92 NATURE STl'DY REVIEU' [9 ::;— .Mar., 191?, 



divide the number of cupfuls bv seven. May be it will turn out 

 that some of us are not drinking- our share of water. If so, we 

 shall not be at our verv best until we do. All people are not 

 agreed whether we shall drink most of our water at meal times 

 or between meals, though all sav that we should not drink at 

 meal time merely to help swallow our food quickly. Can }ou 

 think of reasons why it might be better to drink most of our 

 water at meal times if we do it properly? 



Editorial 



This Nature-Study Review is "devoted primarily to all 

 scientific studies of Nature in elementary schools'" ; so it is and 

 always has been declared upon the title page. The essence of 

 scientific study is this — to observe for one's self, to achieve, upon 

 the basis of the facts so discovered, conclusions that are secure. 

 The scientific spirit implies a reverence for and loyalty to such 

 opinions that makes for a fine devotion. And truly we need to 

 cultivate such a scientific attitude of mind in a democracy. Our 

 opinions are too prone to be resultants of caprice and prejudice 

 rather than rational conclusions, based on an adequate mass of 

 data. The scientific spirit needs be cultivated in the child in the 

 grades, else the average citizen is likely never to acquire it. 



Nature studv is method rather than content. The chief aim 

 in instruction is not to impart a mass of information but to give 

 to the pupil a mental attitude : habituate him to think clearl}" 

 u])()n a wide range of personallv ac(|uired facts, to marshal them 

 wisely, to relate them cautiously, to draw conclusions discreetly. 

 Until he can do this, let him reserve judgment and refrain from 

 an opinion. When this has been done, inspire boldness to make 

 his assertions, tenacity in his adherence to them and a will- 

 ingness to revise his opinions upnn the presentati(^n of 

 new facts. We stultify our pupils, crush their expansive 

 minds with the weight of ready-made, second-hand opinions we 

 force upon them. Then we bemoan their lack of virilitv. acumen 

 and stamina. Nature study is a protest against formalism, book- 

 ishness and education l)y accretion. It stands for direct con- 

 tact with materials, the absorption of essential data and mental 

 growth by the solution of real problems. 



