The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-03-19

IN
fond of it. You have provided means
for calling the affections into play. en-
nobllng the desires, and purifying the
springs of conduct, for reading is one
means by which the spiritual nature Is
reached and character building, the true
aim OF education. is begun. Remember
that the teacher is like great helms
man guiding whithersoever She will and
that in all nature there is nothing So
wonderful as the budding soul of a little
child.
The subject of Mature Study" was
dealt with by j. w Gilmore as follows:
NATURE STUDY.
Before dealing with the subject of ma
ture study We might look back for .
moment over the road of thought and
endeavor which has led up to our pres
ent conception of it. From the position
and see three stages over which teach
ers and men have trodden.
In the early part of last century il
was the ultlmatum of teachers and men
to know the names-the scientific names
of animals and plants This came ont
OF tne impetus which Linneus gave 70 the
spirit OF investigation. In those DAYS
inceed 1t was necessary to have an in
yentory OF growing things
InlS inventory list, however soon grew
long and the desire to know these formal
names, rather than the characteristics
of the things for which they stood was
the end for which men studied If was
a feather in ones cap then to be able n
say Podophyllum pellatum, Solanupa fu
berosum, Phaseolus vulgaris. as enc
would say may apple, potato and bean.
and | am afraid this tendency has nor
yet died out. This, however, came from
the study of plants and animals en-
tjrnl n iSac tote
ings. The botanies then were of the ma.
ture of a glossary, and were very tech
meal.
The pendulum then swung to the other
extreme. The German laboratory system
became very. popular. 1t said to the ru-
pill, the boy and girl, there is the labora-
tory; go and investigate and learn all
about the thing. 1t was the DAYS of in
dividual research and emphasized the
use OF the compound microscope During
this period teachers soon saw that ii
was impossible to incorporate this sys-
tenn in the primary schools so they said
let the little child do without this
knowledge of nature until he was. more
mature. For little children, reading,
writing, spelling. arithmetic and seogrn
ply was sufficient.
During the past ten years however
railroads have been giving condu, tof ex-
cursions, summer outings have become
very popular. Business men have learn
ed that the city is a good place TO do
business, but the country is the place TO
live and enjoy life. So now we are be-
ginning on the fourth stage of this road
| From some source has come desire 10
know the plant, the insect or the alma:
| in it's environment-to know about air
water, heat and the simple problems of
! electricity and magnetism, as we need
! them in everyday life. Questions con-
corning these things will interest people
of all ages and all stages of intellectual
development
And so this is what we choose 10 can
nature study-the seeing of these things
in their relations to the things about
| them, and understanding and interpret
| ing them when We see them. You see
this is not the definition of a science
| When our energies are directed along
the line Of nature study we take the
things about US in an informal way and
| try to train the eye to see them they
are and the sense to comprehend their
meaning. Nature study in this sense is
interesting to both old and young. IN
deed, it is the method by which we grow
in knowledge. Suppose for instance, a
| father goes into the garden with his
two children-a son Is years old and a
daughter aged 5. AS they pass the flow
er bed, the father pulls bunch of oats
from the flowers because it does not be-
the shortest roots a little seed huh and
wonders that all the fifteen or twenty
stalks came from that single seed. He
learns something of the habit of the oats
plant. The boy perhaps sees that some
of the roots are old and grey and others
are fresh and white, and he calls the
attention of the sister to this white,
clean root. But she sees that the white
root is covered with a lot of delicate
hairs and she goes back to the house
| and tells mother that the little roots
| have hairs on them the same as the kit
| tens tail. Then everybody laughs; new
ertheless every one has learned some
thing and it all came in an informal
way. Each one of you think for mo-
| ment and see if Won cannot remember
| some experience when you have come
1 upon a bit of knowledge in similar
way. The other day We were learning
something about the tendency of liquids
of different densities to mix, by putting
pieces of potato in fresh and salt water.
| One of the pupils who had cooked pota-
| toes asked why we soak potatoes in salt
water before cooking them Before
could say what I knew about it, she
said, "Oh. / know; because some of the
water soaks out of them and they are
more mealy" The others who were in
| terested in what was going on said,
| Eyes, sir, that's just what happens"
The objects of nature study are, first,
to bring the pupils into acquaintance
with the things about them; second, to
widen the pupils horizon; and, third, as
! an adjunct to other lines of mental de-
veIopment 1t is in consideration of the
| first object that the study is of greatest
| service to the primary pupil. 1 suppose
nearly every one of us had better
knowledge of the stove and of heat after
we had been burned once or twice. And
whether we can see ourselves as others
saw us or not, we all know how babies
ask questions about things they can
! touch or point to. | knew a little boy
! who had a stock question, What is
! tbat?" which he used for the purpose
of getting people to talk. Now he is
speaker for himself. Instances come to
/ us every day of the gross mistake of
| Withholding nature study from children
of the primary grades because they are
not old enough to comprehend 1T. The
| fact is, it is the minds of the children
which are most receptive to natures
! teaching.
Concerning the other two objects,
need not dwell upon. They pertain more
to the completion of education, and are
! in the province of the older students.
Now a few words as to teaching ma
ture study. Ten or fifteen years ago all
the botanies began with chapters on the
| compound microscope, and its use; then
followed chapters on the lower forms Of
plants. with dissertations on their cellu-
/ t.. .trnct,,re and the protoplasm and