The Teaching of Arithmetic: The Story of an Experiment

Abstract

This is the third and final instalment of an article by Superintendent L. P. Benezet, in which he describes an experiment in arithmetic in the Manchester, New Hampshire, schools. The first installments [November 1935, p. 241−4 and December 1935, p. 301−3] have aroused many favorable comments. William McAndrew calls the material powerful good reading, a scientific article free of the common dullness of such. Helen Ives Schermerhorn, of New Jersey, writes that upon returning to teach in junior high school after many years in the adult education field, she was appalled at the changes which had taken place, the great number of new activities which had developed, each good in itself, but nevertheless cluttering up the time of the children. The weakness in English seemed inexcusable; too little time had been given to its mastery. I hope great things from the influences of Mr. Benezet's article. A letter from C. E. Birch, superintendent of schools, Lawrence, Kansas, indicates that the Lawrence schools have been revising the arithmetic program for the past two years. Mr. Birch has recommended the discussion in faculty meetings of the Benezet articles and their possible application in the light of the local situation.