BIOLOGY IN SCHOOLS

Waikato Times, Volume 123, Issue 20691, 29 December 1938, Page 9

BIOLOGY IN SCHOOLS

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELFARE SUGGESTIONS BY PROFESSOR (By P.M.W.) On what grounds, asks Professor Eric Ashby of the University of Sydney, should biology be introduced into the carricula of Australian and New Zealand schools? He replies to his own query by making it clear that some knowledge of biology is necessary to the ordinary citizen, if he is to take an intelligent part in democratic selfgovernment; further, that the natural laws controlling human life and the principles of public health may be understood only by those with some knowledge of biology: also that the habits of clear thinking and reasoning, which are indispensable assets to the best kind of citizen, may be acquired most easily lliromsh the study of elementary biology. For the above and other reasons, Professor Ashby suggests that practical instruction in elementary biology should he available in every school in Australia and New Zealand; nature study in the primary schools, and biology (to supplement the physical sciences) in the schools for older children. In either very simple or in very advanced work in biology, it is impossible to consider plants and animals separately. Biology (the science of life itself) embraces all knowledge of plants and animals, from natural history to physiology (the machinery of the living body) and genetics (the machinery for transmitting life —heredity). Short Shrift to the Quacks One of Professor Ashby’s strongest points is to the effect that we are, most of us, so ignorant of our own bodies and minds (physiology and psychology) that we are unable to form a true estimate of the value —or otherwise—of quacks. In the Middle Ages these exploiters of the people’s ignorance were very properly burnt (he says) as sorcerers. To-day they make a handsome living as so-called healers and lecturers, lea\Trig the New Zealand public each year poorer by something like a million pounds. A little biological knowledge among the public, starting with the girls and boys at school, would quickly starve out the quacks. Again, a little biological knowledge would acquaint us with the laws of inheritance, through our ignorance of which we allow* children to grow up intellectually inadequate; and then, when they turn out to be mentally sick men and women, we send them to gaol instead of to the hospital. “Life is a Game” Professor Huxley puts it in this way. Suppose we were perfectly certain that the life and fortune of every one of us would some day depend upon our winning or losing a game of bridge. Should we not all consider it to be our first duty to learn at least I lie names of the cards ? Should we not. all then look with contempt upon a parent—or a State —allowing children to grow up' without knowing the difference between a spade and a diamond ? The most pressing reason for introducing the teaching of elementary biology into the schools is that it would introduce the child to his own physical self. The medical services of "this country are respected throughout the world; but after all, public health depends in the long run upon the.enlightenment of men and women, boys and girls, in the familiar subjects of nutrition, exercise, sleep, rest, fresh air, pure water and congenial surroundings. . All these are dealt with in a very live fashion in elementary biology.