4 The Nature-Study Idea 



this very touch with the common schools, not 

 their eminent scientific achievements, that gives 

 them this competency; and some of the answers 

 referred to above are good definitions from the 

 child-teacher's point of view. 



To be sure, the term nature-study etymologi- 

 cally implies only the study of nature; and 

 "nature" is conventionally understood to mean 

 the world of outdoor objects and phenomena. 

 But all words and terms mean less or more 

 than their mere etymology would imply, and 

 this meaning is determined by usage. So usage 

 has determined a definite office for the name 

 nature-study: it designates the movement origi- 

 nating in the common schools to open the 

 pupil's mind by direct observation to a knowl- 

 edge and love of the common things and 

 experiences in the child's life and environment. 

 It is a pedagogical term, not a scientific term. 



Nature-study is not synonymous with the old 

 term "natural history," nor with "biology," nor 

 with "elementary science." It is not "popular 

 science." It is not the study of nature merely. 

 Nature may be studied with either of two 



