THE EXAMINATION FETISH.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1761, 28 May 1913, Page 3

THE EXAMINATION FETISH.

Sir,—ln a leader upon education in Monday's Dominion, otherwise most welcome as another onslaught upon the examination idea which dies so hard, there is one phrase quoted from I l'otessor Findlay'a little book that seems to. give authority to the commonly-current opinion that th»re is'less to be said against examinations on mathematics than against examinations of other kinds. As this touches, in a Way thot peculiarly concerns me, upon- the general question which some of us are anxious to Keep as much in the public attention; as possible,! I wish to state that I have long been ot opinion that the cam surely not bo so bad for other subjects as for .mathematics—otherwise had the much-innatea bubble been long since . pricsed. Good mathematical questions, whether problems or searching testa of theoretical knowledge, are quite uiisuited to ordinary examination conditions. On the other hand,-the subject does unfortunately lend itself readily" to endless trifling variants of questions of a stock and somewhat futile character—questions that to a great extent escape the criticism of ctmunon sense, because the mathematical lingo is "Greek" to tho average man. If good Questions are set, without the most intimate knowledge of lww the examiner has been trained, there, is inevitably a high probability of flooring everybody. Hence the other, type of question has long held the field, to'such a degree of detriment t'o teaching in mathematics as cannot easily be mado clear to tho general reader. But with very little encouragement, 1 would ba glad (as Mr. Chesterton says) to write anything from a column to a .book upon the subject.—l am, otc. fc Victoria College, May 27, 1913.