haixooc] SCIENCE STUDY 3' 



when the children went home at the close of school in the afternoon, 

 so that the plants might have the night dew. 



In due time the sunflowers blossomed ; and on returning to school 

 in September, the children saw flocks of gold-finches feasting on the 

 seeds. 



SCIENCE STUDY PARALLEL WITH NATURE-STUDY 



BY WILLIAM HALLOCK 



Professor of Physics in Columbia University 



[Abstract of a paper read at the 1904 meeting of the New York State Science 

 Teachers Association. Published in Sec. Ed. Bull. 28, Oct. 1905, by the New 

 York State Education Department.] 



The fact that " things in motion sooner catch the eye than that which 

 does not stir "has been the chief argument in favor of an early study 

 of animals in the elementary grades, and these and flowers have mon- 

 opolized the time and attention of child and teacher. To my mind 

 the chief benefits of nature-study are outdoor exercise, and acquiring 

 the ability to see. If nature-study is to be earned on in the class- 

 room, with only infrequent excursions to field and wood, it becomes 

 a laboratory exercise, and does not differ essentially from similar 

 possible exercises in chemistry or physics or mechanics. A child is 

 amused by an animal largely because it moves, because it acts in- 

 dependently, it does things more or less unexpected. The curiosity 

 is excited as to what it will do next, and in fact much of the study of 

 animals, and much of the information taught concerning them deals 

 with statements as to what the particular bug or beast will do under 

 given conditions. For example, in the special leaflets on the toad 

 considerable interest is worked up for this lowly and phlegmatic neigh- 

 bor, but how much of the information can be the result of direct ob- 

 servation on the part of the child ? One must be favorably situated, 

 both as to time and place, to be able to observe even his fly-catching, 

 which is his peculiarity most likely to interest the child and most 

 readily seen. All the phenomena of spawn, tadpole, little toads, and 

 related matters are practically unavailable in the majority of cases, ex- 

 cept in the form of stories by the teacher. ( )f course it is useful to 

 teach that even the humblest of nature's work is full of interest and 

 worthy of the most careful examination; but let us for a moment com- 

 pare this exercise with the same time spent with a couple of small 

 magnets, a little compass and some iron filings. Here is all the in- 



