MATHEMATICS AND THE MAORIS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7237, 25 October 1901, Page 1

MATHEMATICS AND THE MAORIS.

Sir John Ciorst, who is presiding over the new Educational Section of the. British Association, closing the discussion on the teaching of mathematics, gave some interesting reminiscences of his attempt to teach mathematics to the Maori boys and men in New Zealand. As far as the teaching of arithmetic went he proceeded on the embryo Sonnenschein system, and he found the Maoris remarkably apt as pupils. They learnt the practical arithmetic useful to them in. active life far faster than boys or men in this country Avould generally ; but when, in his youthful enthusiasm, he proceeded to attempt to teach them geometry after the Euclid fashion, the attempt was an absolute failure. Not one of them could grasp or understand the simplest proposition in Euclid. He supposed the reason was that that aspect of mathematics was not presented to them first in a concrete form. If he had to do that work over again, after the discussion to which he had listened, he should abandon the attempt to teach geometrical propositions until his pupils had , been familiarized with lines, angles, areas and geometrical figures. Of these, of course, the Maori youth was entirely ignorant. By such a method even the least developed intellect of an uncivilised native might be brought to take in some very simple propositions of geometry ; but according to the method he had practised, the result was absolute failure. This experience rather confirmed the general opinion that it was best to teach by means of concrete ideas with which the pupils were familiar.