THOUGHTS ON NATURE STUDY EDWARD W. STITT, District Superintendent, New York From the time children reach the age when they can talk, till the time arrives for them to be sent to school, their home and outdoor life, as expressed in conversation, is a perpetual "Why?" They seek to know the reason for everything, and from the grass at their feet to the glorious sun so far above them, in all things which grow and have any being, and in all the phenomena of nature, their curiosity is being constantly aroused, and they earnestly ask for information as to the why and wherefore of all the wonders of creation. How true to the actual facts of child-life was Wordsworth when he wrote: "Heaven lies about us in our infancy, Shades of the prison-house begin to close upon the growing boy, But he beholds the light, and whence it flows. He sees it in his joy." At no period of their lives are they more earnest in their efforts at observation, and as their experience gradually leads to knowledge, their awakening ability to notice differences and resemblances becomes an agent of marked power in developing their intellectual life. In the happy days of the kindergarten, the young children are still allowed to be active and persistent "Question Marks," but the next step in their education is the primary school, with its repression and. restraint, and quite often the desire of the pupils to know is lost before the too great anxiety of the teacher as she tries to cram them with facts so that, forsooth, the principal or the superintendent may mark her excellent in instruction. It is my belief that many of the objections which from time to time have been manifested to the development and improvement in the teaching of Nature Study, have come from that spirit of intense American commercialism which is continually ask-ing for financial returns. In the eyes of many citizens, language and number work seem to have a very decided influence in training for a livelihood, but the attempt to study Nature seems to be so little adapted to the Yankee notion for real, everyday life, that many object to it. However, the growing importance of commercial geography, the possibilities of territorial expansion, and the recognition of the value of scientific research in practical chemistry as leading to increased monetary returns, and the great development of applied science in reclaiming so much of what was formerly considered waste product— all these causes have united to induce many to give up their former cry of "Cui bono?" There has, therefore, come to be a growing acknowledgment of the value of this important subject, so that it created little surprise recently when President J. Stanley Hall, of Clark University, said: "Elementary education which does not include Nature Study is not truly elementary education." One reason for the unwise utilitarianism manifested in the objection of some citizens and teachers to nature study, is that there appear to be no immediate results. The many "tests" of the old-fashioned pedagogue who measures everything by a "per cent" basis, and the rigid "examinations" of the old-time superintendent, are absolutely out of place in this subject. If the pupils have had crammed into them an array of facts and figures, there may be prompt replies to many questions of the "Gradgrind" order, but the work of the pupils will fail to show either interest or inspiration. The class which has been well instructed, and has had developed the power of observation, will show a spirit of enthusiasm at what they have done or seen, and there will result a high grade of language work, both oral and written. Personal experience must be the means of instruction, not the "I say so!" of the teacher. The pupils who have been properly taught let us say pedagogically rather than pedantically instructed-will be able to tell, write or perhaps draw their experiences. No mere question and answer recitations will suffice. The seed sown in personal observation will be richly harvested in enthusiastic scientific tendencies. There is probably no subject in the curriculum of the elementary schools which is more of a bête-noir to the average teacher than nature study. It is not difficult to discover the reason. A large number of the teachers were brought up on the dried husks of object teaching, which deadened their scientific life, and since the method of instruction was in "telling" rather than "training," they failed to acquire the vigor of scientific re search, and became mere crammers of facts. There is, however, much hope for the future because of the normal colleges and training schools, for teachers have made great advances in proper methods of presentation. The best teachers of nature study to-day are the younger teachers-the products of a progressive pedagogy of observational science. What about the faithful teachers who have borne the burden and heat of the day, and who, because of defects of their early education-so utterly barren in proper observational methods are sadly deficient in the power of awakening enthusiasm in this subject? In the higher grades, where the course of study calls for more or less systematic work in zoology, physiology, botany, physics or chemistry, the development of departmental work will do wonders in diminishing or utterly destroying the ill effects of those teachers who are not enthusiastic in science work. They may be excellent teachers of some other branch, and so being relieved of the former strain of worrying about a subject which they knew they did not teach well, they devote redoubled energy to English, geography, drawing or some other subject. committed to their care. In every school there will be found, in all probability, at least one teacher who is wedded to the beauties of science study, and who by his genuine enthusiasm, observational development, and experimental or laboratory methods, will continue to awaken in his pupils a growing love for science work. Such a teacher can do much to develop scientific research, and may be the means of so interesting his pupils that many of them may determine to continue their education in the high school and college, because of the inspiration which has been successfully aroused. As to the larger class of teachers engaged in the primary grades, or the lower grades of the grammar departments, much depends upon their ability to introduce the subject so that their pupils may be encouraged to continue their studies, and gradually develop their scientific ability. In many primary departments there will be at least one teacher who is strong in the subject. Make her the "Nature-Study Expert" for the department, and influenced and encouraged by the persuasive power of the principal, the teacher of the special scientific ability may help by suggestion, advice, or model lessons, the work of her weaker sisters. If the Board of Education could furnish some of the proper material, much of the difficulty would be relieved. The problem of immediate distribution of perishable specimens is a great one in a city as large as New York. The offices of the various District Superintendents might be made a sort of clearing-house for the material, so that without unnecessary delay many teachers could be provided with a proper working basis. However, the best of all specimens will be those which the teachers gather for themselves. There will be the pleasure of the personal experience, and the charm of immediate freshness, which will attract the favorable notice of the pupils to win their interest, and stimulate their self-activity. Much good work