162 Second Conference 



palm-trees and banyan -groves. No, the observant 

 teacher has no need to go in for sensationalism, he 

 will know something of the wonder and beauty of a 

 blade of grass or a common caterpillar. How little 

 hope there is for our nature teaching until we rely less 

 on books and turn more to nature! If we wish to do 

 our work successfully, we must become observers ; 

 there is really no other way nothing will do instead. 



But the average teacher, who is very busy with 

 other school-work, and who has had no special train- 

 ing in nature-study, is not naturally a good observer, 

 and knows very little of nature and her ways. Yet 

 the command has gone forth: "These nature-lessons 

 must be given!" and so another subject is demanded 

 of the already hard-pressed elementary teacher a 

 subject the real, living knowledge of which can only 

 be gained by direct observation. One would think 

 that, if the teacher is suddenly asked to give these 

 lessons, some help would be provided in the prepara- 

 tion of them. But I think it is fair to say that, to the 

 great majority of teachers, absolutely no real help is 

 given ; they are simply requested to make bricks 

 without straw, and one is amazed at the courage with 

 which they set to work to do it. No wonder, then, 

 that careful observation and simple experiment play 

 all too small a part even in the lessons of those who 

 are really interested in Nature-study. No wonder we 

 still mistake the skeleton of dry bones for the living 

 thing. No wonder that tabulation and technical terms 

 are still held in high reverence, and that to have a 

 collection is too often considered the chief end of 

 Nature-study. 



How can things be improved? How is the teacher 



