28 THE NATURE-STUDY IDEA 



living things. The world has a new meaning 

 when this fact is understood. This is the key- 

 that unlocks many mysteries, and it is the means 

 of establishing a bond of sympathy between our- 

 selves and the world in which we live. 



It is a common mistake to attempt to teach too 

 much at every exercise ; and the teacher is also 

 appalled at the amount of information which he 

 must have. Suppose that one teaches two hun- 

 dred and fifty days in the year. Start out with 

 the determination to drop into the pupils' minds 

 two hundred and fifty suggestions about nature. 

 One suggestion is sufficient for a day. Let them 

 think about it and ponder over it. We stuff our 

 children so full of facts that they cannot digest 

 them. I should prefer ten minutes a day of 

 nature-study to two hours ; but I should want it 

 quick and sharp. I should want it designed to 

 develop the observing and reasoning powers of the 

 child and not to give mere information. It 

 should be vivid and spontaneous. Spirit counts 

 for more than knowledge. 



Taught in this way, nature-study work is not an 

 additional burden to the teacher, but a relief and 

 a relaxation. It may come at the opening of the 

 school hour, or at the close of a hard period, or 

 at any other time when an opportunity offers. It 

 can often be combined with the regular studies of 

 the school, and in that way it can be introduced 

 in places where it would otherwise meet with 

 objection. For example, the subject-matter of the 

 lesson may be used for the exercise in drawing or 



