NUMBERS TOO HARD

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 367, 30 May 1928, Page 16

NUMBERS TOO HARD

FOR INFANT PUPILS EDUCATION INSTITUTE’S IDEAS Believing that “formal number work” is much too hard for children in the infant departments of schools, the Auckland branch of the Educational Institute is suggesting that the syllabus should be altered. Moving: that there should be no formal number work in the infant department, Mr. F. A. Garry said last evening: “Old traditions die hard. To ask a child of eight to realise that eight and nine are 17 is very wrong. We can teach then, but we know they do not understand. The abstract fact is unintelligible to the child. It is fear on the part of the teacher that something will go wrong that prevents him from going to the lengths he should and doing away with the old system.” Seconding the motion, Mr. S. Walker objected to the introduction of arithmetical problems to little children. “One of the great troubles in the present system is that we will put adult thought into children’s minds,” he said. “It is absurd to expect children in Standard I. to manipulate numbers to 100.” Mr. Beasley declared that hours were wasted in trying to teach young children numbers. Mr. Garry’s motion was carried, and it was decided to suggest a readjustment of the number work of Standards I. to IV.