HOBART'S SIGHT-SAVING SCHOOL

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 111, 11 May 1940, Page 17

HOBART'S SIGHT-SAVING SCHOOL

PIONEERING A NEW DEVELOPMENT

. - Not for the first time in its history, Tasmania is pioneering a new development in children's education. Next month the Minister of Education, Mr. Ogilvie, will open in Hobart a sight-saving school, where about twenty-five boys and girls with defective sight will be trained by.methods which should conserve and assist their limited .powers, states the "Sydney Morning Herald."

> The. first class of this type was es- the use of pale yellow paper and a tnblished. By the London county Coun- Pr^ rose board. ~ . , nftn • ■■, . . .. , • The children working at the school cil in 1907, but, as school medical in- under Misg £> Connol f y and • two asspection. .improved, it was found ad- s - stants c in from fiveto yisable^ to form more schools of + the leen _ Some of them are SQ nearl kmd^ '°i ber parts °1- Gf c? Brital"- blind that they are learning to use a By 1934 there were thirty-four- : well- B raine , machine . For arithmetic, the attended classes. ; - questions are. set: in Braille and the Hobart has improved on the original ms are wOrke df ou^feon . perforated iaea by building a separate school for metal sheets in which a large'type can this work Though adjacent to _ the be get _ A g ir i offourt een .demonstrated large Practising School in Elizabeth fairly complicated money calculations Street, it is completely self-contained, v me th o d and has a good garden behind'it which can be devoted to training in horticulture. Although the, building is not yet free from plasterers and., electricians, there are already a dozen -children at work in the main class- ' room, a large room with the .entire northerly side composed.of glass- and .cleverly adapted .to'- ventilate in^all ft weathers

AN INNOVATION.

"When natural light falls below a' certain standard, electric lights are switched on automatically and fixsd ceiling lights focus on the blackboardsSmall light desks of Pacific oak can be moved sp that each child works at a distance from the board best, suited to his rangf: of vision,. The great., innovation is that the "blackboard" :'■ is: ■ coloured pale yellow and the chalk used on it is a deep blue. Experiment has sHown thaVconsiderable eyestrain arises from... the continual shifting of eyes from the light background of books with black printing, to the black background of the old-fashioned board with its white ■writing. This is now eliminated by

A COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM.

; .Some .of the older children are learning typewriting, and arrangements are l?eing made for cookery classes and other, branches of .domestic.science tobe attended -by girl pupils. Stress is .^i^.'ohs^gjil^r;;pjiyswal ■ culture Wantf musics-and,: of course, all manner of haridicralts are-taught . :

' In a ■few. weeks' time, the number will probably rise to more than twenty, -as :pupijls ate expected from other parts of" the State. These children are: to reside in the Tasmahia'n Institution for .the Blind, Deaf,- and Dumb* where one of the junior teachers is rjgajdent. she, Syill. supervise the short- daily walk to' and from the school/; ;

Already there is a happy atmosphere about the school. Its wide passages, cloakrooms, and classrooms are cheerfur with pale yellow walls and good woodwork; the staff has been special, ly selected-for the work and is most enthusiastic, and the children appear to be thoroughly content and interested.

The Medical Journal of Australia in an editorial says, "This is an event which calls for more than passing notice," and urges the larger States to follow the lead of Tasmania.