CHILDREN AT SCHOOL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2749, 2 March 1910, Page 7

CHILDREN AT SCHOOL.

WHAT HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS DEMAND.

In his presidential address to the British Medical. Association, in Wellington Dr. Purdy said on the above subject“ There should be a correct proportion of recreation and physical exercise between the. hours of mental stress. Most authorities lay it down that there should bo one-quarter of an hour s rest after every hour of teaching, and it is rrenenally agreed that five hours should be the outside limit for scholastic work. Tim question of home lessons is also one of serious import. It is too bad for the crowing youth to have five hours, teaching in school and two or three hours’ preparation out of school The five hours’ limit should include all brain training, and I would make tlic purely scholastic hours four in number and give one hour to preparation. Better judgment is required m the choice ot pens, paper, ink, blackboards, ai c other school material. These, though

apparently trivialities, are of great importance. Special attention should be paid to the proper desk accommodation, and' also to the lighting arrangements of all schools. The light should he good and even, and oome from the top or the left-hand side, and no scholar should ever face- the light. Owing to want of medical advice in tlicpast, spinal deformity, eye strain, over-pressure, and brain-fag have been caused. Unhygienic methods, approved by the “expert” who does not know, are only now being pointed out by the school doctors at Homo, who do know. 1 have already mentioned that a certain amount of time- should be given to physical exercise. The time for this physical training should be deducted from the school hours, not added to them. According to the law in this Dominion all youths between 18 and 21 are to bo trained for military service. This law must, if carried out properly, work great changes for good in tlie welfare of the vouth of the nation. It might, however, bo a wise thing to initiate proper physical exercises in school life, so as to prepare the youth for his future military drill. The purely military part of the present admirable cadet system must be left until a later age, 'and at school only physical exercises, training the body to endurance aud the- mind to habits of discipline, indulged m. In any case, whether the rifle drill, etc., is left until after school life, in school life the scholar should have proper physical exercises given him t-o do, All oxe-rcises should bo out of doors. For muscle development. simple exercises of bending or stretching, with or without weights. Personally I am not in favor of weightlifting as a means of regular exercise. The lifting of weights is apt to be dangerous, and danger should be eliminated from all exercises. For the develop, ment of the nervous system we need co-ordinated movements, and the best are marching to words of command. Games of ball, of all forms—skipping, fencing, horizontal bars, exercise out of dotX'S, develops the power of resistance. By exposure to changes of weather and by exercise in the open air, a boy is hardened, his ability to catch cold, consumption, and other diseases diminished and his appetite and constitution improved. “As in the soldier work is one of the best safeguards against intemperance, so health''* exercise will help us to rear children capable of withstanding t-lie fatigues not oiilv of a campaign against a national foe, but also make them, individually, more capable working units in civil life. Manly exercise, such as boxing, wrestling, and swimming, not only enable children to take their own part, but also inculcate early discipline and self-control. If physical training taught children nothing else than to breathe correctly, to walk upright, t-o live clean lives and t-o love the open air it would make them better citizens, and certainly healthier men. I'he aim of teachers should ho to have the healthiest, instead of the most forward, children. If a- child is healthy his brain is more active, and consequently iho is able to concentrate his thoughts on his work much better.