detent) UB ON BULL EIN 39 
POSTCARDS 
FOR BIRD LOVERS 
Here is an attractive gift for 
anyone who loves birds. Full-color 
postcards like this one are 
available from the IAS Bookstore. 
Card shown here is half actual 
size. For more information or 
to place an order write to: 
IAS Bookstore, c/o Peter Ding, 
9800 South Willow Springs Road, 
Willow Springs, Illinois 60480. 
The price? You can get 20 mixed 
cards of most of the bird species 
seen around Illinois for only 
$1.30. Order today. 
n Open Letter to the IAS About 
odnservation Education in the Schools 
Raymond Mostek 
1ois Audubon Society 
d Museum of Natural History 
sevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive 
cago, Illinois 60605 
ir Mr. Mostek: 
t is impossible to answer by numbers or 
centages the questions asked in your 
er of January 3 about conservation edu- 
on in our state. We have given the 
or portion of our attention to assisting 
1 school districts in developing a pro- 
m of instruction. We have visited many 
o0!s, consulting with teachers and admin- 
ators and pointing the way toward meet- 
the State requirements. | have published 
article in the Illinois School Board Jour- 
The Elementary Principal, Illinois Edu- 
on, The Journal of the Soil Conservation 
iety of America, and our own Journal of 
ication. We have distributed many thou- 
ds of copies of these publications to 
90! districts and have participated in 
vy workshops and institutes on the local 
/or county level. 
In the school year of 1967-68 there were 
1,315 separate school districts in Illinois. 
There are approximately 100,000 teachers in 
the public schools and there were 2,214,560 
students in the public schools. Of course, 
there were thousands of other teachers and 
students in the private schools. 
When one speaks of conservation it is nec- 
essary to define the term. Some people 
speak in terms of environmental living. 
Others speak in terms of quality environ- 
ment, and some people use other terms. | 
presume, however, that all such groups are 
thinking of the wise use and management 
of our natural resources but they choose to 
make different approaches to the problems. 
Under the School Code of Illinois we are 
mandated to give attention to the study of 
the conservation of soil and water, timber- 
lands, forests, minerals, fish and wildlife, 
scenic and recreational areas, air pollution, 
water pollution, the effects of excessive use 
of pesticides, and wilderness areas. 
| believe that all schools are teaching con- 
servation. In my long experience as a teach- 
er, administrator, and supervisor | have al- 
ways believed that primary teachers were 
