FOURTH CONFERENCE, 



Thursday, July 31 



Chairman: SIR GEORGE KEKEWICH, K.C.B., 

 Secretary to the Board of Education. 



Sir George Kekewich said: — We are met to- 

 day to hear and to discuss some papers which will 

 be read by experts in the subject which we have 

 under consideration. It is one which is just now 

 specially interesting to the educational world, for it is, 

 in a certain sense, a new development of our educa- 

 tional curriculum, though, in another, it is as old as 

 humanity itself, which depends for its very existence 

 upon the knowledge of natural processes. The study 

 of Nature is of the essence of all true education, and 

 it is somewhat remarkable, and not perhaps creditable 

 to our common sense, that we should not have fully 

 realized this until the twentieth century. 



As it is, we owe this exhibition, which shows by 

 ocular demonstration how the subject can be effec- 

 tively taught — we owe this exhibition to the energy 

 and enthusiasm of a few persons — and only a few — 

 who have realized the importance of including Nature- 

 study in the curriculum of our schools. We are 

 greatly indebted to Mr. Medd, who has given a very 

 large portion of his valuable time to the work, and 

 who has been the life and soul of the undertaking, and 

 to Sir John Cockburn, whose good work as regards 

 education we all know so well. 



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