Cfje Butiubon Societies! 



SCHOOL DEPARTMENT 



Edited by A. A. ALLEN. Ph.D. 

 Address all communications relative to the work of this 

 department to the Editor, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 



SUMMER BIRD-STUDY 



The study of birds is taking an ever increasingly important part in the 

 curricukim of the schools. It is natural that this should be so, not only because 

 of the resource which a knowledge of birds brings into the life of the child, but 

 because bird-study stimulates an interest in all nature. The bright colors of 

 birds, their cheerful songs, and the many amusing little incidents that the 

 child can observe, usually arouse his interest sooner than the less animated 

 plants and trees, and when once his interest in nature is active, he is easily led 

 into other channels. The very difficulties which beset the study of birds only 

 stimulate the red-blooded youth to greater endeavor, so that he frequently 

 outstrips his teacher. Of course, it is not necessary that a teacher know a 

 great deal about birds before encouraging his students to begin to study 

 them, but if he does have a good knowledge of the fundamentals, it eases his 

 mind and he is able to direct his pupils in their further study. At present 

 there are comparatively few teachers who have more than a passing acquaint- 

 ance with a few birds, and it is for this reason that this number of the 

 School Department is devoted to a consideration of summer bird-study. 



The day is approaching when every large school will have its nature-study 

 teacher, and every city its natural-history director. In some of the larger 

 cities this policy has already been adopted, but its rapid expansion is limited 

 by the scarcity of teachers who are equipped to take up the work. The advis- 

 ability of having a teacher in every school who can devote his entire attention 

 to this type of work has never been questioned, but it is quite another matter 

 to find the teacher who is prepared to do it. 



Of recent years it has become more and more the custom of teachers to 

 spend y^art of their summer vacation in study at some college or normal sum- 

 mer school where they either 'brush up' on subjects which they are already 

 leaching or prepare to teach others. The boards of education of some cities, 

 recognizing the value of such training, provide scholarships to their best 

 teachers so that they can attend these summer schools. Realizing that man\- 

 of Bird-Lore's readers are teachers who may be planning to spend a part of 

 ne.xt summer in study, the Editor of the School Dei)artment thought they 

 might like to know where they can find instruction in the study of birds. 

 Accordingly he addressed the directors of about fifty of the leading summer 

 schools, asking for short announcements of any courses in ornitiiology or bird- 



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