5° THE NA TURE-STUDY REVIEW u : 2 _ F bb., .90S 



but for the sake of great convenience and definiteness let us agree 

 that "nature-study" means that elementary stage. We need the 

 word "nature-study" in scientific education just as we need the 

 word "puppy" in connection with the canine genus. There is no 

 reason why we may not attach, in truth the best usage already 

 has attached, a very definite meaning to the word "nature- 

 study," just as to the word "puppy." And in that distinction 

 between nature-study and science we need to mention only one 

 thing, namely, leave out of nature-study for elementary schools 

 the characteristic organized generalizations and technicalities 

 of science; but in the early high-school years let nature-study 

 grow into science as gradually and as surely as the puppy grows 

 into the dog. We must agree that nature-study and science are 

 not two things; but simply two stages in the same continuous 

 process of scientific education which for convenience we call 

 nature-study in the elementary phase and science in the advanced 

 phase. 



(2) A practical suggestion is to be found in the report that in 

 some schools where nature-study is called science in the ele- 

 mentary school, the pupils enter high school and try to avoid 

 science because the name leads them to think it a duplication 

 of the elementary study. 



(3) Some of the speakers seemed to urge that nature-study is 

 science because they wanted nature-study to be scientific. In 

 fact, all who have emphasized the method of teaching, "problem 

 solving," rather than subject-matter, have evidently meant that 

 nature-study and science teaching are the same (in method). 

 Then instead of saying that "nature-study is science," which as 

 above pointed out forgets to consider proper grading of subject- 

 matter, let us avoid the quibbling with words by saying that 

 "nature-study should be scientific" in method and aims. In 

 other words, nature-study is science in method; but we should 

 make it different in subject-matter adapted to elementary pupils. 



There is really no danger now that nature- study will tend away 

 from scientific methods and aims. Only one or two articles in 

 The Nature-Study Review in three years have definitely 

 pointed away from the approved methods of modern science 

 teaching, and the replies from readers showed clearly that nature- 

 study as a general movement could not go far towards becom- 

 ing decidedly unscientific in method. 



