36 THE NATURE-STUDY IDEA 



should say that by nature-study a good teacher 

 means such study of the natural world as leads to 

 sympathy with it. The keynote, in my opinion, 

 for all nature-study is sympathy. Such study in 

 the schools is not botany ; it is not zoology ; 

 although, of course, not contravening either. But 

 by nature-study we mean such a presentation, to 

 young people, of the outside world that our 

 children learn to love all nature's forms and cease 

 to abuse them. The study of natural science 

 leads, to be sure, to these results, but its methods 

 are long and have a different primary object." 



