, the next thing I investigate Is
his power to read. More children fail
in arithmetic. in the middle grades,
because they do not know how to read
than for a lack of arithmetic power.
They speak the words, but the words
leave no trace of meaning behind
them. The child keeps saying,
Should I add or take away? Should
1 divide, or what?" He has not been
able to catch the meanin of the Ian
guage. The words get in his way.
Most of the problems he meets in
arithmetic are foreign to his personal
experience. He does not buy and sell
in the market. He does not lend
money at interest, nor does he build
stone walls and pay men SO much a
cubic foot. These words piled row on
row on the page befuddle him. II
they are read to him he does not hear
them mentally. Not until the Ian
guage is cleared for him does he un-
derstand what is wanted. Try 1t out
with the next child VINO has arith-
metic trouble.
Tell him to add five and seven.
Take away two. Multiply 1t by four.
II he says 40 with some degree of
sureness he is ready for the next step.
Write or print: "A man had five
boxes Of candy. He bought seven
more. How many has he?"
II he does not write ~" promptly
ask him to tell you the number
story his own way, and see what
happens. Let him build up his prob
lem himself, work 1t out himself.
and he will have a background for
reading the meaning out of other
problems like it. If a child knows his
tables he can be taught to work the
problems of his grade by learning to
read them correctly.
Reading is not merely pronouncing
words. Meaning must be read from
the words. The child must gain an
idea from the language and be able
to state it or use it OF both. II he
cannot do this he is not able to read.
He has to be taught the next step in
reading, which is to state orally and
dramatically what the words told him.
He must be able to lift the idea from
its language setting and put it into
active service or he will not be able
TO work arithmetic problems. And he
will have other deficiencies based on
the same cause. If you have to deal
with children who fail in lessons based
on texts. investigate their reading
power, their ability to gather ideas
from printed or spoken words.
We think because we said word to
child that we told him something
and that he learned it. Often this is
not so. We said a word. The child
heard that word. Maybe he even re-
membered it. But unless that word
had meaning for him, unless 1t tied
itself up to some experience he has
had. unless he interpreted it and filed
it away for use. all he got was the
sounding symbol.
Reading is the most important sub
ject of the school curriculum. If a
child can read intelligently he has
the power to educate himself. If he
lacks that power he is handicapped
tremendously, and he cannot get edu-
cation for himself. This is particu-
larly important in the middle grades.
where children are beginning the use
OF texts. Unless they read, and inter-
pret what they read, they are help
less, and so is their teacher.
Copyright. la35)