CHAPTER V
THE TEACHING OF NATURE-STUDY
When, at Christmas time, we search the shelves of a London book shop, to find fresh “Golliwog” adventures or new fairy tales, are we not struck by the importance given to another class of child’s book? “The Fairchild Family,” “Struwelpeter,” Hans Andersen’s tales, books that we were brought up upon, are superseded by a totally new kind. Anything relating to living things, birds, mammals, plants, wild flowers, fruit, is what we now give our children. In short, nature-study, and everything connected with it, is the fashion. It forms not only an important part of education, but it also is recreation. Possibly we encourage it as a reversion from over-much science and book-learning, which is apt to produce a somewhat unhealthy, overstrained, nervous condition. The philosophy of the “Simple Life,” which is preached so much, is a reaction from these abnormal conditions to the natural, healthy order of existence.
Up to now, we stand only upon the threshold of these new ideas, we hardly realise the wealth and meaning of this new philosophy. We only know that a still greater use is in store for it, and that, through it, greater happiness will ensue for us. The right application of nature study and all that it embraces, to the education of children, is one of the most important developments of our day. All those who are ambitious for the prosperity of our future England should give very careful consideration to these matters. More and more we learn that the first endeavour of a school is to teach people to live. This new study tends to connect school teaching with life at home. By means of such schooling, our children acquire from earliest days habits of observation. They appreciate all wonders and beauties of natural objects around them. Lovely wild flowers on our downs, many grasses in our meadows, clouds, stars, all become real friends.
Obs:
the wild clematis.
Ther: reg. 70½°.
July 12th
Obs: smut on oats.
It is a small black