OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18101, 17 June 1924, Page 8

OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS

MEETING AT RICHMOND.

PROPOSAL FAVOURED

The advantages of open-air schools •were stressed last night at a -public meeting held in the Methodist Church schoolroom, Stanmore road. Mr T. Morrow said that at the annual meeting of householders, which was very largely attended, the following motion was carried:—"That this meeting of householders strongly supports Dr. E. B. Phillipps 's village scheme, and instructs the incoming committee to support it in its entirety, and, in the event of the Education Board refusing to build the new Richmond school under Dr. Phillipps's scheme, to convene a. further meeting of householders." At a subsequent meeting the following motion was carried:—"That this meeting, while affirming the .principle of open-air schools,' regards the area of the new school site as unsuitable for the carrving out of the scheme in its .entirety, and recommends the committee to urge the Education Board to proceed with the erection of seven rooms as early as possible, and that when the question of completing the school comes up the committee should seriously consider having the same carried out on the open-air plans." The latter meeting had not been largely attended, however, and it had been thought best to hold a further meeting to deal with the question. In order that there should -not be any question of outside influence being brought to bear on him* he proposed that the chair should be taken by the Hon. G. W. Russell. This course was agreed to. Dr. E. B. Phillipps, Schools Medical Officer, said that the only consideration in the proposal was the_ benefiting of the children. Nothing 'else mattered. Dr. Eleanor Baker, his colleague in the work of inspecting school-children, saw the folly of advocating the gospel of health in schools when those_ buildings were themselves quite, unsuitable for the purpose for which they had been built. He drew attention to a plan on the platform showing the type of school it was proposed to erect in Eichmond. He had that day visited the bungalow school now being erected at Fendalton, and found the sun streaming in the window which nbrth-ea'st. The school was made so that it had an open side to the north-west. This had been decided on for the reason that tests carried out over twelve years by Mr W. Skey, of the observatory in the Gardens, showed that the prevailing winds in Christchurch were from the .southwest and the north-east. An advantage in having class-rooms built separately was that the four sides of the building were able to get the maximum of sunlight on them and the maximum of fresh air without suffering from the illeffects of cold winds. Another advantage was that singlo class-rooms resulted in quiet. The bungalow schoolroom at Fendalton would cost £.406 10s. Dr. Phillips made a comparison in the , cost of the building now being erected at West Christchurch and that proposed for Richmond, greatly to the favour of the latter. The chairman asked if anyone could tell him what was the cost of the Phillipstown School, which was opened about two years ago. A gentleman in the audience said that the cost was £16,500. ; • . Tho chairman: And the Government gives us £6OOO for Richmond. In answer to a question, Dr. Phillipps said he intended to put open fireplaces in the new class-rooms if his scheme were adopted. Dr. A. B. O'Brien said that the local branch of the British Medical Associa-. tion was in favour of open-air schools. He. would like-to make it cljear that cold by itself did. not cause people to. get colds. The members of Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition did. not- suffer from colds at the Antarctic, but immediately they got back to Christchurch they, contracted them. .The reason children caught colds was that, they got them from other children in a stuffy class-room. Then followed adenoid and tonsil and often- something worse. It was a mistake to think that because a certain type of building suited our grandparents they would suit children of the present generation. The open-air scheme had the whdle-hearted support of the British Medical Association because the members of it knew that open-air schools would result in a great improvement in the health of children.

Dr. P. Stanley Foster gave instances of boys Tie had known who shortly after school had to be treated for con-, sumption. The reason of this was undoubtedly that they had been taught in schools in which they had been forced to breathe'; vitiated air, and so undermine their health. Dr. Phillipps's scheme had been referred to as a poultry farm. This certainly sounded witty, but when one thought of why poultry houses were so built one could not but be appreciative of it. The reason poultry houses were built as they were was to keep the fowls warm and healthy and induce them to be productive. Surely similar care should be taken of children. Dr. F. Bevan-Brown said that it was a fact that Christchurch was not so healthy a community as it Bhould be. People in Christchurch or anywhere else did not suffer from ill-health by reason of flukes, but bfecause ; they disobeyed the laws of health. It was a mistake to imagine one was keeping oneself warm by closing the window and huddling up beside the fire. This only resulted in their feeling shivery. The average health of the schoolchildren in Christchurch was not satisfactory. Too many had pale faces, and' narrow chests were to be seen, and there was too often a tendency towards catarrhal diseases and also tubercular' diseases. He was sure that the proposed open-air school would result in a. great change for the better in the health of the children. Mr W. \V. Rountree, headmaster of the Richmond School,-said that although he had been teaching for many years, and had been headmaster of four schools, he would not willingly go back to any one of them in preference to an open-air school such as was proposed. None of the present-day schools was sanitary, and the teachers could point out scores of defects in them. Most of the class-rooms faced only the one side, and so only got a minimum amount of sunshine. He agreed with Dr. Phillipps, who advocated that children should not be kept still for any length of time. He had no time for two-storeyed schools; no such building should be erected in Christchurch. In an open-air school the children would not need to be kept still for long. They could be taken out into the playground in a few given a run round without making such a nois3 as to disturb those at work in the other class-rooms. Professor J. B. Shelley, Professor of Education at Canterbury College, said that the real schoolroom was the playground, and the places called classrooms on the plan before them' were in reality only a refuge. He condemned the present system of school buildings, and adversely criticised the principle of making a child sit still whenit wanted to move about. "There is no institution doing so much harm to the child's mind as the four walls of the schoolroom," continued the Professor, who went on to say that a child must be given a chance to develop muscularly if it was to be properly educated. It was the nature of the (Continued at foot of next column.)

schools themselves that was responsible for the present undisciplined state of the children. He considered that-brick walls engendered an indoor feeling about a. child, so that when it grew up it enjoyed itself by sitting in a picture palace or something similar. He wanted to see. New Zealand, children brought up to love the open air and seek their pleasures in it. He wanted children to be able to reach the open air by taking one step out of' the schoolroom into it. Mr E. C. Brown moved a motion to the effect that the meeting supported the proposal of an open-air school as proposed by Dr. Phillipps, and was of the opinion that any money to be spent in the district should be spent .in this direction. In seconding the motion, Mi* Connibar'said he did so with-the proviso that the building should be built: in brick. ' ■ The speaker was ruled out of order by the chairman on the. ground that he lived outside the school district. A gentleman present said that while the School Committee was not against the open-air proposal it was certainly opposed to outside influence .being brought to' bear on it, with a view to foisting the open-air scheme on to the district. He considered, that, the proposal should first be tried as an experiment. The motion was carried on the voices. The chairman drew attention to the great disproportion of the amount spent on the Phillipstown School, and that proposed to be spent at Richmond, and strongly advocated bringing pressure to bear to have an assembly hall erected in addition to the schoolrooms. A motion of thanks was passed to the -speakers and the chairman, and the meeting closed with the singing of the National Anthem.