Abbreviations

Onr public school children are beyond doobt tanght nowadays much that interests aud belps them, all of which was ucknown to their paréate at the same age. And this instrnction is given in a marmer to beguile the little people into the royal road to learning, so that it is a commcn occurrence to have a child bnrst into tears at the fear of missing a day in school. Yet - there must always be a yet - are they learning refluement with the rest of the desiccated kuowledge offered as their patralum? In the very scientific algebra tanght throughout Ñew York state and compiled by an instructor in the Normal school, "to save time," the highest common divisor is spoken of as the "H. C. D., " and the least common multiple is the "L. C. M. " What time is saved, and why? And isn't such teaching incnlcating the vulgarity, later on in life, which speaks of "photos" and "bikes" and "buses," if not of "pants" and "gente." If this system of abbreviating everything is tanght in onr schools, we will simplyhave to stand the jeersof the refined foreigners at onr being in too great a hnrry to make money to even speak the langnage properly. As great as we are, onr fault lies in üis rushing f rantically over every thing. What the far seers are trying to teach is repose - a taking of time for all the reflned things of life, and yet, if this principie of "chopping" the langnage s taught at the very base of onr life, ;he public school, what can be expected of these children when they grow ud? -