ABSTRACT
The importance of these observations for contemporary education is not obvious. The observations do indicate, however, that current instruction in primary school of reading and writing, on the one hand, and mathematics on the other, requires greater integration. Drawing parallels between the two notational systems could certainly help students to understand the abstract nature of the alphabet and the place number system. It might help those who are strong in math but weak in reading, or vice versa, to use their strengths with one notational system to better understand the other. These suggestions are purely speculative but certainly worthy of further examination and research. The use of the computer in education might provide exactly the correct environment for such an integration as the computer treats all abstract notation in more or
less the same manner. In fact, the computer may be regarded as a device for the manipulation of abstract symbols, whether they are alphabetic or numerical.
