Excerpt from A Course in Nature Study for Use in the Public Schools The following Bulletin, giving a course in Nature Study for the public schools, is one of the most important and valuable of all of those which the Department has hitherto published. The course was outlined and prepared by Miss Louise Miller, who for several years had charge of Nature Study work in the schools of Detroit, Mich., and will commend itself to natural history teachers as being not only scientifically accurate and exceedingly suggestive, but as also outlining in a systematic way, a branch and method of education peculiarly adapted to country schools. The study of nature, by observing the things themselves, is the new and rational method of instruction and constitutes what now is known by the modern name, "Nature Study." This bulletin is intended as a guide to teachers, indicating the subjects adapted to each grade of scholars, and giving the order in which the subject ought to be pursued. An inspection of the work proposed by this course will show how much there is in the vicinity of every country school to interest and instruct in the numerous natural objects, in regard to which the mass of our population have but little knowledge, and which, if properly presented, may be, at least partially understood, by the smallest pupil. The bulletin is also informal notice to teachers in Pennsylvania that in the near future, such instruction as it outlines, will be required in every country school. Those, therefore, who wish to follow this profession will do well to acquaint themselves with the method here presented, and begin preparation for the work to be performed, so that when their examiners come to question them as to natural objects, whose uses and characteristics they are expected to understand and explain to others, they may be ready to answer intelligently, and satisfactorily perform the duties required. This is no new fad in education, but is older than the Commonwealth itself. William Penn, near the close of his life, in a work entitled Reflections and Maxims, suggested substantially the method now proposed to be pursued in the education of our youth. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.