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. 



THE NATURE-STUDY CONFERENCE 



IN THE last issue of Bird-Lore, attention was called to the Nature-Study 

 Conference which the National Association of Audubon Societies proposed 

 to hold at the afternoon session of its annual meeting, especially for the 

 benefit of teachers. This conference took place October 31 at the American 

 Museum of Natural History, New York City. 



The following programme was offered, which, by its timeliness and variety, 

 proved highly suggestive to all present. 



The Practical Basis of Nature-Study, with a Brief Discussion of Effective 



Methods . . . Mrs. Alice Hall Walter*, 53 Arlington Ave., Providence, R. I. 



How the American Museum of Natural History Aids Nature-Study in Greater 



New York . . . Mr. George Sherwood, American Museum, New York City. 



Tested Methods of Teaching Nature Study 



Mrs Anna B. Comstock, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 



A Review of the Work of the State Library Association of Connecticut, 



with Reference to Nature-Study. . Mrs. Belle Holcomb Johnson, Hartford, Conn. 



Nature-Study for the Blind . Mrs. Agnes L. Roesler, Am. Museum, New York City, 



What the Teacher of Bird-Study Should Know 



Mr. J. M. Johnson, Brooklyn, N. Y. 



The opening paper sought to establish the basic relation between nature-study and 

 agriculture, and the ideal status which nature-study should have in the curriculum of 

 our common schools. 



As the logical foundation for high-school and college science, as well as for agri- 

 culture, nature-study is not only practical, but also of great civic importance in the 

 development of the nation's resources and food-supply. It is a study sufficiently import- 

 ant to warrant a place among the required branches of our public school curriculum. 



Some effective methods of taking up nature-study are by correlation with other 

 studies, in limited areas and through a bird-migration bureau. 



There is great need of trained supervisors to assist teachers in carrying out efficiently 

 a well-planned course of work along this line. 



Mr. Sherwood exhibited some of the traveling nature-study collections of the 

 American Museum, demonstrating their usefulness in city schools, and explaining the 

 simple but extremely successful way in which they are circulated throughout Greater 

 New York. 



[♦Addresses are given in order that any persons desiring to make particular inquiries may commu» 

 nicate directly with the speakers.] 



(31s) 



