634 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



BIOLOGICAL WORK IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 



By ALFRED JAMES McCLATCHlE, A. B. 



DKPAETMENT OF BIOLOGY, THBOOP POLYTECHNIC, PASADENA. 



I SHALL not attempt to go over all the ground covered by 

 the above topic, but shall simple lay special stress upon a few 

 points. I shall put in a plea for genuine, systematic laboratory 

 work upon plants and animals ; shall insist that, in studying both, 

 students become familiar with the general structure, physiology, 

 and classification of members of all the main groups from the 

 lowest to the highest ; shall urge the necessity of teachers espe- 

 cially trained for the work ; and I shall then attempt to point out 

 the training that should result from such a course of study. 



It should not be necessary to spend much time in urging the 

 importance of laboratory work in the study of biological subjects. 

 It seems strange that any teacher should ever think of having a 

 pupil spend the precious hours of his school life in studying 

 plants and animals in any other way. But the fact that only 

 a small per cent of our teachers are pursuing the laboratory 

 method makes it imperative that somebody plead in behalf of 

 the students of our public schools. By laboratory work I mean 

 the dissection of plants and animals for the purpose of discover- 

 ing the facts concerning them, not the verifying of statements 

 made by text-book or teacher. It is a very common mistake on 

 the part of teachers to think they are doing the best they can for 

 their pupils when they themselves bring in or require the pupils 

 to obtain specimens that will illustrate their own or text-book 

 statements. Students should be original investigators, and 

 should be deprived of none of the pleasures connected with 

 original investigation. Only laboratory guides and reference 

 books should be put into their hands. The teacher and labora- 

 tory manual should aid pupils in the discovery of truth, but 

 should never rob them of the pleasure of discovering it for them- 

 selves when practicable. As F. Mlihlberg says : * " Of course, one 

 gets on faster with a child by carrying it, but it is for the child's 

 interest to teach it to run and swim for itself. In the same way 

 it is better not to give young scholars scientific knowledge ready 

 made, but to teach them the way to it. By imparting to them 

 results obtained by others the ideal purpose of instruction is 

 seriously prejudiced, the sense of scientifically accurate think- 

 ing is destroyed, the belief in authority is increased instead 

 of checked, and the mind becomes surfeited, instead of finding 



* Natural Science in Secondary Schools. Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C, 

 1882, p. 3, 



