i8o THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [i, 5, sept. 1905 



Geography and Nature- Study 



Geography, as we have seen, should begin with facts open to 

 observation in the home district, and the pupils when thoroughly 

 grounded in the meaning of the relations existing there are then 

 prepared to extend their studies intelligently over the world. 



One of the first principles of nature-study is that it shall deal 

 with facts open to the personal experience of the pupils, and 

 these are necessarily bound up with his home surroundings. 

 Geography and nature-study then, in the earlier years of school 

 life, deal from the same standpoint with practically the same 

 materials. For the first three years, at least, we cannot differen- 

 tiate them in practice. Possibly in the fourth year it may be best 

 to do so, although even here both subjects continue to deal with 

 the home, but from somewhat different standpoints. 



There appears to be a deeply rooted tendency, in planning 

 courses of study for the elementary school, to separate closely 

 related facts in order to make them fit into our artificial systems. 

 The child sees things as wholes and understands much better if 

 related facts are presented in their natural associations. 



Another mistake constantly made is to expect too much of young 

 children in the way of forming ideas and mental images of what 

 is outside of their experience. How can we expect them to com- 

 prehend world relations, or to make other than parrot-like re- 

 sponses before they understand the meaning of similar relations 

 in the little world about them. The fifth year is certainly early 

 enough to begin the formal study of the earth as a whole, al- 

 though this is far from implying that all reference to the world 

 as a whole be omitted up to this point. Through nature-myths, 

 folk-tales, stories of children and life in other lands the pupils 

 will imbibe incidentally general notions which will form a setting 

 for the more advanced work when they are advanced sufficiently 

 to take it up. Even after general geography has been begun the 

 home must still continue to be the datum mark to which the 

 pupils will constantly refer for comparison what they are attempt- 

 ing to learn about similar relations elsewhere. 



This undifferentiated work of the first four years, through 

 which the pupils come to understand their surroundings, we may 

 call either home geography or nature-study, preferably the latter, 

 for it conveys a wider and more generalized meaning. It would 

 be better still if we had a comprehensive term similar to the Ger- 



