Educ T 118.31.798 47*130 DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, to wit: District Clerk's Office. BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the twenty-first day of January, A. D. 1829 in the fifty-third year of the Independence of the United States of America, Richardson & Lord, and S. G. Goodrich, of the said district, have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit: "Practical and Mental Arithmetic, on a New Plan, in which Mental Arithmetic is combined with the Use of the Slate: containing a Complete System for all practical Purposes; being in Dollars and Cents. Stereotype Edition, revised and enlarged, with Exercises for the Slate. To which is added, a Practical System of Book-Keeping. By Roswell C. Smith." In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, " An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned ;" and also to an act, entitled, "An Act supplementary to an act, entitled, An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned; and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints. JNO. W. DAVIS, Clerk of the District of Massachusetts. iii RECOMMENDATIONS." From the Jan. No. for 1828 of the JOURNAL OF EDUCATION "A careful examination of this valuable work will show that its author has compiled it, as all books for school use ought to be compiled, from the results of actual experiment and observation in the school room. It is entirely a practical work, combining the merits of Colburn's system with copious practice on the slate. "Two circumstances enhance very much the value of this book. It is very comprehensive, containing twice the usual quantity of matter in works of this class; while, by judicious attention to arrangement and printing, it is rendered, perhaps, the cheapest book in this department of education. The brief system of Book-Keeping, attached to the Arithmetic, will be a valuable aid to more compiete instruction in common schools, to which the work is, in other respects, so peculiarly adapted. There are several very valuable peculiarities in this work, for which we cannot, in a notice, find sufficient space. We would recommend a careful examination of the book to all teachers who are desirous of combining good theory with copious and rigid practice." From the Report of the SCHOOL-COMMITTEE OF PROVIDENCE. "The books at present used in the schools are, in the opinion of your Committee, altogether above the range of thought of the pupils. Works of a narrative character would be better understood, would be more interesting, and would, of course, teach the pupil to read with more taste and judgment. The boy who pores, in utter disgust, over the book which he reads in schools, will hasten home to read with avidity his story-book. The true wisdom would then be, to introduce the story-book into school, and thus render his place of education the place of his amusement. "Nevertheless, as this subject is one in which time and judgment are neces sary for a selection, and as a change of this sort, through all the schools, would be productive of considerable additional expense, your Committee would recommend that no change, at present, be made in books, excepting only the Arithmetic. If a school, by way of experiment, be established on the mor itorial plan. various school-books can be tried there, and, after a fair opportunity of testing the merits of several, those can be selected which seem best adapted to accomplish the purposes of education. Your Committee are, however, of opinion, that it would be expedient to introduce the system of Arithmetic published by Mr. Smith [subsequently adopted] into all the Public Gra Schools; and, also, that all the scholars in arithmetic be taught by class not individually, as is now the prevalent mode." The above Report was signed by the following named tlemen: Rev. F. WAYLAND, Jr., D.D. Pres. Brown Univ., (Chairman.) Rev. THOMAS T. WATERMAN. WILLIAM T. GRINNELL, Esq. Dated April 24, 1828. This work is recommended by the State-Commissioners of Vermont to be adopted throughout that State. It is likewise introduced into the public and private schools of Hartford, Conn. by the concurrence both of committees and teachers, and in like manner in various other places. PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. WHEN a new work is offered to the public, especially on a subject abounding with treatises, like this, the inquiry is very naturally made, Does this work contain any thing now?" "Are there not a hundred others as good as this?" To the first inquiry it is replied, that there are many things which are believed to be now; and, as to the second, a candid public, after a careful examination of its contents, and not till then, it is hoped, must decide. Another inquiry may still be made: "Is this edition different from the preceding?" The answer is, Yes, in many respects. The present edition professes to be strictly on the Pestalozzian, or inductive plan of teaching. This, however, is not claimed as a novelty. In this respect, it resembles many other systems. The novelty of this work will be found to consist in adhering more closely to the true spirit of the Pestalozzian plan; consequently, in differing from other systems, it differs less from the Pestalozzian. This similarity will now be shown. 1. The Pestalozzian professes to unite a complete system of mental with written arithmetic. So does this. 2. That rejects no rules, but simply illustrates them by mental questions. So does this. 3. That commences with examples for children as simple as this, is as extensive, and ends with questions adapted to minds as mature. Here it may be asked, "In what respect, then, is this different from that?" To this question it is answered, In the execution of our common plan. The following are a few of the prominent characteristics of this work, in which it is thought to differ from all others. 1. The interrogative system is generally adopted throughout this work. 2. The common rules of arithmetic are exhibited so as to correspond with the occurrences in actual business. Under this head is reckoned the application of Ratio to practical purposes, Fellowship, &c. 3. There is a constant recapitulation of the subject attended to, styled "Questions on the foregoing." 4. The mode of giving the individual results without points, then the aggregate of these results, with points, for an answer, by which the relative value of the whole is determined, thus fur nishing a complete test of the knowledge of the pupil. This is a characteristic difference between this and the former editior's. 5. A new rule for calculating interest for days with months. |