Part 3 (1/2)

THE OAK LEAF.

Greatest length......... Length of the stem....

Greatest breadth........ Color of the stem.....

Number of lobes......... Color of the leaf.....

Number of indentations.. General shape.........

The other papers closely resembled this one. Consider the worth of such knowledge! This is one way in which time is wasted in school and college. Probably the main reason for the choice of this topic was the fact that the leaves could be easily obtained. But if the teacher had been in the habit of setting up specific aims, and therefore of asking how such matter would prove valuable in life, she would have never given this lesson--unless higher authorities had required it.

One of my cla.s.ses of about seventy primary teachers in the study of education once undertook to plan subject-matter in nature study for six-year-old children in Brooklyn. They agreed that the common house cat would be a fitting topic. And on being asked to state what facts they might teach, they gave the following sub-topics in almost exactly this order and wording: the ears; food and how obtained; the tongue; paws, including cus.h.i.+ons; whiskers; teeth; action of tail; sounds; sharp hearing; sense of smell; cleanliness; eyes; looseness of the skin; quick waking; size of mouth; manner of catching prey; claws; care of young; locomotion; kinds of prey; enemies; protection by society for the prevention of cruelty to animals,--twenty-two topics in all. When I inquired if they would teach the length of the tail, or the shape of the head and ears, or the length and shape of the legs, or the number of claws or of teeth, most of them said ”no” with some hesitation, and some made no reply. When asked what more needed to be done with this list before presenting the subject to the children, some suggested that those facts pertaining to the head should be grouped together, likewise those pertaining to the body and those in regard to the extremities. Some rejected this suggestion, but offered no subst.i.tute. No general agreement to omit some of the topics in the list was reached, and most of the cla.s.s saw no better plan than to present the subject, cat, under the twenty-two headings given.

Although there were college graduates present, and many capable women, it was evident that they carried no standard for judging the value of facts or for organizing them. The setting up of specific purposes seemed to offer them the aid that they needed. Since this was in Brooklyn, where the main relation of cats to children is that of pets, we took up the study of the animal with the purpose of finding to what extent cats as pets can provide for themselves, and to what extent, therefore, they need to be taken care of, and how.

Under these headings the sub-topics given, with a few omissions and additions, might be arranged as follows:

Under first aim:--

I. _Food_ (chief thing necessary).

/Birds 1. Kinds of prey...{ Mice Moles, etc.

/Eyes, that see in dark; 2. How found..... { structure.

{ Sense of smell; keenness.

Ears; keenness.

/ Approach; use of whiskers.

| Quietness of movements; | how so quiet (padded feet, | loose joints, manner of | walking).

| Action of tail.

3. How caught.....{ Catching and holding; | ability to spring; strength of | hind legs.

| Fore paws; used like hands.

| Claws; shape, sharpness, and sheaths.

II. _Shelter._ Use of covering.

Finding of warm place in coldest weather.

Under second aim:--

I. _Food_ (when prey is wanting).

Kinds and where obtained: milk; sc.r.a.ps from table; biscuit; catnip.

Observe method of drinking.

II. _Shelter_. How provide shelter.

III. _Cleanliness_. Why was.h.i.+ng unnecessary (cat's face was.h.i.+ng; aversion to getting wet).

Danger from dampness.

Need of combing and brus.h.i.+ng; method.