trafton] outline OF NATURE-STUDY 



97 



Social Aim — During recent years the social aim of education 

 has been strongly emphasized, and properly so. Man above all 

 other forms of creation is a social being. As modem improvements 

 and increase in population bring people closer together both poten- 

 tially and actually, and make them more dependent upon each 

 other, the duties that one owes to his fellows become of increasing 

 importance. Cooperation, not competition, is the watchword of 

 our advance today in all phases of activity, pohtical, rehgious, and 

 industrial, as well as educational. 



Nature-study has many opportunities to teach children how they 

 may best perform their social duties and cooperate with others to 

 promote the best welfare of all. 



Some forms of wild life, such as birds and forests, are of great 

 value to the entire country and should be protected and preserved. 

 During the years past the true value of birds and forests has not 

 been appreciated and these natural resources have been squandered 

 even to the point of extinction of some species, of which the passen- 

 ger pigeon is a recent example. We may teach our boys and girls 

 that preservation of birds and forests is one of the duties of citizen- 

 ship, and that for this cooperation is necessary. 



Thousands of people are killed every year thru the agency of the 

 fly and mosquito in carrying diseases, and yet practically all these 

 deaths are needless, because by proper cooperation the citizens of 

 any town can control these pests. The work in nature-study may 

 well be the means thru which such an interest may be aroused in 

 both children and parents, that efforts may be made which will 

 lead to a fiyless and mosquitoless town. 



The social aim may find its beginnings in the intermediate grades 

 as soon as the age of the children enables them to appreciate some 

 of its phases, and should be the dominant aim in the grammar 

 grades. 



Hygienic Aim — The need of a healthful body as the basis for all 

 activities of life is self-evident, as is also the need of teaching boys 

 and girls how to keep their bodies healthy. But unfortunately, 

 the practical working out of the teaching of physiology in the 

 schools seems to have been unsuccessful. There is a tendency now 

 to include physiology and hygiene as a part of nature-study. This 

 is an excellent plan, and the teaching of hygiene has been incor- 

 porated in these outlines. There are many opportunities to teach 

 hygiene in connection with nature-study topics. The writer 



