MATHEMATICS

To arithmetic, the Cleveland schools are devoting a somewhat larger proportion of time than the average of cities.

Table 7.—­Time given to arithmetic
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br> | Hours per year | Per cent of grade time|
Grade |-----------------------------------------------
| Cleveland | 50 cities| Cleveland | 50 cities |
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br> 1 | 38 | 60 | 5.2 | 6.9 |
2 | 136 | 96 | 15.5 | 10.7 |
3 | 142 | 131 | 16.3 | 14.4 |
4 | 152 | 149 | 17.2 | 15.4 |
5 | 142 | 144 | 17.1 | 14.9 |
6 | 155 | 146 | 17.5 | 15.0 |
7 | 142 | 140 | 16.1 | 14.4 |
8 | 158 | 142 | 17.9 | 14.1 |
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br> Total | 1065 | 1008 | 15.5 | 13.3 |
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That everybody should be well grounded in the fundamental operations of arithmetic is so obvious as to require no discussion.  Beyond this point, however, difficult problems arise.  The probabilities are that the social and vocational conditions of the coming generation will require that everybody be more mathematical-minded than at present.

The content of mathematics courses is to be determined by human needs.  One of the fundamental needs of the age upon which we are now entering is accurate quantitative thinking in the fields of one’s vocation, in the supervision of our many co-operative governmental labors, in our economic thinking with reference to taxation, expenditures, insurance, public utilities, civic improvements, pensions, corporations, and the multitude of other civic and vocational matters.

Just as the thought involved in physics, astronomy, or engineering needs to be put in mathematical terms in order that it may be used effectively, so must it be with effective vocational, civic, and economic thinking in general.  Our chief need is not so much the ability to do calculations as it is the ability to think in figures and the habit of thinking in figures.  Calculations, while indispensable, are incidental to more important matters.

Naturally before one is prepared to use mathematical forms of thought in considering the many social and vocational problems, he must have mastered the fundamentals.  The elementary school, at as early an age as practicable, should certainly give the necessary preliminary knowledge of and practice in the fundamental operations of arithmetic.  This should be done with a high degree of thoroughness, but it should always be kept in mind that this is only a preliminary mastery of the alphabet of mathematical thinking.  The other part of our problem is a development of the quantitative aspects of the vocational, economic, and civic subjects.  One finds clear recognition of this in Cleveland in the new arithmetic manual.  The following quotations are typical: