2 I o THE NA TURE-STUD Y RE VIE W u 7 _ OCT . i 19Q 8 



or the teaching of the various trades however much we may be 

 laying the foundation for specialized effort along these lines in 

 later years. 



NOTES ON NATURE-STUDY IN NEW JERSEY 



By GILBERT H. TRAFTON 

 Supervisor of Nature-Study.lPassaic, N. J. • 



Nature-study is quite favorably looked upon by the school 

 authorities throughout New Jersey. There is a very general 

 sentiment in favor of giving it a trial, and in the last few years 

 it has been introduced into quite a number of our towns and 

 cities, in addition to those which had previously included this 

 in their curricula. It does not follow however, that in all these 

 places effective work is done, for there exists the same difficulty 

 here as elsewhere, the lack of teachers properly trained to teach 

 this subject. But the introduction of the subject into the 

 curriculum is the first step and a very essential one. 



The following statistics, which were furnished by the State 

 Department of Public Instruction indicate the extent to which 

 the subject is considered as a part of the curriculum. 



The following cities have nature-study in all grades: Bur- 

 lington, Montclair, Morristown, Newark, Orange, Passaic, 

 Paterson, Plainfield, Trenton, Woodbury City, Lakewood r 

 Westfield, Cranford, Roselle. The following have the subject 

 in the first five or six grades: Bayonne, Camden, East Orange, 

 Englewood. The following have it in the elementary grades: 

 Bloomfield, Jersey City, Millville, New Brunswick, North Plain- 

 field, Rahway and Weehawken. Bridgeton, Dover, Salem, Town 

 of Union, Livingston, Norma (in Jewish public schools) teach 

 the subject to some extent in their schools. In the counties of 

 Bergen, Hunterdon and Mercer it is quite general and in Warren 

 County is found in a few schools. 



The State Board of Education has taken a special interest in 

 the development of industrial education in the public schools, 

 and recently adopted the following resolutions: 



"Resolved, that it is the sense of the State Board of Education 

 that a knowledge of manual training, home economics and 

 elementary agriculture should become a part of the professional 

 equipment of each teacher in the public schools of New Jersey. 



