22 THE NATURE STUDY COURSE. 



Nature Study on the Time-Table. — To give Nature 



Study a place on the time-table happily presents no serious 

 difficulty, although at first it may be confronted with the 

 objection that the time-table is already overcrowded. The 

 alleged overcrowding is probably less real than imaginary, and 

 if real is remediable. Dr. J. M. Rice's thousands of tests 

 show that spelling, for example, is as good in schools devoting 

 only fifteen minutes as in those devoting forty minutes a day 

 to it. He holds that his data prove conclusively that satis- 

 factory and, indeed, excellent results in spelling, writing, 

 language, and arithmetic may be obtained though the time 

 devoted to them does not exceed half of the school-day. But 

 Nature Study can be given a place without appreciably 

 reducing the time allowed to the other subjects. As has been 

 pointed out, much of the geography and nearly all the physi- 

 ology and agriculture can be taught as Nature Study. Much 

 of the so-called • busy-work,' given in the primary classes, may 

 be better described as marking time than as marching on. 

 Here is opportunity for nature work. In arithmetic, and 

 even in history, opportunities will occur to teach lessons by the 

 Nature Study method. Much of the observing and some of 

 the recording will necessarily be done out of school hours. 

 Then the expressive and constructive parts of all the nature 

 lessons afford excellent subjects for composition, drawing, color 

 and form work. 



If phenologies and weather phenomena are tabulated on the 

 blackboard or on charts, they may be recorded in the first 

 minute or two after opening, for the other regular nature 

 work begin with the last five minutes before noon. As 

 interest increases and topics multiply resist the tendency to 

 encroach on the dinner hour by beginning earlier and earlier 

 until 11.30 is reached. Lessons in the school -garden, and 

 occasional visits to farms or streams, may justify further modi- 

 fications of the time-table. A considerable portion of the 



