W^t ^ububon Societies 



SCHOOL DEPARTMENT 



Edited by ALICE HALL WALTER 



Address all communications relative to the work of this depart- 

 ment to the Editor, at 53 Arlington Avenue, Providence, R. I. 



HOW TO REACH TEACHERS AND PUPILS 



A considerable number of our State Audubon Societies have worked out 

 this problem in various practical ways; but since, from time to time, evidences 

 come to this Department that the teachers and pupils of public schools are not 

 in touch with the Audubon Societies of their particular states, it may not be 

 out of place to suggest ways of promoting a closer relationship between them, 

 at the risk of repeating what has previously been said on this subject. 



To the novice, it might seem quite an easy task for any Audubon Society to 

 reach all of the public as well as private schools of a single state, without undue 

 expenditure of time or expense. It might also seem easy to such a person for 

 every teacher of elementary grades to include some form of bird- or nature- 

 study in the curriculum without great effort or thought. The experienced 

 observer, however, knows that such points of view are oversanguine, and, at 

 the present time, have their counterpart not in practice but in imagination. 

 True, this ideal is exactly the one we all hope to see come to pass, but fitting 

 the realities of any situation to an ideal, it goes without saying, "comes hard." 



The difficulties of this particular situation are several. First: Not all 

 Boards of Education favor the introduction of bird- and nature-study into our 

 public schools or the assistance of any outside society, however worthy or 

 well directed its work may be. 



Second: Teachers are not equally well fitted, either by training, environ- 

 ment or by special aptitude, to take up nature-study successfully. 



Third: The resources of the different State Audubon Societies are not 

 uniform, and seldom are adequate to the demand made upon them. 



The one really favorable and universally acknowledged condition in support 

 of bird- and nature-study is that the children are eager for it, and a further 

 argument might be added by stating a truth not always taken into consider- 

 ation, namely, that some pupils are reached through this study who cannot 

 be aroused to interest themselves in any other kind of prescribed work. 



Admitting the difficulties which must be met at the start, is it not however, 

 more than worth while to bring teachers and pupils everywhere into touch 

 with a study so attractive, valuable, and full of possibilities as nature-study 

 has been proven to be? 



Audubon Societies that are going into this matter most efficiently are 

 sending a paid worker or supervisor of nature-study throughout their states 



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