354 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [12:8— Nov., 1916 



course due to the lack of departmental work in the elementary 

 schools and individual preferences of teachers, some of whom, 

 by training or temperament do not make good teachers of nature 

 study. 



One rather surprising statement, repeated by several high school 

 teachers in various states is that "very little of the nature work 

 appears to be retained, forming a slight basis for science work." 

 This surely inveighs against methods of presentation rather than 

 the material worked with or upon. 



Two or three other statements taken at random, will throw some 

 light upon one or two other factors in this correlation problem. 

 "The two lines are so utterly divergent in manner of presentation 

 that no attempt is made to make connection." "The nature 

 work is still in an experimental stage. It is not to be depended 

 upon as all pupils do not get it." "It is not sufficiently developed 

 to be of use." 



Teachers of science appear to be very sure that nature work, 

 properly directed and organized would be of immense value to 

 the pupil who continues science work in the high school. Espec- 

 ially is this true of elementary physiology, which although not 

 strictly nature study, might be made much more useful if it could 

 be in some manner correlated with the nature work. The follow- 

 ing quotations serve to illustrate the feeling in this regard. "No 

 doubt the nature work aids the pupil in his science work." "If 

 properly taught, nature study would greatly aid our students 

 in their science work." "The nature work does not aid us greatly." 

 "The human physiology is of greater advantage to the pupil in his 

 biological work in the high school." 



Let us now turn to the answers from schools which report 

 correlation in order to see wherein this correlation consists and to 

 what extent it is carried out. 



Worcester, Massachusetts reports "Nature study is used as a 

 foundation for the science work which follows. ' ' New Bedford, 

 Massachusetts, "We make the grade work the starting point 

 and human physiology the goal." Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, 

 "Grade work is the basis, we build on it a continuous higher 

 course." Concord, N. H., "We try to place and arrange scientifi- 

 cally the knowledge already acquired." Some New York schools, 

 two of them large private schools, report "the work in the elemen- 

 tary school is the foundation on which we build our high school 



