TKAFTONl 



PRINCIPLES IN M 1 TVRE-SI UDY 29 



function, unless it be home geography, which in the lower 

 grades is closely related to nature-studv. 



I most strongly believe that a knowledge of nature adds 

 to the enjoyment of life, even though in some cases a person 

 may be unconscious of it. Dr. Elliott in his essays on "Edu- 

 cation for Efficiency," and "The, New Idea of the Cultivated 

 Man," refers several times to the value of nature-study in our 

 curriculum for the enjoyment which it brings to life. Train- 

 ing for avocation is something which our educational system 

 seems quite largely to ignore; nature-study may serve an im- 

 portant and neglected function here. 



Nature-study may lead the child to* be of service to the city 

 and state in two important ways; in the preservation of health, 

 both from the standpoint of personal hygiene and of public 

 sanitation, and in the conservation of our biological resources, 

 such as the forests, birds and fishes. 



I would make the observational idea predominate in the 

 primary grades and occupy a place of decreasing importance in 

 each successive year. The esthetic may have a minor place 

 in the primary grades with gradually increasing importance 

 through the remaining grades. The economic idea may begin 

 with a minor place in the intermediate grades and be dominant 

 in the upper grades. 



I wish to call special attention to the actual schoolroom 

 conditions under which nature-study must be taught, because 

 here is the point to which we should bend our energies in order 

 to make the greatest progress. We must pay more attention 

 toward helping the teacher. 



One factor limits very materially the amount we may hope 

 to accomplish, — that is, the time generally alloted to nature- 

 s'.udy. I will compare the time devoted to biological nature- 

 study with that devoted to the course in high school biology. 

 This course is much better organized than is that in nature- 

 study, and we know about what can be accomplished in it, so 

 that this may serve as a somewhat definite standard for com- 

 parison. From data gathered from a number of New Jersey 

 cities and towns, I find that about thirty minutes a week is 

 alloted to nature-study, and occasionally forty-five or sixty 

 minutes. As an average we may take three-quarters of an 

 hour. I have not attempted to gather statistics for the whole 

 -country, but doubtless these conditions found in my own state 



