(The following article, written by Mary A Dean, Principal of the Shattuck School, is one of a series being released by the School Department to acquaint the public better with the operation of the local school system.)
Any analysis of recent curriculum trends would reveal that elementary schools are becoming increasingly science-minded today. Education is making definite provision for science instruction in the elementary school because it is no longer possible to ignore the position science has assumed in our culture and ways of living. What science is and becomes is a function of the society in which it develops, and with the proper moral responsibility it can be an instrument for good In serving civilization Without the correct philosophy science can threaten us with vicious institutions of destruction. It this study deserves a place in our curriculum it must contribute to the real aim of our schools — the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual development of each child.
The evolution of elementary-school science has been traced through the "object-teaching" craze, the "nature-study" movement, to the emergency of the science course as we find it today with its emphasis upon an understanding of those large truths of science that influence human thought and action. Science teaching can become effective and functional at the elementary school level and can contribute much to the child's growth in useful directions…
Although the majority ot the students in the elementary school will never become specialists in the field of science, they will be supplied with a host of conveniences and comforts from this area, through modern inventions and discoveries. We seek not to give the child all the information which he needs now or in the future, but rather to equip him with the power to meet new situations, with the undersanding of how to gain the information he may need.
Continuous Program
In order to meet the demands, the Norwood Schools are endeavoring to plan for a continuous and correlated program formulated to begin in the kindergarten and extend through the elementary and secondary schools. Miss Rachel Bruce, Chairman of the Science Committee of the Massachusetts Curriculum Guide for Primary Teachers, spoke to the teachers of our five elementary schools and outlined for us certain objectives, selected by this committee, that are important in establishing health, economy, and safety in private and public life, and certain objectives that should conform to those facts and principles of science that are essential to the interpretation of the phenomena that commonly challenge children.
Last winter. Miss Alice B. Beal, Supervisor of Elementary Education in Massachusetts, with a staff from several State Teaching Colleges conducted an all-day Primary Curriculum Institute at the Norwood Junior High School Teach-ers from the surrounding towns were invited to participate, and a valuable discussion and exchange of Ideas look place in the separate subject matter fields, Including elementary science. Science, as well as other subject, matter taught, should ensure opportunities for all children to develop "those _ fundamental understandings, skills, habits,-attitudes, ideals, and appreciations necessary, for living in a democratic society."
Three weeks ago ' thé Norwood Elementary School teachers, with other teachers from the Greater Boston schools, were present at an afternoon conference held at Boston University. Dr. Gerald S. Craig, Consultant in Elementary Science, Associate Professor of Natural Sciences, and author of New Pathways in Science,' an elementary grades science program, discussed the latest thought In science education with Dr. Katherine E. Hill, Professor of Science at Wheelock College, and several other elementary-school science people from the Boston área. These several conferences and discussion groups mentioned have helped to build a background of science teaching for our teachers, as well as, relieving their timidity about tackling a subject which they consider technical,
in an already overcrowded curriculum. Interest has been further stimulated by making science kits available in the schools, by providing professional materials on the teaching of science, and by building libraries of supplementary books on science at the various grade levels.
New Point of View
Some class-, oom teachers still feel that they have had inadequate preparation in science and are hesitant about teaching this subject. This is quite true of teachers who graduated from teacher training institutions before courses 'of science designed to meet the modern needs of elementary science had been introduced. On the other hand, male teachers have become successful teachers of science in spite of little or no science training because of their initiative and knowledge of children's interests and learning processes. However, it is quite true that elementary science involves a new point of view, requires new teaching techniques, and uses new materials. For these reasons, an in-service training course is being offered 'to our teachers, starting in January 1949, and carrying three semester hours of college credit. This will be a Harvard-Boston University Extension Course given by Dr. John G. Read, Associate Professor of Science Education, at Boston University.
The new elementary science movement, guided by the right philosophy In determining our aims, methods and selection of activities, can become a rich educational experience for pupils and teachers alike. We, in Norwood, feel that we have made a good beginning in working toward the extension and enrichment of our elementary curriculum.
(All articles originally published in the Norwood Messenger)
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