BIOLOGY IN ITS WIDER ASPECTS 1343 



He is asked — What of the indispensable three R's? Are they to 

 be weakened for the sake of History in "Outhne", or of Nature- 

 lore in scrap-gatherings at excursions, or of Health, in your self- 

 conscious juvenile valetudinarianism? The answer is: Let us teach 

 nature-observation first ; for then the visually more developed child 

 has no more trouble with spelling; since the queerer the word the 

 better remembered (say Egypt, Sphinx, crocodile!). Thus interest 

 "explodes", as Montessori says, into reading, often voracious. Keep 

 notes of interest; that is, writing. Use arithmetic in nature and life 

 too; thus all three R's are provided, and at their best. Our method, 

 however, also — and even mainly — aims at the three H's — Hearty 

 interest and sympathy. Hands busy, and skilful; thus from earliest 

 flint-age onwards, it is that man's Head has grown clear, his hands 

 have made him wise. With these three H's assured, by all means 

 some (short-period) drill in reading, writing, and arithmetic; and 

 between (and largely as) the drillings, which should be exercises in 

 concentration, let us indulge in reading aloud, telling stories, singing 

 songs, drawing pictures, playing with Montessorian devices, making 

 things, and enjoying Beauty-Feasts. Other things will be added 

 unto us. 



Yet again are we asked — But what in the way of mental dis- 

 cipline is afforded by your impressionist history, your sciolism of 

 everyday experience, your "How to be healthy and happy" 

 lessons ? The answer is that no one proposed to dispense with mental 

 gymnastics, but we began our discussion b}^ distinguishing between the 

 nutrition of the mind and its stretching. Our essentials so far have 

 mainly to do with the instruction ; though our science, and all its com- 

 panions, too, are ready to offer all manner of mental gymnastics. 



After all the criticisms that may and must be brought forward 

 against such proposals of vital change, we must alike face the facts. 

 We see millions of young people leaving school and thousands 

 leaving college without any grip of the history of their race, without 

 live knowledge of the world in which they are going to live, and 

 without even an elementary realisation of the laws of health and 

 happiness. To the biologist these appear to be radical defects in 

 education. They were not tolerated in tribal days, nor even old 

 rural ones — nor can they be much longer. In wellnigh all the worst 

 schools we have known, there was some good teacher struggling 

 with adversity ; and happily now there are not a few schools in which 

 the better are in majority, and with fresh and free progress in many 

 directions. What we plead for, they are often doing. We seek but 

 to help them, to strengthen their case, as truly progressive, because 

 Life-advancing, Life-enhancing. 



EDUCATION FOR LIFE AND HAPPINESS.— It is not a httle 

 strange, seeing that all education seeks and claims to be "a prepara- 



