1 7 6 THE NA TURE-STUD Y RE VIE IV U- 6-sept., .908 



a week in a class called special method. According to this scheme 

 then, all the students teaching nature-study meet twice a week 

 on common ground with a common, specific purpose; and the 

 discussions are always lively and permeated by every-day teach- 

 ing experiences. All the teacher of special method needs to do 

 is to guide the discussion, for more than an arrlple supply of ma- 

 terial for discussion is furnished by the class. As a result of ex- 

 perience, I have come to the conclusion that any particular 

 course of nature-study should receive but slight consideration 

 in such class; also, that the main lines of all the work should 

 thread their way back to the great fundamental, namely, an 

 opportunity for children to have vital experiences with common 

 things, under the influence of problems to them. The problem 

 aspect of the experience is important; it is the chief vitalizing 

 element of the children's work. 



TRAINING TEACHERS FOR NATURE-STUDY 



By O. P. DELLINGER 

 Winona Normal, Winona Lake, Ind. 



[Read at Cleveland Conference of A. N. S. S., July 3, 1908.] 



The best training to make a good nature-study teacher is, of 

 course, different from that needed to produce a good botanist or 

 zoologist. Courses in agriculture which may be good for men 

 who are to superintend farms are of little value to teachers who 

 are to plan nature-study courses. The man who is best qualified 

 by training will come out ahead in the end but he must be trained 

 in his chosen profession, not in the profession of another. Just 

 here is where the difficulty lies. Colleges and normal schools 

 have courses planned in botany, zoology, and agriculture and 

 they do not like to add to these, courses in nature-study. The 

 result is that teachers are forced into courses which are planned 

 to train botanists, zoologists or farmers, not teachers of nature- 

 study. A few may be able to adapt what they get from these 

 courses to their needs but the majority find themselves hopeless- 

 ly confused and are never able to use satisfactorily the knowledge 

 or training they received. 



This being the case, it is immensely important that courses 

 planned for teachers of nature-study be offered in training schools 

 for teachers. These courses need to be fairly complete within 



