Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1859-04-26
THE STUDY OF NATURE.
PROFESSOR AGAssrz's LECTURE.

Ladies and Gentlemen Il have been inyit-
ed to address you this evening upon the sub
ject Of an Early study of Nature as a means of
developing the faculties Of the young, ana of
| leading them to a knowledge of the Creator. l
wish awaken In you the conviction that the
knowledge of nature in our days is at the very
foundation of the prosperity of States +; that the
study of the phenomena of nature are among
the most potent means of developing the human
faculties aud that these accounts it is high
| ly important that branch of education should be
introduced In our schools as soon as practical
BILE.
To satisfy you how important the study of
nature is to the community at large l need on
ly allude to the manner in which, in modern
| times man has learned to control the forces Of
| nature and to work up the materials which our
earth produces The evidence Of the import
ance of that knowledge fo- the welfare of man,
| is every where open before and tina. there Is
hardly any tra,a,ng better qualified to develop
the highest faculties of man. can i allude to a
| better evidence than to that venerable old man
Humboldt. who Is the embodiment of the most
extensive human knowledge in our days, and
who has acquired that position, and who has
become an object of reverence throughout the
world. merely by his devotion to the study of
| nature (Applause.) If that be true, then,
that knowledge Of nature is so important for
| the welfare of States, and can train men to such
a high position among men by the development
of their best faculties how desirable that such
a study should form part of all education
And l trust that the time when it will be intro
duced in our schools will only be SO far remote
as is necessary for the preparation of teachers
capable of imparting that instruction III the most
| elementary form.
| We have a system of education which is the
admiration Of the world. Our school system
has been developed in a manner which has pro-
duced the most ad inirable results, and IS imita-
| ted everywhere as the most complete and the
most successful but while we in that res
pect in such an enviable position, there is In
| that very position danger for US, that, while
enjoying the benefits of the advantages which
this school system furnishes to US, we may over
| look the Improvements of which 1t Is capable
And while others, perceiving what additional
means of education may be brought TO bear up
on the development of the young, may lncorpor-
ate in their system what Is not yet In ours we.
too confident in what we have We have already
attained. may miss the opportunity of doing II
| ourselves in due time. And yet, l ask, where
can that be done more effectually than where
there is already much done for public educa-
! ton. While we have attained the highest point
| in that respect also best prepared by
that very position to make any further improve
ment, to take any further step, which may lead
| to a better future l say, the more one has the
greater the responsibility, and because our gem
eral system of education is SO broad, 1t becomes
our duty to Ia what way, with wise conSid-
Grafton, there may be improvement capable OF
being combined with what has already been
reached And | believe that the introduction
of the study of natural history as branch OF the
elementary eudcat'on Is what can be added to
what is already so admirable "a system The
only difficulty Is to ind teachers equal to the
task, and the task is small one. For IN my
estimation, the elementary instruction Is the
most difficult of all. 1t is much easier to de-
liver a lecture TO a class OF advanced students
than to take up the young and teach them .he
elements. And l believe 1t Is still a mistaken
view with many that teacher Is always sufh-
cIently prepared TO impart the first ee mentary
instruction those entrusted To his care. L
think nothing be further from the truth, and
that, IN entrustIng the instruction of the young
In their first beginnings To incapable teachers,
lose frequently the opportunity of unfolding
the best minds TO the highest capacities, by not
attending at oEce TO their wauts
A teacher should always be far in advance
Of those he teaches, aud there is nothing more
painful than to be obliged TO repress those em-
barrassIng questions which the pnpils may
make and which may be beyond your reach
4 teacher who Grams the day before, that
which he teaches tie next day, is never up to
his task. He must DE capable of facing his
class with a consciousness that he is fully COM
petent to instruct in that which Is the task OF
to-day, and to answer any question that may
be asked about that which Il before him. Not
only that, but he should feel capable of foster
ing these questions, of suggesting them. of rend-
erlng his whole class inquisitIve, so deslrous
of being taught, that there should be no limit
TO the amount of accessory Information which
he can give besides the repetition of the task
assigned for to-day. And it is only the teach
or who is far advanced beyond his class who
can do that He who is only equal to his task,
i not te be entrusted with such important
trust He must be able to instruct that the
information which he gives at the time may be-
come connected with that which the pupil is TO
learn afterw ards and so l say that the teachers
of the elementary school should be selected from
among the ables,. They should be the best
teachers. They should be capable of rendering
the study attractive, interesting and so pleas
ant indeed that the hour for the school should
be the hour expected with anxiety by the
scholar, in stead of the hour dreaded as bringing
something imposed by duty, and not desirable
in itself
| This is particularly the case with reference to
the studv of natural history. The teacher who
would undertake successfully to teach the ele-
ments of the science, must be 30 tar advanced
tha, he knows how to select those topics which
are particularly instructive, and best adapted to
awaken the interest, to sustain 1t, and TO lead
| forw ard to the understanding of more difficult
questions But it is not only in the study of
natural history that it Is desirable TO have good
teachers. / say that even to teach the A. Is, Z,
| how to read and write, teacher should know
| a great deal And l can that 1t requires
| that inexbaustible thirst for knowledge which
| is impaired TO human nature to have children
sustain their interest IN ssudy when the ele
| ments are impaired to them In :he manner in
which they are impaired
Can you conceive anything more dry and less
attractive than the learning of the twenty -four
sipus which are called letters, and of combining
of them into syllables and then into words
and all in the most mechanical and hum drum
| way as if there was no sense IN 1t Yet there
is deep sense in it, and there is In every series
of letters material for the most attractive and
the most instructive information If 1t was IN the
| heads of the teachers Let them show how
men have learned to write their thoughts in
words, how that after writing was inveated IN
what way :. was used in the beginning. how 1t
has been shortened into the abbreviatIons made
use Of to write words as they fall from the speak
ers Eps and which read with IS great GER
t.nty as if the writer had them before him al
ready written and had oply to copy them and
then the children will be ready to avail them
} selves of the advantage which they possess