Smyrna times., 1940-11-21
GOOD READING
HELPS CHILD
Adults Given Opportunity to
Learn How and Why to
Choose Literature
COURSE IN ARITHMETIC

Children read for three reasons:
curiosity, which may be supplied
by questioning, observation, and
reading; desire for wish fulfill
ment, which takes the form of
longing for fabulous wealth, ad-
venturous thrills, power over 9th
ers and ownership; and imitation,
which may be seen in the copying
of parents and friends. The parents
and teachers job is to put before
the child only those books which
will arouse normal and healthy de-
sires. 1t is a much less difficult
job to find books in this day than
in the past when the supply was so
limited, but the job of sorting and
choosing the best book is vastly
more difficult In order to take
advantage of a child's natural curl
osity it is essential to ascertain by
careful consideration of the ques-
tions asked at different ages what
subjects are uppermost in his mind
and provide the correct reading.
No longer, as in the past century
do we dress children as adults, nor
do we expect them to act, speak,
and think as adults. We have
come a long way in the field of
children's books since the days of
The New England Primer" with
its heavily religious tones and
gloomy sentences about the dread
full fate of sinners, when compared
Christ Child" David" and Jos
eph" with pictures wrought in deli
cate soft grays and blues with a
touch of gold here and there, and a
simple sentence telling the story of
each picture in words the child
can understand. 1t is a known
fact we do best those things we
like and know most about, so it is
BILE about the books available for
children. Can you answer the fol-
lowing questions? Why do small
children like one object in a pic
ture? Who are the accepted best
authors for stories of the west for
a boy, age ten? When your
daughter, age II, asks for a nice"
love story, what would you sug-
gest? Why does your son. age 4,
choose a Mother Goose book illus
trated by Wanda Gag rather than
Mother Goose book illustrated by
Helen Sewel? All these questions
wisely answered help you not only
to gain the confidence of your child
but help you to build a solid found
alton for future happiness through
contact with good books. If there
are enough mothers in our COM
munity who are interested in help
ing their children to develop nor
NAL and healthy interests in read
ing the John Bassett Moore School
will offer a course in Children's
Literature which should help to
more wisely advise your growing
boy and girl.
Arithmetic for Every Day Use
How many people ever think
how greatly mathematics enter
into their daily lives? Scarcely an
act but involves the use of math-
ematics. Arithmetic is the univer-
sal language of commerce. The
ideas of order, of organization, and
of number and amount are basic in
our social and economic systems.
Although the modern business
world is quite generally equipped
with computing machines, it is,
nevertheless, absolutely necessary
for most people in every day life
to make mental and written COM
putations. Business situations are
filled with applications of percent
age such as interest, commission,
taxes, commercial and bank dis
counts, profit and loss, and invest
ments.
The supporting of home, TAX
ing out life insurance, preparing
food and clothing, using gas and
electricity in certain amounts and
at certain prices, depositing money
in banks, and reading newspapers,
magazines, and books which con-
tain tables of statistics, graphs,
maps, and pictures all involve the
application of mathematics.
The modern, up to date applica-
ton of mathematics in the social,
economic, and civic life Of our COM
munity should interest its members
and a course in every day arith-
metic would enable them to inter
pref and solve the quantitative sit
uations which they meet in life.