THE MISSION OF NATURE STUDY 21 



haps it is asking too much at present to permit it to do 

 more, for the pressure of work that seems more necessary 

 to living is very great, but it must be given an opportunity 

 to keep alive the powers of observation and of questioning. 

 If this is not done, the door is closed upon one half of life, 

 and later in education and later in life the pupil is found 

 to have been robbed of both opportunity and enjoyment; 

 the one-sided beginning continues its distorted develop- 

 ment to the end. If this statement of purpose be sound, 

 the methods of nature study are to be judged by their 

 success in fulfilling it. 



Additional Benefits. In view of the rather modest claim 

 for attention made in the preceding paragraph, the pre- 

 diction may be ventured that when really tried nature 

 study will be found perhaps more important in the prepara- 

 tion for living than some of the work now consuming a 

 large amount of time in the grades. It is not a question 

 of contrasting its educative value with that of other sub- 

 jects, for they all are able to show good reason for their 

 present place in the curriculum, and it has a stronger claim 

 to place than could be established by any such process 

 alone. But presently it comes to a choice among values, 

 and we believe that nature study will not be found among 

 the rejected values. It is too fundamental in its processes 

 and too far reaching in its results to stay among the in- 

 cidentals of elementary education. At present, however, 

 it must demonstrate its value as compared with the ac- 

 cepted values, and must be content with only such an 

 amount of time as will make the test a fair one. 



The Test of Interest. It is evident that the test of suc- 

 cessful nature study is interest, shown by the child who is 



