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 OPPORTUNITY OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETY 



Note. — At the request of the Assistant Superintendent of Schools of New York 

 City, whose able and comprehensive address on 'Nature-Study in the Schools' formed 

 the basis of the discussion of this important subject at the afternoon session of the annual 

 meeting of the National Association of Audubon Societies, October 29, and, with the 

 approval of those present, the following excerpt from a paper presented on this occasion 

 by the writer is offered for the consideration of all State and affiliated Audubon Socie- 

 ties. It is hoped that frank and detailed replies to the subjoined questions will be 

 received from all who are interested in furthering bird- and nature-study, either through 

 the Audubon Society or by other means. 



1. Does your State Audubon Society know how much and what kind of nature- 

 study is being introduced into the schools of your state? 



2. Is there a supervisor of nature-study in your state, or in any single town or city? 



3. Do teachers welcome assistance in this kind of work, and, if so, have you found 

 out in just what ways it is possible and practicable to offer them assistance? 



4. Do you know what teachers' conventions are held each year in your state, and 

 elsewhere, at large, and are you doing anything to further the interests of nature-study 

 in connection with such educational gatherings? 



5. Have you ever tried to arrange what you consider an ideal traveling-collection 

 of nature-study material, or have you ever held a nature-study exhibit, with demon- 

 strations of the material exhibited? 



6. Have you investigated the libraries of your state, to see what is available there 

 in the way of nature-study literature and picture collections, and loans of the same? 



7. Is your State Society keeping up with the work done by other State Societies? 



8. Does it exchange leaflets, charts, programs of meetings, and ideas with any 

 society or with anyone? 



9. Does it send a representative to the annual meeting of the National Association 

 of Audubon Societies, in order to keep in touch with the work of that organization and 

 to get new ideas, or, to the annual meeting of the American Ornithological Union? 



10. Have you yet investigated the possibilities for successful nature-study field- 

 trips in different sections of your state, or in particular localities? Can you offer teachers 

 a list of limited areas suitable for special observations, or show them how to work up 

 the natural history of any single limited area? 



11. Have you tried starting bird-reservations on a small scale, and, if so, are they a 

 success? What are the difficulties in establishing and managing them? 



12. Is your Society getting out a helpful leaflet, chart, calendar or bulletin, at least 

 once a year, for its members and for exchange with other Societies? 



13. Is it working for new members simply to get membership fees to replenish its 

 treasury, or is it really trying to get people to study birds and nature in the spirit of 

 Gilbert White and Thoreau, for the love and joy of it? 



14. What seems to you the most important work for Audubon Societies to do in 



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