THE IMPROVEMENT OF GEOGRAPHICAL TEACHING 



BY 

 PROFESSOR WILLIAM MORRIS DAVIS 



{Presented before (he Society February 3, 1893) 



The improvements needed in teaching geography in our schools 

 involve a fuller investigation of the facts of the subject, a better 

 knowledge of these facts by teachers, and a more skilful use of 

 them in the processes of teaching. As a society, we are less 

 concerned with the last two necessities than with the first, but I 

 may briefly state my belief that skilful teacliing goes along 

 closely with fullness of knowledge. The third need will therefore 

 be largely cared for when the second is supplied ; but fullness of 

 knowledge cannot be expected of a teacher while her under- 

 standing of the geographical features of the world and of our own 

 country and of the home state in particular is gained only from 

 the impoverished statements of the ordinary text-books, and 

 while the original sources in which she may seek additional 

 information are generally so few, so inaccessible, and so far beloAV 

 the standards of modern geographical research. It might truly 

 be said that even if better sources of information were within 

 reach little use could be made of them ; for Ave must recognize 

 the great difficulties under Avhich the teachers in our public 

 schools labor: the variety of subjects that they have to teach, 

 the overlarge number of scholars in their classes, the restrictions 

 that tend to smother their individuality, the fatigue following 

 many tiresome duties, the smallness of salary by which freedom 

 of action toAvard large opportunities is hampered. Would that 

 some means of overcoming these difficulties might be devised ! 

 But at present it does not seem so practical to turn our action 

 as a society in this direction as to look to remedying the funda- 

 mental need — the need of a fuller investigation of the facts. 



It may not be generally recognized by our members that there 

 is still great need of exploration close at home. It is not only 

 in the further corners of the world that discoveries are to be 



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