vinal] NATURE-STUDY IN RHODE ISLAND 255 



question was asked, "How many boats are in the background?" 

 There were no boats in the picture, but nearly every one put down 

 a number. "What color is the little girl's necktie?" The little 

 girl had no necktie, but every one knew (?) its color. Twenty-five 

 nature objects such as the English sparrow, the oyster, the mullein 

 plant, etc., were placed before the entering class last month for 

 identification. There were scarcely any blanks in the list yet the 

 results showed a meagre knowledge of the most common things of 

 their environment. The prize answer was the case of calling the 

 blue jay a cockatoo. I recently asked the members of a more ad- 

 vanced class whether their gizzard came before or after their stom- 

 ach in the process of digestion. Only about 15 per cent said that 

 they did not have a gizzard; many were sure it came after the 

 stomach, and others were almost certain that it came before the 

 stomach; only a few said they did not know. We cannot assume 

 that the majority of these girls are fools. Many of them are bet- 

 ter than the average in ability and intelligence. It is not a ques- 

 tion of common honesty. It is a result of the present day school 

 training. The teacher knows that she knows arithmetic and its 

 allies. When it comes to Nature-study she has to say frequently 

 that she does not know. WTien the teacher is willing to say that 

 she does not know we can look for a different moulding of the mind 

 in the pupil. Nature-study makes for intellectual honesty. Such 

 is the method of scientific approach to all questions. When one 

 knows that he knows not there is more chance for him to learn the 

 truth of things as they are. 



Professor Bagley, who has already been engaged to speak at the 

 morning assembly of our next meeting of the Rhode Island Insti- 

 tute of Instruction, thinks that science is one of the fundamentals 

 of our modern education. Why not? This is an age of science. 

 The telephone, proper sewerage disposal, the automobile, etc., 

 have a close relation to all of us but not so is the matter of learned 

 discourse or writing poetry. 



Since the value of the work is so generally recognized in Rhode 

 Island I. am not going to spend much time on that phase but pass 

 directly to the organization. 



Organization. — What shall we select out of this great mass of 

 nature-study material ? 



Life is made up of real problems. We recently listened to a 

 drill upon fractions. It was good mental gymnastics but dividing 



