6o 



The National Geographic Magazine 



fact. For example, the trade winds are 

 described as parts of physical geography, 

 and later, when their influence on rain- 

 fall or desert might be shown to explain 

 striking features of geography, there is 

 no such application made, and the pupil 

 is allowed to go away with the knowl- 

 edge of two sets of facts without any 

 hint 'as to their connection. Glacial de- 

 posits are described, but little or no use 

 of them is made in explaining industrial 

 development in glaciated regions, etc. 



THE ELEMENT OF INTEREST 



The well -matured plan proposed 

 should provide for the element of in- 

 terest. By this it is not meant to make 

 the course easy, nor to go outside for 

 material just because it is interesting. 

 There seems to . be a feeling in some 

 quarters that it is undignified and un- 

 desirable to provide for interest; but 

 there could be no greater mistake than 

 this. Where interest is not aroused, 

 work becomes tedious, the mind readily 

 tires of the task, and soon such a dislike 

 for the subject is created that nothing 

 is done except that which is required, 

 and even this is done with little result. 

 It was only yesterday that a young girl 

 said to me, "I hate geography. I passed 

 the regents' examination in it and now 

 I am going to forget it just as fast as I 

 can." This view is far too common, 

 and it is not the child who is to blame for 

 it; nor is it geography, but the method 

 of teaching, which has failed in the fun- 

 damentally important point of arousing 

 and maintaining interest. 



Some try to provide interest by read- 

 ing to the class, or by telling stories of 

 school children in other lands, or of can- 

 nibal feasts, etc. The attempt is laud- 

 able, but the method is trivial and totally 

 unnecessary. Interest can be provided 

 without departing one step from a well- 

 defined plan of scientific presentation, 

 as I shall attempt to point out below. 

 Once interest is aroused, the amount of 



work which it is possible to expect from 

 the children increases many fold. It is 

 the same as in more mature men, who, 

 w r hen interested in their life work, are 

 able to work hard and with effect, while 

 if not interested, their life is very apt 

 to be a partial or complete failure. If 

 the geography student has an interest 

 in his work he will not merely learn his 

 lessons well and remember what he has 

 learned, but he will also be eager to 

 learn more by reading and inquiry. 

 These facts seem to me so evident that 

 I would hesitate to dwell upon them 

 so long if it were not that, strangely 

 enough, there are those who do not 

 seem to grasp the point. 



Let me insist that the arousing of 

 interest does not mean that the work 

 be made eas3 r . It becomes easy because 

 of the interest ; but with interest the 

 child is even ready to learn ihe list of 

 all the capes of Asia if the teacher sets 

 it as a task. Memorizing, observation, 

 reasoning, inquir}' — all these are stimu- 

 lated by the interest ; and the benefits 

 derived from the study, instead of be- 

 ing lessened by reason of interest, are 

 greatly increased b}- it. 



IMPORTANCE OF HOME GEOGRAPHY 



In order to present the subject in such 

 a way as to provide for a connection 

 between topics and for the develop- 

 ment of interest, and its maintenance, it 

 seems to me that it is necessary to fol- 

 low only a few very simple principles, 

 provided, of course, the "teacher" is 

 a real teacher. In the first place, there 

 should be a proper foundation. To 

 jump right into the wide world with 

 children of eight or nine years is per- 

 fectly absurd, even if the teacher or 

 geography writer may say, ' ' Now, dear 

 children, we will go over hill and moun- 

 tain and sea to see what other dear chil- 

 dren are doing, ' ' etc. They simply are 

 not ready for such a journey, even 

 though it is taken in baby talk. Much 



