NATURAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



43 



knowledge of the mechanical, 

 handicapped teacher. A teacher 

 bound hand and foot by the grade 

 system. 



If, however, the pupils are so 

 generally unable to acquire more 

 than a superficial knowledge of 

 the sciences and which is rarely 

 used, and therefore usually forgot- 

 ten, it is as much from the follow- 

 ing methods of instruction in vogue 

 as from the forced manner of 

 study. Taking the languages as a 

 comparison; it would not be deem- 

 ed practicable to permit students 

 to elect the study of the French 

 language, who had no knowledge 

 of English grammer. Still, it is 

 not rarely, that scholars are advis- 

 ed to adopt biology, who have not 

 the slightest knowledge of zoology, 

 and it is quite common to see per- 

 sons in a class using a microscope, 

 who do not understand the circul- 

 ation of the blood, or the difference 

 in the teeth of the carnivora and 

 herbivora. This compares favor- 

 ably with a school which was not 

 rare a couple of generations back, 

 where the pupils read the histories 

 of Rome and Greece in the origin- 

 al, and yet knew nothing of the 

 history of their own country. 



One can safely say that of the 

 studies, Botany, Zoology, Physiol- 

 ogy, Astronomy, Philosphy and 

 Chemistry, that generally consti- 

 tute the scientific course of the 

 academy or high school, the aver- 

 age student, cannot at the expira- 

 tion of five years, give the parts of 

 a flower, demonstrate, the circula- 

 tion of the blood, or name the con- 

 stellation in which a planet is vis- 

 iting, or name the planet. Occas- 

 ionally a pupil who is unusually 

 intelligent and an observer, makes 

 his knowledge available, but as a 

 rule, all attempts to improve are 

 stopped as soon as school days 

 end. Often too, and this practice 

 is followed from kindergarten to 

 college, duties are shirked. 



It is a not uncortimon practice 

 in botany classes, where a certain 

 number of identified preserved 

 species of plants are required, for 

 the pupils to copy from one an- 

 other the written classification 

 and nomenclature, in order to les- 

 sen their work. It is frequently 

 very difficult for them to secure 

 the requisite number, thirty to 

 fifty, and many fail, and this at a 

 time when it is easy to secure the 

 number any one day by one fam- 

 iliar with our flora. One season 

 the writer was importuned by sev- 

 eral students from a seminary, to 

 furnish pressed flowers, with ac- 

 companying data and classification. 



A number were supplied, much to 

 the young ladies satisfaction, as 

 thereby the onerous duty was cur- 

 tailed. This was many years ago, 

 and the ludicuous notion occurred 

 to me to enroll several rare spec- 

 ies, with some quite unheard of 

 hereabouts, and others with fan- 

 tastic names which, if submitted 

 to philologists would have caused 

 wonderment. Comment was not 

 forthcoming, and strange to say 

 the students with the remarkable 

 collections passed well. Who can 

 wonder at the lack of interest dis- 

 played by the pupils, when they 

 were instructed by so ignorant a 

 teacher. 



It is quite as often that the 

 teacher is at fault, either from ab- 

 solute inefficiency or from the rules 

 of the system which bind, as that 

 the pupil is to blame. I well re- 

 member how my teacher in zool- 

 ogy spoke of the incisor teeth in a f 

 cow's upper jaw, and numerous 

 other errors. How our teacher in 

 natural philosophy disputed the 

 boys in regard to shooting a candle 

 through a pine board, after we 

 had performed the act. It is 

 hardly complimentary to enumer- 

 ate the errors of our instructors, 

 and we shall not do so further, but 

 the truth remains, that most 

 teachers make mistakes, quickly 

 noticed by the pupils, and this too 

 on subjects wherein they are ex- 

 pected to be, and should be, well 

 informed. Errors which they 

 would never have made had they 

 received proper instruction. 



Not only is it essential, but ab- 

 solutely indispensible to those 

 who are to teach, that the early 

 education should be carefully at- 

 tended to. If the elementary 

 branches are ignored it is hardly 

 probable that one will be permitted 

 to intruct in our schools, even in 

 the simple branches. Yet we are 

 constantlyreminded of the inefficien- 

 cy of certain ones, who are delegate 

 to teach the elementary sciences, 

 and who are as ignorant of their 

 unfortunately selected province, as 

 a child of five is of Greek. All 

 have noticed that the instructors 

 in the sciences are chosen as sec- 

 ond in point of standing to the 

 others; an apparent acknowledg- 

 ment by the school directors that 

 but very slight importance is at- 

 tached to these studies. In fact it 

 is the case that after the regular 

 studies are assigned, it is custom- 

 ary to give the scientific branches 

 to any teachers who still have 

 hours to spare in the school rout- 

 ine. 



As the fanner remarked, who 



had done all that could be accom- 

 plished for his crops, and failed: 

 "I can't make the weather!" Prof- 

 essors would all voice their inmost 

 thoughts if they acknowledged 

 that the power lay in the school- 

 board, and that if the board was 

 properly made, all would be cor- 

 rected. For it is upon that, that 

 the whole matter hinges. 



The love for scientific study will 

 be developed sooner or later in all 

 who are naturally inclined in this 

 direction. But there are many al- 

 so, who need an impetus, if only a 

 few weeks of judicious instruction 

 from a capable, painstaking teach- 

 er, who will gain much pleasure 

 and profit from the pursuit there- 

 after. To those who eventually 

 become teachers, this early instruc- 

 tion is most important. The pre- 

 liminary study is almost sure to 

 lead to further investigation and 

 enlightment, if supervised by an 

 intelligent instructor, one who is 

 really interested in the subject. 

 The fund of knowledge, however 

 small, gained at this time, will 

 prove to be invaluable in later 

 years, and will surely be a peren- 

 nial source of pleasure. 



Twenty-five years ago, or more, 

 the pupils of my age studied a sim- 

 ple but very interesting work, en- 

 titled "The Child's Book of Na- 

 ture," by Dr. W. Hooker, which 

 exactly meets my views as a begin- 

 ning on the subjects embraced. 

 The topics as treated, were hand- 

 led in a manner that indicated a 

 knowledge of child-wants, being 

 presented in a charming yet very 

 simple manner. I am afraid that 

 the worthy little book is no longer 

 employed in our schools, nor do I 

 know of any work of that nature 

 which is used at present. 



Children can not be taught ele- 

 mentary science at too early an 

 age, and the experiments which 

 may be presented to pupils in the 

 kindergarten, are not rarely im- 

 pressed on the eager child-mind 

 with a vividness unequaled by any- 

 thing simply learned from books. 

 The demonstration of the expan- 

 sion of steam, as exemplified by a 

 cork in the spout of the teakettle, 

 is far more lasting than book de- 

 scription. The action of heat or 

 rarification of air, in the experi- 

 ment with an inverted teacup con- 

 taining burning paper placed in a 

 saucer of water, does more towards 

 inducing investigation than read- 

 ing from a natural philosophy can 

 possibly do. In the botany 

 class, a single trip in woods 

 and fields with a competent teach- 

 er, will accomplish more than the 



