LEROYPENNYSAVER&NEWS - FEBRUARY 7, 2016
‘Rithmetic
byLynneBelluscio
This last Wednesday and
Thursday, the basement kitchen
at LeRoy was transformed into
a one-room school house for the
fourth graders. It’s always fun to
share this history with the kids,
whoenthusiasticallyparticipate in
aspellingBand learnhow towrite
cursive with a steel-tipped pen.
(And no one spilled ink!) And
sincemostof themprint, theyalso
discover thatprinting ishardwith
apen.And if theypushdown too
hard, the tipcouldbreakor itdigs
into the paper. The kids that are
left handed are always dragging
their hand through the ink.
This year I asked the teachers
to participate too. I gave them a
copy of fourteen problems from
a 1849 arithmetic book. (Part of
my reasoning, was that last year,
I discovered that with the new
math, Iwasn’t speaking the same
language that thekidswereusing
today to solve problems, and I
didn’t want to confuse the issue
- - for thatmatter Iwas confused
listening to how they solved the
problem.)Firstwehad togoover
theword“arithmetic”because it’s
not commonly used today. The
word“math” ismorepopularand
began replacing “arithmetic” in
the 1950s.
After thebriefdiscussionabout
arithmetic and math we had to
take a minute to talk about how
to use the slates. We don’t use
chalk. Insteadweuseslatepencils
which are made of stone. There
isnothingworse than the screech
of a slatepencil on the stone slate
surface. “Make sure you don’t
press hardwith the pencils. And
itseasier ifyouhold thepencilon
an angle. Don’t expect to have a
bold mark. The pencils make a
little scratch that you can erase
withyour finger. “
Hereare the fourteenproblems
that thekids solved. Ihave toad-
mit, that fromwhere Iwassitting,
therewere five teachers and five
different solutions - -notdifferent
answers. But different ways to
explain theprocess. Maybe that’s
why it’scalledmodernmath. And
don’t forget to label your answer.
1. Which is themost, 6 times
6or 4 times 9? (Trickquestion.)
2. John had 15 pears and he
gave 6 to Cyrus and 5 to Ralph.
How many did he have left?
(This was confusing to a couple
ofkids,because theyheard“pair”
not pear.)
3. Thomas gave 11 cents for a
topand6cents forastring tospin
it with, and then sold them both
for21cents. Howmanycentsdid
he gainbyhis bargain?
4. A grocer sold a chest of tea
for 25 dollars and took in pay-
ment 12 dollars worth of wheat,
8 dollars worth of oats and the
remainder inmoney. Howmuch
moneydidhe receive?
5. Aman bought awagon for
40 dollars, paid 10 dollars for
having it painted, and then sold it
for60dollars.Didhegainor lose
byhis bargain andhowmuch?
6.At2dollarsadayhowmuch
will aman earn in five days? In
6days?
7. There are 7days in aweek;
howmany days in 5 weeks? In
6weeks?
8.When hay is worth 10 dol-
lars a ton, what will 5 tons cost?
Whatwill 6 tons cost?
9.Howmuchwill 5poundsof
honey cost, at 11 cents a pound?
Howmuchwill 6pounds cost?
10.WhenDaniel uses6 sheets
of paper in a week, how, many
sheets will he use in 7 weeks?
Howmany in8weeks?
11.Milfordbought7orangesat
3 cents apiece ; howmany cents
did they cost him?
12.What will 7 hats cost, at 5
dollars apiece? What will 8 hats
cost at the same price?
13. Howmuch will 9 pounds
of sugar cost, at 9 cents apound?
Howmuchwill10poundscost at
the same price?
14. At 7 cents a quart, how
many cents must be paid for 10
quartsofblackberries?Howmany
for 11quarts?
