io6 THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [ 4 : 4— apr., 1908 



because of the color. Likewise, he enjoys piling up the fallen 

 leaves and kicking them about. Further than this he is not 

 much interested. But if the teacher really wishes to add to his 

 data concerning leaves, she may direct his activities in collecting, 

 we will say to a few kinds that are strikingly associated with 

 particular trees, for example, the white ash. The new experience 

 here is that the white ash (at least in the northern states) has 

 purple leaves. The purple is so characteristic that the tree may 

 be identified from a considerable distance. The child likes to 

 collect leaves and often does so without suggestion. In directing 

 his attention to a few particular kinds of trees he gets a good 

 mental picture of these trees in their fall aspect. 



Ignorance of the teacher as to the identity of the most common 

 trees may be urged against such a plan. But she may find out 

 easilv, whereas it is impossible for her to answer the questions 

 above quoted, at least at the level of the children. 



Dewey savs: "Things hardly come within his (the child's) 

 experience unless they touch, intimately and obviously, his own 

 well being, or that of his family or friends." 2 This suggests that 

 the data which the child collects is to be found in his immediate 

 environment, or in other words the common things which may 

 have a part in his activities It also suggests the method of 

 handling the material. The ordinary recitation method — that 

 of question and answer — limits the activities of the pupil to oral 

 expression. Whatever interest is shown is really due to the 

 limited opportunities for self-activity afforded by participating in 

 the recitation, and not to the subject under consideration. For 

 example, an October lesson on the "red or yellow woolly bear" 

 involving questions and answers concerning such details as color, 

 covering, number of legs, kind of food, etc., would no doubt 

 bring a lively response from the child. But here the insect 

 furnishes the occasion for about all the self activity allowed in the 

 schoolroom. To be sure, some impression may be made, and the 

 child may be sufficiently interested to learn of his own accord 

 something first hand about the animal. The teacher's aim here 

 is concerned chiefly with the recitation. Suppose instead of this 

 formal recitation the attention of the child is brought to the 



2 John Dewey, "The Child and the Curriculum." University of Chicago 

 Contributions to Education, Xo. 5, pp. 8-9. 



