SHALL FORESTRY BE TAUGHT IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS? 



105 



receive their intellectual training and that their sympa- 

 thies are aroused for the vocations and professions which 

 later give them opportunities for usefulness, latnr and 

 prosperity. Public opinion of tomorrow has its roots in 

 the secondary schools of today. The industrial develop- 

 ment of tomorrow lies cradled in the public schools of 

 today. What we as a nation will do and be tomorrow, 

 what our thoughts and actions will be, is now being 

 wrought by the public schools of the country into a great 

 human foundation. The boys and girls of the country 

 are the rough 

 blocks of granite 

 and marble that 

 the primary and 

 grammar schools 

 are hewing into 

 form that they 

 may better fit 

 into that great 

 structure which 

 we term "hu- 

 man society." 



If a knowlege 

 of forests and 

 forestry is de- 

 sirable, that 

 knowledge must 

 be cradled in 

 our public 

 schools. If it is 

 to reach fai 

 enough and wide 

 enough to pro- 

 f o u n dly influ- 

 ence the public 

 opinion of to- 

 morrow, it must 

 be a part of the 

 e d u c a t i o nal 

 f o u n dation of 

 t h e multitude^ 

 in the public 

 schools of today. 

 If forest conser- 

 vation is desira- 

 ble, the meaning 

 of the forest 

 and its service 

 to mankind must 

 become a part 

 of the educational equipment provided by the public 

 schools. Millions of children pass through the public 

 schools, while only thousands complete the work of the 

 higher institutions of learning. The public school is the 

 great citizenship factory of the nation, where human in- 

 tellects in the plastic state are molded and shaped for 

 greater achievements. 



If we accept the general proposition that forestry 

 should be more extensively introduced into our public 



STUDY IN THE WOODS 



These are Normal School students busily and happily engaged studying forest growth at their camp on 

 the Potomac River, near Washington, D. C. This is a most essential phase of the work, for the proper 

 place to study trees is in the "machine shop" of the woods themselves. 



schools, and especially in forested regions or where the 

 forest provides the chief or important industries, you 

 will ask, how can it be introduced and how much time 

 should be given to it? The time should depend largely 

 upon the location of the school and to what extent the 

 pupils of the particular locality will in later life be iden- 

 tified with the production and utilization of forest pro- 

 ducts. 



Although forestry should have a more or less promi- 

 nent place in public school training, it is my belief that 



in the lower 

 grades it can 

 best be taught 

 in con nection 

 with other sub- 

 jects. In the 

 primary grades, 

 it should be 

 taught as a part 

 of nature study, 

 as is already be- 

 coming the prac- 

 tice in some 

 parts of the 

 country. In the 

 gram m a r 

 grades, it should 

 be taught in 

 field excursions 

 and in connec 

 tion with courses 

 in g e o g raphy, 

 civil government 

 and United 

 States history. 



Field excur- 

 sions conducted 

 for students in 

 the primary and 

 grammar school 

 grades can be 

 made to provide 

 sup erior intel- 

 lectual discipline 

 and cultivate a 

 d e s i rable atti- 

 tude toward 

 plant life in gen- 

 eral, which later 

 on inclines the 

 student toward the further study of plants and finally 

 leads him to apply this knowledge in agricultural or for- 

 estry pursuits. 



Field excursions for young students are most produc- 

 tive of results when classes do not exceed 10 or 15 stu- 

 dents under a single instructor. The course should be 

 definitely organized and as specific in the material used 

 as a basis for the instruction as a course in the class- 

 room. Field excursions without definite aim and un- 



