ullrich] NATURE STUDY IN WISCONSIN 109 



In the 88 schools from which reports were received, manual 

 training or domestic science or both subjects were much more 

 frequently taught than Nature-Study, 33 schools present either 

 manual training, or domestic science, or both, against 16 schools 

 that give systematic courses in Nature-Study. The number 

 33 is undoubtedly too low because these courses were enumer- 

 ated in responce to the inquiry as to whether or not prevocat- 

 ional courses were offered in the schools. It is probable that 

 some of the city superintendents and village principals do not 

 regard manual training or domestic science as prevocational 

 work. In these courses in which it might be assumed that prep- 

 aration for occupation should be uppermost in the minds of these 

 adminstrators, if anywhere, only 14 out of 33 answers commit- 

 ted the authors unequivocally to that decision. The following 

 quotations are typical of the remaining 19 answers:' 'to enable 

 students to work with their hands," "general training rather 

 than technical, " ' ' theoretical and artistic rather than the scientific, ' ' 

 "only to assist in deciding what to do and to get general limits as 

 how to get there," "furnish such knowledge as will enable the 

 pupil to decide upon line of work to be followed," "these are not 

 really trade courses," The thought of the supervisory staff of 

 the department of education and the selected group of normal 

 school instructors on the aim in prevocational courses in 

 the grades, a cultivation of an appreciation of the theoretical, 

 artistic, and scientific aspects of many trades or preparation 

 for direct preparation in a trade, is set forth in these repres- 

 entative extracts : "In manual training the aim is to teach 

 an intelligent use of the common tools with opportunity for 

 the pupil to determine something of his natural aptitudes. 

 The work should include some study of vocation," "I should 

 say the scientific aspect, as the theory and art of a trade 

 should go with the preparation of the trade proper;',' "It 

 should be cultural mainly. This will be the best training 

 for future vocational study," "Unless theory goes hand in hand 

 with practice there is little value in it. The scientific prin- 

 ciples can be taught most effectively by the inductive method, 

 especially in the elementary school," "The tendency in . . . 

 seems to prepare directly for immediate use, the apprentice idea, 

 to be able to 'deliver goods' as soon as possible, i. e. turn the 

 tricks of the trade. In my opinion this is wrong. Immediate 



