Summer School Diary, part 3B - 1914

[4 black and white photographs of buildings in the distance]

June 26. The following teachers were elected officers of the Student Body: Miss Clarimond Withers, President, Miss Nelda Oakes Vice President, Miss Jessie F. Schmidtlein Secretary and Miss Eula Franklin Press Agent.

Reception at Mr. Layman's

The first social event of the Summer School was given at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Layman, Friday evening, June 26, 1914.

Their beautiful home on College Avenue was the scene of pleasure from early in the evening until nearly midnight. Members of the Faculty, Summer School Students, and invited guests were present. The spacious rooms were prettily decorated with the seasons choicest flowers.

The reception committee made all feel at home and in a short time conversation became general, all feeling a good time was to be had.

When all had assembled a program prepared by a committee of Summer School Students was well rendered. It consisted of: Piano Solo, Miss Marie Lloyd, Vocal Solo, Mrs Wagner.

Highland Fling Dance, Miss C. Rannells, Reading "In the Dungeon Cell," Mr. Ost, Vocal Solo, Miss Elda Barber, Russian Dance, Miss Samath, Vocal Solo, Mrs. Wagner.

Games were played for a time, after which many indulged in dancing, others in playing cards or pool. In a corner of the dining room, Miss Gloster, as fortune teller, had many eager listeners.

After partaking of dainty refreshments, the happy gathering dispersed, all voting Mr. and Mrs Layman, royal entertainers.

June 30. The Teaching of Arithmetic. Dr. Charles Haseman, Professor of Mathematics of the University of Nevada, spoke for the teaching of Arithmetic. Some of the points brought out well as follows.

Arithmetic gives a training not obtained from any other subject. The reasons then for studying arithmetic are two fold; first, because of its practical value, second, because of its mental training.

Pupils in the grades are given too much help. The country teacher has not the time to give the pupils very much help, so they acquire the habit of helping themselves.

Pupils are not encouraged enough in the work. Both the teacher and

the pupils take the school work as a matter of course. The reason that mathematics is frequently difficult for pupils is because of their failure to grasp the lessons. One lesson skipped over makes the next one more difficult. Often it is impossible to grasp the following lesson with out the first. Many pupils not only neglect a lesson now and then but the lessons of an entire grade. Is it any wonder then that they are unable to do the work!

A second lecture given by Prof. Hasemen was on that highly impossible subject -- The Fourth Dimension. A one dimensional object is one having length only, such as a line. A two dimensional object is one having length and breadth but no thickness as the surface of the blackboard. A three dimensional object is one having length, breadth, and thickness. All objects with which we have had experience are three dimensional objects. A fourth dimensional object is one having length, breadth, thickness and another dimension. This other dimension

we call the fourth dimension. It is the dimension which is perpendicular to three mutually perpendicular lines. To us this is inconceivable, but this is no proof that it does not exist. There may or may not be a fourth dimension.

The origin of the idea of the fourth dimension grew out of algebra. Equations with three unknowns can be and are interpreted geometrically. Out of this arose a design to interpret equations with four unknowns. If we are to do this, we must imagine another dimension. This other we call the fourth dimension. In algebra this dimension has a significance.

In reality it probably does not exist although, we can not prove it.