MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 163 



children forgot the heat. They neglected to be nervous. They did not 

 think it a cross to go to school. They were wonderfully prompt in at- 

 tendance at the opening of the school because every day a little talk from 

 the teacher about the new things brought into the museum was the 

 feature of the mcn-ning exercises. In addition to his usual school duties 

 the teacher had his hands full gathering information to render his mu- 

 seum useful. 



At the close of the term there was a great day and one long to be re- 

 membered by the entire neighborhood. A picnic gathering under the 

 trees in a neighboring yard, and exercises which did not exhibit pro- 

 ficiency in reading or spelling or arithmetic or grammar or any of the 

 other thing,s connected with the books ; but an account of what the chil- 

 dren had learned about the things in their neighborhood in which every 

 individual in the school took some part, made a program of wonderful in- 

 terest. Every household in the district was represented, and at the close 

 of the school there was a distribution of the museum to the ditferent 

 homes in the school district. 



The interest awakened in that one short term of^ school has not lost 

 itself to this day. The youngest boy, a little fellow of five years old, 

 who did his part in helping to grow the museum, is now director in this 

 same school district, and his daughter is a successful teacher in the 

 school. In that household are specimens which are considered heirlooms 

 and which formed a part of this school museum. The awakening of a 

 desire, not only on the part of the children, but on the part of their 

 parents and older brothers and sisters, to know more about the things 

 with which they had to deal every day, has been a characteristic of this 

 community to this day. 



To my own mind, there is nothing truer than that the most important 

 education we can possibly give to the students in the rural schools is that 

 which acquaints them thoroughly with their environment and gets them 

 into sympathy with the things that shall be the largest factors in their 

 lives. I am impressed with the importance of doing this kind of work in 

 connection with rural schools because of the greater opportunity of suc- 

 cess than can be secured in connection with city schools; and, further, 

 because the city boy or girl is handicapped from the outset, and we must 

 recoguize the importance of dealing in the best possible manner in our 

 educational methods with the boys and girls upon Avhom Ave shall most 

 largely depend for our su])plies of strong, influential characters in all 

 phases of our developing life. 



I have thus briefly given an abstract of a bit of history. Its lesson 

 would be incomplete unless I should give my view that the value of a 

 rural school museum, while it lies largely in the gathering, is intensified 

 and increased with the continuous maintenance of this museunii as a per- 

 manency in connection Avith the machiery of the school room. Fortunate 

 indeed is that rural sch.ool community which has a well classified and 

 well housed museum of the commonest kind of things to be found in the 

 neighborhood and Avhich can be continuously employed in impressing 

 upon the i)lastic minds of the pupils the great lessons connected Avith 

 the processes of Nature in constant operation about them,. In the hands 

 of a wise instructor these simple, common lessons may be utilized to 

 enforce and crystallize moral and spiritual qualities which should be in- 

 separably connected Avith any education of developing children. 



Grand Rapids, Mich. 



