The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-10-16
A STUDENT OF NATURE.
John Burroughs would Take the
Child to Nature Rather Than Books.

Interview in the Outlook.
Il think the love OF nature, as you and
| have it, has to be acquired. Children
ries and sweets. They like, to be under the
trees and to follow along the brooks. Their
enjoyment is not aesthetic or artistic: and
such enjoyment in any set or mechanical
way. There's a difference in children.
for nature, however long they live. It's
like the religious instinct-it has 70 be in
born-some have it and some don't
Il have been asked to write school books
to help children to love nature, but 1
don't see my way to it. Stimulated as a
feeling and a sentiment, it's all right. But
task-there's no good in that. 1 wouldn't
even attempt to teach botany to children
till they mad an interest in the plants.
l don't attempt TO teach my boy flowers,
birds or anything eise-as a task. If ne
asks me anything, or in some way has his
interest aroused, I'm glad to help. 1 fish
him In an indirect way he picks UP a
great deal of knowledge, and ne finds out
things L don't know myself. Let children
soak themselves in the atmosphere of ma
ture. Don't stick it on the outside. Let
them absorb ii. What we want is the love
of these things. If we have that it deep
ems our enjoyment of life.
Il believe in going 10 nature at any time
rather than TO books. A while ago l visited
of the teachers and L walked up in the park
with the boys. L helped them 10 identify
the live birds they saw. That's always in
Tney walked and talked. Afterwards We
took the boys 10 the museum. You Know
there are a great many different kinds of
and the boys asked me questions. One boy
pointed out the fact that while some of
the tree sections showed remnants of the
knots clear TO the heart, others were free
from them. Now, he knew that every tree
must have had knots at some time all the
way up the trunk, and that was a fair
trees had the power of absorbing the knots.
There's the pine and the hemiock they
sponge out their record. They climb and
pull the ladder up after them.
IF you dump a lot of bare facts on q
child he comes away from school without
anv love Of books or of nature. It's always
been the crying want-teachers who will
inspire. 1t always will be, L suppose. Chill
dren are taught in a mechanical way in
stead Of a vital way. There are not enough
teachers of enthusiasm.
1.-The way they teach literature in the
colleges is calculated to kill any love for Ii
that one may happen to have before he
goes to them 1t seems to me 1 would lose
my love of Shakespeare If l had to dissect
him and find out the meaning of every
word and expression. I want TO ride buoy
antly over the waves. / want to feel the
wind and the m~otion-not talk about them.
If L had to teach literature / hardly know
myself how l would do it. You can't by
bearing on-you can't by mere intellectual
force on a book show it's charm. 1t ap-
peals to the emotions. You've got to APP
prOacn IL In a ulHerent way. You must be
fluid. All / should hope to do would be to
give the student the key to the best litera-
ture. We would read books together. We
would read good books and we would read
poor books. l would say, We'll, we won't
talk; Wen read and see. Here's a poor
~book-don't you see? It's overdrawn-
'tisn't delicate / would get at books in
their sentiment and general character. not
in their details. If you tear it into bits
you haven't the thing itself any more.
mot long ago a woman in the West sent
me some manuscripts about birds and out
door subjects. / gave one of them to my
boy and asked him to read 1t. He went
through it,. and L asked him what he
thought of ii.
fuss. L like the real thing itself
You see, unless we are quiet and SIM
pie. whether we teach or write, ideas are
lost sight of, and you hear only the rattle