The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1922-04-13

VALLEY CITY, NORTH DAKOTA
Valley City Schools, read paper on
E"Some Demands of Present Science
Courses. She said in part:
First let US consider some of the
aims of the H. S. Science. The most
important one, I think, is to introduce
boys and girls to scientific study Of
their environment-to develop a US
liable fund of knowledge about COM
mon things, to teach pupil what he
needs and what he can use. Of all
the sciences, physics, it seems to me,
offers the greatest wealth of disable
information which everyone should
possess. The intimate bearing of the
subject matter of this study upon
everyday life affords an unusual OPP
portunity for the teacher to present
the subject in an extremely interest
! ing and profitable manner. The rec
Iognition accorded the. study has been
justly won and if Physics should fail
/, to keep its place in the H. S. curric-
ulum, it will not result from any de-
ficiencies in the subject itself, but
rather from the fact that science
+, teachers have either failed to pre-
pare themselves for their positions
or have become so thoroughly imbued
with the methods used in the prepar-
alton of College Physics that they are
unable properly to present the first
course to young and immature pupils.
Too many teachers assume that their
children are already gifted in the
very qualities that they should con-
slider it their duty to create and de-
velop and they fail to keep in view
the fact that the minds of the boys
and girls are as yet undeveloped and
come to them unskilled and untrain-
/ ed in the methods pupils are expected
to employ. ts.s,. .e.. ..
| 1t might be fitting to point out a
few of the ways in which we teach
!ers fail to secure from this subject,
the best that it is possible to obtain.
In the first place, nature subject of
any kind can not be successfully d.
,vorced from nature. When the teach
er uses the textbook to the exclusion
of first hand observation outside the
classroom, pupils begin to feel the
forced and artificial nature of the
conditions and fail to see the init
mate bearing of the matter in hand,
on life and its surroundings. No Won
der the cry Of "lack of interest and
enthusiasm" has arisen and the
charge of failure" is written against
the subject in many quarters. It is
a part of the preparation of the
teacher to become familiar with the
locality, and to bring into use this in
formation that pupils acquire in out
side observation. Principles that have
proved to be of great value should be
carried out and employed in the
world in which the pupil is living; he
should be permitted to see how these
laws helpshim and all the race to live
in greater comfort and security, or
how it applies in transporting him in
safety from place TO place or in
transmitting his messages to the cor
ner of the world.
1t is not entirely the knowledge of
phenomena and principles in them
selves that is worth while but it is
largely the end that is attained by
bringing these into the pupils activi-
ties that is to be sought after. The
pupil acquires greater ability to
meet and solve the every dat diff
culties of life according as he be-
comes able to think out for himself
the solution Of the situation present
ed in the appreciation of Natures
laws. To make the study of Ply
sizes the simple memorization of some
book would rob it of it's chief power
as developer of independent obser-
walton and reasoning. The second
aim, though perhaps it should not
be ranked second in Importance, is
that Science should give pupils ethi-
cal training. A California writer
| (Terman) has said, "The intricacy of
present day civilization has raised
mountains Of difficulties which must
be met and overcome by all children
who are not to become playthings of
complex social and industrial forces.
And the schools must give them most
Of the necessary equipment. A third
aim should be to show that scientific
work done by social organization
counts for more than the work done
by individual units. It is not enough