MR D. THOMAS IN REPLY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1547, 8 July 1885, Page 3

MR D. THOMAS IN REPLY.

To THE EmtOß.

• Sib, —In reply to “Junius's " very -—elaborate answer to question three of the arithmetical problems given at the late examination, held at the Ashburton Common School, I stated at the meeting ~ . of householders that I would give LlO to any one in the room who would eorreotly ' answer the whole of the questions on the blackboard. At the meeting of the School Committee, a few evenings before, I BtauSt, whilst speaking of the Standard 1 VL failure in arithmetic, that the girls n*- -wroteto the Inspector that they could ■ not understand one of the sums, end I

udded to this that one ef them could not be done at all by anyone—nor can it, “Junius" jumps to the conclusion that the enm ho has done is the one which I ndd could not be done, but it happens to be the one that the gvAs eonld not understand, and no wonder either, from the ambiguous manner in which it was written down. ** Junius " is a particular friend of my own, the winner of several soholarehips, and well up (not long from school) in all the rriofa questions which are given at school examinations; bat I ask him, was he prepared to do the sum in the room, or did it require four days' study .to the least common multiple2 Ism . of opinion that the problems given were mucntoo far advanced for common ■ohoola. But if common school children oan, and do, answer them, then I say to - the ratepayers no wonder the Education Act is costing ns so much annually. When the Act cams into force it was only proposed that children should be taught the three R’s under a free, secular and compulsory system, and if the arithmetical question given below osn by sny stretch of

the Imagination ba considered as within tha scope of the three R’«, then I say the Education Act is a fraud, and wants amending at once. Parents, do yon want Gar children to work oat difficult probas to the neglect of a good aonnd common education I The Sixth Standard _ above referred to consisted of four girls, i and they ail baled to answer the questions -eat. Now, unless these girls were to be.2 oxne bluestockiogs (and I trust they . won't), what earthly good could a satisfactory answerof the whole of these problems be to either of them In her every day _ -pottos. - ■ It was only late last night that I saw ' “ Janfos’s ” latter in your issue of Mon- .; day, otherwise I would hare replied beton.this* No one can be mote anxious , r that the children of Ashburton should , motive a good sound education than I am, and therefore 1 raise my protest against a useless waste of time (more esspecially for girls) in studying oot answers to such problems as given below, to the " evident neglect of things more useful Ist A bill of L9B 15s 7d was paid by : gn equal number of sovereigns, half-aove-i reigns, crowns, half-crowns, shillings, six- :; pence*, threepences, pence, half-pence and farthings—How many were there of each! ■■ 2nd. Divide L 333 6s 84 among A B and - O, so that B may have If of A’s share and O as much as It and B together. - 3rd. What is the smallest amount of money with which 1 can purchase pigs at Ids each, lambs at 40s, calves at L 5 and (or) heifers at L 8 5s each 1 stK. Find the simple interest on L 765 14s IOJd for four years and seven months at 3|d per-cent 6th. A boys land at L 42, and having bnilt open. it sells tha land and house so as to gain 2i per oeat. on his whole outlay, and receives L 9,004 X6a—v. How much did be spend in building ? f. 6th. A tradesman buys 500 jda of . cloth aiOs 7fd per yard, but he has L 44 Os 24d *- thrown off for cadi—At what price per yard can he afford to sell so m to gain - 33$ per cent} lam, etc., David Thom is.