24 THE NATURE-STUDY IDEA 



It is a sound pedagogical principle that the child 

 should not be taught those things that are neces- 

 sarily foreign to the sphere of its life and experi- 

 ences. It should not have mere dilutions of 

 science. The young child cannot understand 

 cross-fertilization of flowers, and should not be 

 taught the subject. The subject is beyond the 

 child's realm. When we teach it, we are only 

 translating what grown-up investigators have dis- 

 covered by means of faithful search. At best, it 

 will only be an exotic thing to the child. Pollen 

 and stamens are not near and dear to the child. 



There are three factors in the teaching of nature- 

 study : 



( 1 ) The fact, 



(2) The reason for the fact, 



(3) The interrogation left in the mind of the 

 pupil. 



It is impossible to find a natural history object 

 from which these three factors cannot be drawn, 

 for every object is a fact and every fact has a cause, 

 and children may be interested in both the fact 

 and the cause. It may be better, of course, to 

 choose definite subjects, taking pains, at least at 

 first, to select those having emphatic characters. 

 But even in the dullest days of winter sufficient 

 material may be found to keep the interest aflame. 

 A twig or branch may be at hand. There should 

 be enough specimens to supply each child. Let 

 the teacher ask the pupils what they see. The 

 replies will discover the first factor in the teach- 

 ing — the fact. However, not every fact is signi- 



%Tstci^ Come 



