A Source Book of Biological Nature-Study (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from A Source Book of Biological Nature-Study

Never before in this country has there been so insistent a demand for a more thorough and more comprehensive system of instruction in practical science. Forced by recent events to compare our education with that of other nations, we have suddenly become aware of our negligence in this matter. Now industrial and educational experts and commissions are united in demanding a change.

While on the whole there has been a steady increase in the amount of time given to science work in the secondary and elementary schools, the attention paid to it, especially in the elementary schools, has been somewhat spasmodic, and its administration has been more or less chaotic. This is not due to lack of interest on the part of school officials but to their dissatisfaction with the methods of instruction employed. There is no doubt that superintendents would gladly introduce more science if they felt sure that the educational results would be commensurate with the time expended. This is indicated by a recent survey of about one hundred and fifty cities in seven states of the Central West. The survey shows that two-thirds of them have nature-study in the elementary schools and that all are requiring some science for graduation from the high school. The average high school is offering three years of science. Moreover, greater attention is now being paid to the training of teachers in methods of presentation.

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