New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-01-01
PUPILS FIELD DAYS.
Hotc One Teacher Makes Science
Interesting to Her Class.

Armed with umpire's whistle and a small
rnegaphone, Miss Jennie T Martin, teacher of
physical geography-or physicgrap ply. IL is
now called-in the Central High School OF Buff
falo. takes her boys and girls all over that part
of the country to study the forces of nature
which have been and are at work to change the
world. Through them the Buffalo young people
are able study first hand all the land forces
and all the water forces except tides.
These field excursions are hugely enjoyed by
the students, especially the girls It has taken
about eight years 10 develop them 10 their pres
ent state of efficiency and get them recognized as
an integral part of the high school curriculum
Miss M~-tin. who is a graduate of Cornell in
terested the New York State Science Teachers
Association, at its convention last week at CO.
iumbia University. in these fields days tremen-
dously. She disclairns being the originator of
them. however.
Although I have pioneered the movement in
Buffalo" she said 81 am only handing on the
torch which was handed to me when I was girl
In the school where I now teach by Professor
Charles Linden. It he who gave me my first
impulse toward field work Buffalo is not alone
ir having such excursions. Within the last If
teen years the work hes been developed by
teachers elsewhere and now you will find it in
high schools generally in the large cities"
COUNT AS CLASS WORK
There are twelve Of these excursions in the
Buffalo school year all told, and attendance upon
from six TO eight is obligatory They count like
any school exercises. the pupils being under
school discipline at the time and being examined
on the work they do and marked accordingly.
While the boys and girls. who range from
fourteen TO sixteen years old. are free TO talk
10 one another and have little quiet fun said
Miss Martin. 1.-The excursions are treated in the
spirit OF school work and there Is no attempt at
INSTRUMENTATION. Besides. taking care of a
large number Of pupils-from eighty to one
hundred take these excursions-would be i'm
possible for one instructor I make a point Of
choosing three or four Of the best workers from
the upper classes, who are made responsible for
little groups Of twenty pupils each. AS the boys
prefer to be helped by boys, choose boy helpers
as well as girls. In the fall and winter the
pupils are busy learning facts. In the spring
we start out field days for the double purpose
OF observation and testing their knowledge"
Some of the field excursions take only two or
three hours. Others are all day affairs. There
are several Quarries in the neighborhood Of
the young students Buffalo Creek is another
rendezvous. At Williamsvie, some seven miles
out. an ancient coral reef is a rich field for
exploration. where are to be found the fossils Of
shell animals that now exist only at the bottom
OF the
we start about o'clock and devote the
we lunch the beach of Lake Erie. and some
times We add to the gayety Of the occasion by
building bonfire ana making coffee, with cups
AMI milk obtained al a neighboring farmhouse"
AT NIAGARA.
But the excursion IF the year is to Niagara
Falls a spot which Miss Martin finds many Of
her pupils have never visited, although Buff
falo is only about sixteen miles from the famous
shrine OF tourists and honeymoon couples.
The other high schools unite with ours to the
number Of between five hundred and six hun
dred," said Miss Martin. We charter a spe-
cial train Of six seven cars going. but return
by the regular trains. As it would be impossible
for one person TO manage so large party, each
teacher is responsible for her pupils.
First walk along the gorge from the Sus-
pension Bridge about half way to Lewiston
stopping al every interesting feature We no.
tice the gorge itself, and spend ten or fifteen
minutes watching the whirlpool. for the sake Of
determining the direction OF the current as in
dicated by the debris. Then look across the
river 10 q small cutting made by side
stream through clay that fills a former gorge
where the river before the glacier filed Il.
Our next poiu. of interest is walk by the
side o. the old bank of the river. where II flowed
the upper level and there no gorge.
Magyar, YOU probably know. used to run over
the countr-S at the same level as IL is now above
the falls The falls then began at Lewiston,
where there IS a cliff. Year by year they have