THE PRINCIPLES OF NATURE STUDY 53 



Although individual work is spoken of in contrast with 

 general exercises, this need not necessarily mean each 

 pupil working alone. In fact, it is often a great advantage 

 to break the class up into groups of two or three in the con- 

 duct of observations and experiments. A companion or 

 two in work is a great stimulus to effort, to interest, to 

 exactness. A pupil working alone may be careless, in- 

 exact, or even untruthful; but two or three working to- 

 gether will be almost sure to bring in honest results.. Even 

 in the primary grades this group system appears to be 

 desirable in the garden work. Such separation into groups 

 also often arouses a desirable spirit of competition. It is 

 interesting and instructive to see and hear one of these 

 groups properly at work. The observation by one pair of 

 sharp young eyes is checked or supplemented by the ob- 

 servation of another pair equally sharp; then the discussion 

 comes; then repeated observation is made to settle dispute; 

 and finally the conclusion is reached. This working over 

 of the problem before the result is presented gives admir- 

 able results. 



Unprejudiced Observation. — The danger which lies in 

 the teacher's telling too much, and the difficulty in avoid- 

 ing this without telling too little have been mentioned. 

 But the telling too much is perhaps the more serious fault, 

 for it leaves no effort for the pupil, while telling too little 

 leaves the effort, even if it results in no very definite obser- 

 vation. 



Children in school are remarkably docile, and if told to 

 see a thing, the majority of them will confess to seeing it. 

 In the preceding chapter reference was made to a trouble- 

 some boy who would not see the two coats of a seed which 



