264 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [16:6— Sept., 1920 



If the child is going to show much interest, it will come out now. 

 When he finds, or sees what he has before heard about, he is making 

 a new discovery. He wants to see if what he heard is true, and 

 he wants to find something that he hasn't seen, or heard about, 

 before. 



(3) Now I come to a point on which some may disagree with 

 me; but nevertheless it works. Tell the child something that 

 is not true, and then see that he, of his own accord proves that it 

 isn't true. If you can show him some mistake in print, and let 

 him find out by his own work that it is a mistake, so much the bet- 

 ter. Of course you can see to it that he finds out and see to it that 

 you do not make any great error in the statement, if your own. 

 Its very interesting for the boy or girl who finds out that teacher 

 made a mistake, or who finds something that teacher could not, 

 but it's not nice for either pupil or teacher if the former decides 

 that the latter "dunno anything, anyhow." That's why I say it's 

 safe to let the pupil find someone else's mistake. 



This is your "piece de resistance." It is your final effort. After 

 this it is easy sailing for you, and for the student. He now has 

 not only found something out for himself, but he has found some 

 thing that someone else did not find, and he feels that he has done 

 something worth while. 



(4) Now you may go on and tell him what is necessary about 

 the relationship of the forms you are helping him study ; how they 

 lived, how they acted as their descendants today act. and how they 

 developed one from another. If you can show a set of Atrypa 

 reticularis Linn., that common Brachiopod of the Silurian and 

 Devonian, and a set of Atrypa hystrix or, Atrypa aspera showing 

 the relation, development and variation, do so. Do not discuss 

 species, discuss orders or families, using species merely as examples 



Your choice of fossils should be of course -regulated by the forma- 

 tion in which you are situated. If you are in a Devonian locality, 

 your specimens will be largely brachiopods, corals, molluscs, 

 sponges, etc., while in Carboniferous you will be limited more to 

 plants or in Tertiary to higher animals. Bring the study as near 

 home as possible. Do not make things far away. 



You will not teach the child to be a paleontologist; it would 

 be impossible. If you get through with section four in a school 

 year you will be accomplishing more than I have ever done. If 

 you get well into section four you will be doing well. The walks 



