BIGELOW] SCIENCE, NATURE-STUDY AND BIOLOGY 245 



water.) Exp. 6 — Half fill a small bottle with water and then gently 

 pour in alcohol until the bottle is full. Cork and shake. Why is 

 the bottle not full after the water and alcohol are mixed ? (Alcohol 

 niolecules occupy spaces between those of water.) "We may now 

 understand that there are spaces between the molecules of all kinds 

 of matter." [Here endeth the first lesson in this introduction to 

 science by imitating fully-developed science.] 



This is a clear case of introduction to science on the basis of 

 organized science. It is starting the children at the high- water 

 mark of nineteenth century science. I have selected, I admit, an 

 extreme example of a science lesson; but the spirit of this lesson 

 on atoms and molecules runs through most of the published books 

 and outlines for courses in "general science." With few excep- 

 tions, they attempt to teach the principles of the several sciences 

 dispensed in diluted doses adapted to young children. This 

 tendency is marked even in certain books which contain excellent 

 selections of practical facts of general interest. Thus in one of the 

 most recent books we find in black headings such topics as the 

 following: Molecular theory applied to air, heat and molecular 

 movement, atomic theory, photosynthesis, potential and kinetic 

 energy, and other such extracts from science text-books. 



All such imitations of the standard science books are undesirable 

 for introduction to science for several reasons : (i) they have little 

 meaning to the pupils of the years for which "general science" is 

 advocated; (2) they take time and attention from the simple 

 practical problems that the regular science books have never 

 treated adequately; (3) the fundamental principles of the sciences 

 (e. g. atomic theory, molecular movement, evolution) are not 

 necessary for teaching introduction to science; (4) it is desirable 

 that introduction to science should be made quite unlike the formal 

 sciences. 



The last point deserves some amplification. There is doubtful 

 value in copying from the regular science courses and there is a 

 disadvantage in that brief attention to selected topics tends to give 

 pupils the know-it-all attitude which will interfere with further 

 study of sciences. If "general science" is to be a concentrated 

 course that in one year makes high school courses of biology, 

 geography, physics and chemistry unattractive, then its failure 

 is devoutly to be wished by all who want more science in education . 

 Perhaps all educators do not want more science, and it should be 



