hunter] NATURE-STUDY and biology I2Q 



extremely encouraging nature. The nature-study movement is 

 still young, but should not better results be attained than these 

 figures seem to warrant ? And since this lack of correlation does 

 exist, what are the reasons for its existence from the high-school 

 teachers point of view ? 



Reasons why the correlation is not undertaken or ivhen undertaken, 

 is not sticcessfnl? 



The following answers will serve to show the factors which 

 mitigate against successful correlation : 



"Work in the grades is not uniform, therefore no correlation." 

 This is a rather frequent reason given. Boston high schools 

 report that "the nature work in the various schools feeding our 

 high schools is so various that we cannot correlate." A St. Louis 

 school says, "Nature-study is so unequally developed, depending 

 upon the training and preference of grammar-school principals 

 and teachers that we cannot depend upon anything definite." 

 A New York high-school teacher writes, "the nature-study differs 

 so much in the various schools that it is almost useless for build- 

 ing material." From Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, New York, New 

 Jersey and several other States is the cry of lack of uniformity in 

 the nature-study work. 



Another objection, closely allied to the above objection to 

 nature-study as now given is lack of system and of organization 

 of material. Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio all 

 join in this protest. 



A third comment is upon the method of presentation. Numer- 

 ous schools say that the nature-study, consists largely of reading 

 or "book work." To such preliminary work the science teacher, 

 naturally enough, can give little attention. 



Another valid objection, and a rather universal one, is that 

 some schools feeding a given high-school may give the work while 

 others may do absolutely nothing with nature-study. This may 

 be due to the lack of departmental work in the elementary schools 

 or individual preferences of teachers, some of whom, by training 

 or temperment 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 



