CHAPTER XIII 1 



GEOGRAPHY 



Geography has been defined as the study of the earth and 

 man's relation to it, but that which holds the attention of 

 the student is rather, as is claimed by Dr. Charles A. Mc- 

 Murry, " the interaction between man and earth." The 

 pupil should know more than the location of places and the 

 boundaries of countries, he should also have some concep- 

 tion of his own social relation to the various parts of the 

 world. This requires that he must first gain a knowledge 

 of his own country, its institutions, industries, products, 

 physical features, climatic conditions, and its commercial 

 relations with other countries, for the value of the knowl- 

 edge itself and as an illustrative basis for the comprehen- 

 sion of conditions in other parts of the world. The pupil 

 gains this knowledge just in proportion as it arouses his 

 interest and is grasped by his understanding. The normal 

 child is blessed with curiosity; a keen desire to know; an 

 intense interest in natural phenomena, in his neighbors, in 

 industries, in commerce, in government. The satisfaction 

 of this curiosity is the keynote to success in education. 

 Only when the world is made unreal and foreign to the 

 child does he lose touch with it. 



Geography may be divided into physical and social stud- 

 ies. Under the former are grouped those conditions with 



1 Much of the subject matter of this chapter has been furnished 

 by Mr. S. H. Cohn of the Stockton schools. 



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