Rural School Leaflet 



1265 



LETTERS FROM TEACHERS OF RURAL SCHOOLS 







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A field trip in winter 



i. Extracts from a letter written by Miss Mary Edwards, School Dis- 

 trict No. 2, Town of Scott, Cortland county: 



" My school began in March, 191 2. It was in a small hamlet and 

 I had about thirty-five pupils. They knew practically nothing of nature- 

 study, as their observation had not been encouraged or trained. 



" Our building was not in any condition to inspire a child to appreciate 

 the beautiful. The curtains were old and torn, the paint on the inside 

 walls was a dingy gray, the plaster was falling off, the blackboard space 

 was limited, and the desks and seats were in need of varnish. There were 

 many other unsightly things in and about the school. 



" I organized a nature-study class, and our first work was to keep 

 a weather chart. Each individual kept one in which he recorded tem- 

 perature, winds, moisture, and the like. There was a great effort _ to 

 obtain the earliest observation of the thermometer; it led to early rising 

 and a keen observation of wind, clouds, stars, and sunsets. Many an 

 evening I have been called out to see a beautiful sunset, a bright star, 

 or pretty formation of clouds. We always discussed anything unusual. 

 What pleasure we have derived enjoying those beauties! 



" The class knew nothing about birds. We began an individual bird 

 calendar. Each morning any member of the class had the privilege of 

 reporting a bird seen and was encouraged to describe it. I received 

 some very remarkable descriptions of color, size, and markings. The 

 best report was placed on the wall calendar. We learned to recognize 

 and describe each bird until now they can recognize over fifty birds. 



" Next we kept flower calendars and studied the specimens. The 

 older members made a large collection of pressed flowers and weeds. One 