in this line has been done by the Science Section of the Normal College Alumnæ Association. For the consideration of those. teachers who are honestly endeavoring to do their full duty to the best of their ability in this most difficult department of the curriculum, I offer the following: SUGGESTIONS. (1) Please do not attempt to do too much. Aim always at quality rather than quantity. (2) Prepare your lessons carefully. In no other subject is there so much demand for principals to hold grade conferences with their teachers, so that by mutual consultation there may be decided the proper plan and scope of the lessons. (3) Try to secure your material at first hand from Dame Nature, whose supply never fails. A walk along the edge of some pine woods in the early spring may result in your finding some arbutus. Carry the flowers to your classroom and you will feel re paid by your happy pupils' interest as you explain to them that it is gener ally called the "May-flower" in honor of the Pilgrims' vessel, because it is supposed that this was the first flower to greet the starving wanderers, after the trials of the first long winter. (4) Encourage your pupils to hunt for specimens of plant or animal life. A successful principal of one of the largest schools of the suburban districts keeps a diary of "first finds." This year, one of the boys broke the record by discovering, on March 12th, the first hepatica. Do you not think he and his classmates will always remember this flower as the harbinger of the glad springtime? (5) Do not try to interpret the whole course of study in your nature work. You must adopt a policy of sensible selection. See that you choose wisely and well! (6) Country children are indeed fortunate in being brought so "near to Nature's heart," but the strenuous life of a great city will help us to unlock some of the secrets of Nature, even though the environment of brick walls and asphalt pavements act as deterrents to a proper scientific outlet for observational energies. (7) The Nature Study Leaflets issued by the Science Department of Cornell University, the annual catalogues distributed by the prominent seed concerns, the Government publications printed at Washington and Albany and readily secured by application to your representative in Congress or the State Legislature, are some of the means by which, without cost, the teachers can avail themselves of some of the best up-to-date literature. (8) Please remember that the demands not only of correlation, but also of common sense, require that your pupils shall become so full of your subject by a policy of culture rather than that of cram-that they shall be glad to talk and write, and sometimes even draw, to show their acquaintance with the subject. (9) Much practical help can be obtained from many of the excellent text-books that have been printed recently. Do not read old books upon this subject! The best books on science are the ones which have just been published. Science ever climbs. new heights. What an advance from Franklin to Marconi! (10) No success in nature study can be obtained with primary children without observational work. To interest your pupils you must provide. either (a) the plant or animal to be studied, or (b) good pictures or charts illustrating the same. (II) In much of our so-called science-work the teacher talks too much. Let the pupils talk! Do not tell them anything that they can discover for themselves. (12) While we teachers of our overcrowded classes in the city long for the green fields of the country or the sands of the seashore, with their wealth of plant and animal life, do not let us despise our parks, museums of art and natural history, and our zoological and botanical gardens. There is some good in Gotham! (13) Let us always remember that the period devoted to language and number work in all courses of study is many times the small allowance made to nature-work, and therefore we should not be quite so discouraged if we do not seem to accomplish very much. We only plant seed in the science study. The harvest comes long afterwards! (14) In the upper classes, notebooks in science have certain advantages, but they have also some disadvantages. They are likely to become mere abstracts of the work attempted, rather than suggestive outlines. In all possible cases, drawings or sketches should supplement the notes. Try to have these made from the original specimens rather than mere reproductions of the engravings or illustrations found in text-books. (15) If you have no other apparatus than your black board, and no other tool than the crayon, you still have a valuable equipment. Use this power constantly and consistently! Please, however, do not always use white chalk. Colored crayons appeal to the eye, and help the young pupils to understand so much more easily. For instance, how can a teacher explain the circulation of the blood without using blue and red crayons, though some will persist in using the white. (16) Many teachers find that their pupils are much interested in helping to collect and arrange a class-cabinet of specimens. It is astonishing how quickly such a collection grows! Do not have many duplicates. Exchange with some other teachers, or make the boys your agents in the transaction. (17) Do not worry if you seem to get poor results from your work in Nature Study, after you have honestly done the best you could to inspire and direct your pupils. Principals and Superintendents should not judge the work in nature study by concrete tests or examinations. (18) Dream of ambitious futures for your young pupils! It is quite possible that your street arab may become an Audubon, your Bowery boy may develop into a Burroughs, for our own Edison was a newsboy in early life. (19) Remember the ideal student of the future is not a pale, sad-looking youth burning the midnight oil over his Virgil or Horace, but one who has trained his eyes to see, his ears to hear, and his hands to do, because he has been properly educated in the best of all manual-training equipments-the school of Experi ence. (20) Satisfactory science teaching means satisfactory training. Specimens can never supplant common sense. Models are not so important as methods. The successful teacher of science, if pedagogically equipped, and conscientiously working for high ideals, will develop sooner or later, in all her pupils, both INTEREST and INSPIRATION. EXPERIMENTS WITH SEEDS KATE B. HIXON, Morris High School "What a man can do is more important than what he knows." Botany being an observational study, it is wise to arouse an interest in the child regarding the life which surrounds him in nature's simplest forms. A child naturally loves to work with living things, and a little training will open the eyes of a city. child to sights to which he has previously been blind. We should not judge our work by the number of facts that the child has acquired, but rather by the inspiration to work. which we may have inculcated. A few simple experiments have been outlined, in which the eye and the hand are the leading tools. An expensive laboratory equipment is not always productive of the greatest results. In all experimental work le the child do the work for himself, thus carrying out the well-known fact, that the child learns by doing. With young students, it is best to give a few definite directions, so that their energies may not be misdirected and possibly interest lost in their ignorance of how to work. If sketches are made, let them be accurate, neat and clear cut. The best drawing is not necessarily the most |