PARAGRAPHS FOR THE TEACHER Vll 



a specialist: that effort should be retained for the few 

 who develop a taste for special knowledge. It is often 

 said that the high-school pupil should begin the study 

 of botany with the lowest and simplest forms of life. 

 This is an error. The microscope is not an introduc- 

 tion to nature. It is said that the physiology of plants 

 can be best understood by beginning with the lower 

 forms. This may be true: but technical plant physiol- 

 ogy is not a subject for the beginner. Other subjects 

 are more important. 



The youth is by nature a generalist. He should 

 not be forced to be a specialist. 



A great difficulty in the teaching of botany is to 

 determine what are the most profitable topics for con- 

 sideration. The trouble with much of the teaching is 

 that it attempts to go too far, and the subjects have 

 no connection with the pupil's experience. 



Good botanical teaching for the young is replete 

 with human interest. It is connected with the common 

 associations. 



The teacher often hesitates to teach botany because 

 of lack of technical knowledge of the subject. This 

 is well; but technical knowledge of the subject does 

 not make a good teacher. Expert specialists are so 

 likely to go into mere details and to pursue particu- 

 lar subjects so far, when teaching beginners, as to miss 

 the leading and emphatic points. They are so cogni- 

 zant of exceptions to every rule that they qualify their 

 statements until the statements have no force. There 

 are other ideals than those of mere accuracy. In other 

 words, it is more important that the teacher be a 



