670 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



many Western, and Southern States leads me to say, with consid- 

 erable certainty, that in none of their primary and grammar 

 schools are science lessons required. 



These facts and figures represent the work prescribed, not the 

 work actually done. In how many schools where these lessons 

 are required are they given by the scientific method ? is a ques- 

 tion of the first importance. In how many schools, on the other 

 hand, where the lessons are not required are they systematically 

 given by progressive teachers ? Want of sufficient data compels 

 me to leave these questions unanswered for the present. 



The picture has another and somewhat brighter side. It may 

 be stated as an indisputable fact that there never has been a time 

 when the interest in the subject was so wide-spread. Educators 

 all over the country are giving it their thoughtful consideration. 

 The " National School of Methods " has offered an excellent op- 

 portunity for the past three years for obtaining valuable informa- 

 tion. Twenty-one States,* and probably several more, have been 

 represented in the natural history classes. 



Teachers of primary, grammar, high, and normal schools have 

 testified to the educational value of nature lessons. Superintend- 

 ents have expressed their approval of such lessons, and shown an 

 earnest desire to help forward the work. This hearty interest, 

 especially on the part of normal-school teachers, is a guarantee 

 that the growth of the movement will continue to be sure, even 

 though it may be slow. This brings me, in conclusion, to the 

 brief consideration of the causes of this slow growth. 



The fundamental cause lies, I believe, in our ignorance of the 

 true value and large possibilities of elementary science work. 

 This ignorance is chargeable in great measure to that one-sided 

 system of education which has long prevailed. Our early train- 

 ing, in fact, unfits us for justly appreciating the objects to be at- 

 tained. If the great body of teachers in our country to-day could 

 be made to know the full value of natural history lessons in the 

 mental training of the young, I for one do not believe the oft- 

 repeated arguments against this kind of teaching would deter 

 them in the least from undertaking the work. Our primary- 

 school teachers need to know for their own inspiration how much 

 they are helping the grammar-school teachers, and the grammar- 

 school teachers, in their turn, the high-school teachers. When 

 they come into possession of this knowledge, the movement will 

 advance with rapid strides, and the four arguments oftenest urged 

 will be answered by the teachers themselves. 



When it is said, " The work is impracticable, because specimens 



* Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, 

 Pennsylvania, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Indiana, 

 Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michisran, Minnesota, and Nebraska. 



