Editorial comment: As we read
As you read this month's issue of The Arithmetic Teacher, the winter reports of below zero weather have become memories. Perhaps you Jive in a mild climate and “below ze ro” has but academic interest for you. In many of our warm desert locations, the visitor is sure to observe signs that indicate he is driving “below sea level.” In any part of the country, a student may view with alarm the fact that his grade is below the average for the class. In each of these instances, some idea of direction, point of origin, and a number scale are involved. The integers provide the abstraction we need for these physical models. For the primary grade teacher, knowledge of the integers is prerequisite to introducing them informally. The junior high school teacher wrestles with the problem of making the integers and operations with them seem “reasonable” to his students. This issue of the journal emphasizes these important numbers.