CHAPTER XI
ORIGINAL TENDENCIES AND ACQUISITIONS BEFORE SCHOOL
THE UTILIZATION OF INSTINCTIVE INTERESTS
The activities essential to acquiring ability in arithmetic can rely on little in man's instinctive equipment beyond the purely intellectual tendencies of curiosity and the satisfyingness of thought for thought's sake, and the general enjoyment of success rather than failure in an enterprise to which one sets oneself. It is only by a certain amount of artifice that we can enlist other vehement inborn interests of childhood in the service of arithmetical knowledge and skill. When this can be done at no cost the gain is great. For example, marching in files of two, in files of three, in files of four, etc., raising the arms once, two times, three times, showing a foot, a yard, an inch with the hands, and the like are admirable because learning the meanings of numbers thus acquires some of the zest of the passion for physical action. Even in late grades chances to make pictures showing the relations of fractional parts, to cut strips, to fold paper, and the like will be useful.
Various social instincts can be utilized in matches after the pattern of the spelling match, contests between rows, certain number games, and the like. The scoring of both the play and the work of the classroom is a useful field for control by the teacher of arithmetic.
Hunt ['12] has noted the more important games which have some considerable amount of arithmetical training as a by-product and which are more or less suitable for class use. Flynn ['12] has described games, most of them for home use, which give very definite arithmetical drill, though in many cases the drills are rather behind the needs of children old enough to understand and like the game itself.
It is possible to utilize the interests in mystery, tricks, and puzzles so as to arouse a certain form of respect for arithmetic and also to get computational work done. I quote one simple case from Miss Selkin's admirable collection ['12, p. 69 f.]:—
I. ADDITION
"We must admit that there is nothing particularly interesting in a long column of numbers to be added. Let the teacher, however, suggest that he can write the answer at sight, and the task will assume a totally different aspect.