110 MAN ON THE LANDSCAPE 



of knowledge, coming back to start again on new side trips, never 

 able to see very far in any direction, getting biased, restricted notions 

 of the functions of the whole, finally, in a few cases, to settle on one 

 trail with the purpose of exploring it a little further than anyone else 

 ever has, and, not unlikely, to become lost to the world in the process. 

 Why have these students not a map of the whole forest so that they 

 can keep themselves oriented? Why have they not been given an air- 

 plane view of the whole before plunging into its mazes? Could they 

 not follow the trails with greater assurance, and with understanding 

 of what was then seen at close range and in detail! 



The Genesis of a Trend. To whom shall the protest be directed? 

 Naturally, to the source of the trouble, the institutions for teacher 

 training. Must they farm out their embryonic teachers to another 

 college, to be ruined for public school teaching without even an 

 apology ? The question seems to be : Can a basic course in the liberal 

 arts college serve both the potential researcher and the potential pub- 

 lic school teacher? The answer may be yes. It may be possible that 

 such a course, revamped for the teacher, would also be better for the 

 budding specialist. It could give the latter one last look at the world 

 before plunging into his lonesome trail. Whether such would be the 

 result or not, it is time for the college of education to climb up out 

 of the basement of the university and exercise more control over the 

 training of its product, particularly over training for the secondary 

 level. 



The material here presented purports to be, in a condensed form, 

 the type of course content which public school teachers need in the 

 biological field. It is submitted also that, for a liberal arts student 

 taking an elementary course in biological science to broaden his gen- 

 eral learning, this type of information would serve the purpose better 

 than a course designed strictly as a prerequisite to advanced work. 



Such broad courses are coming into increasing demand, partly 

 because of the conservation education movement, which is rapidly 

 gaining momentum. Various attempts are being made to integrate 

 basic sciences and social studies in order to provide teachers with a 

 foundation for teaching conservation. The Ohio Conservation Labora- 

 tory is an outstanding example and prototype. There, the concept 

 is to give in one course a basic survey of plant ecology, animal ecology, 

 geology and soils, nature study, economics, and sociology, ?.s they 

 relate to conservation of natural and human resources. Obviously, this 

 is a big order. Each field is represented by its specialist. Frequent 

 staff meetings are held in an effort to integrate the subject fields. The 

 spirit is willing, and a slow evolutionary progress is being made, but 

 the compartmentalizing specter of specialization hangs over the effort, 

 together with a mild confusion as to just how to relate the subjects to 

 conservation, plus the irritating uncertainty as to what the teacher 

 needs and how he is to use it. Add the time limit of six weeks, and even 

 though all the teacher's time is available, it is little wonder that com- 

 plete success is not easily achieved. 



Additional research efforts are needed, and the type of course here 



