SCHOOL HYGIENE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6269, 24 July 1907, Page 6

SCHOOL HYGIENE

TRAINING COLLEGE LECTURES. SANITATION AND VENTILATION. Tho course of extension lectures in conIneGtion.' with, the Wellington Training I College was commenced last night with lan important lecture by Dr Mason, ! Chief Health' Officer, upon “Some As- ! pects of School Hygiene/' There was a ! largo, attendance of members of the • Training college. Mr R. Lee, chairman . of the Hoard of Education, presided. Mr VV T .-,Gray (principal'of the college) and Mr T. -it. Eieming (Chief Inspector of Schools) also occupied seats on the platform. Dr Mason pointed out that many prominent authorities had urged the necessity of hygiene being included in the list of subjects taught to the candidate for the camng or teacher. To i understand the laws of hygiene was not. {difficult; to teach them to children was ! easy and interesting. A clever youngster j was delighted to be told something of • science which he could understand, and still more so if ho were allowed to make a simple experiment. A teacher should have a grip of such matters, and unless he had he would fail to bring home to his charges much that he would wish to. THE SCHOOLROOM. , When he said that the schoolroom | should, be as clean, airy, and wholesome as tlie bedroom, they were not for a moment to count that as sarcasm. The room in which a man’ was going to spend ; a third of his whole life should surely j be good; the room in which a youngster 1 was forced to live half his day should ! certainly receive the most careful atten- \ tion of those in authority. If the State (required, as it did, a ; child to attend school until it reached a certain age, , there could be no question that The j State should see that the 'schools were sufficient in size, properly constructed, that ample play-grounds were provided, and above all that the sanitary conveniences • were as complete as modern science, having a due regard to economy, could suggest.. The question of cubic capacity was, to his mind, not always well understood. A stud over 14ft or ’ 15ft, generally speaking, added little to the clearing capacity of a room. Every scholar should have a certain amount of floor space; only in that way could it bo secured that he should not suffer. Dr Mason went on to say that he had always advocated separate desks wluVever possible. Great attention should be given to tho form of chair and the height of the desk. Everything should be washable, and should be washed at regular intervals. .WASHING FACILITIES.' In this country the question of State feeding of children had never arisen, nor was it ever likely to arise. But there was one most important matter which rarely received enough attention, and that -was the providing of adequate opportunities for the scholars washing. A healthy child would get dirty, and, therefore, proper lavatories should be provided at every school. Wherever possible, hot water should be provided for tho scholars. Without that if was almost impossible to get children to wash. To hang up a clean towel every Monday was not usually sufficient. He would have a gymnasium attached to every school. It need not cost much, and after a spell in the gymnasium the boys should enjoy a shower under the eye of the master. SANITARY ARRANGEMENTS. Where, as in the country, the- only water supply wae from the roofs, great care should be taken to see that the spouting and tanks were cleaned periodically. The mess of dirt to be seen in schoolhouse tanks was not infrequently marvellous. Ho described the proper shape for tanks which would obviate danger from this cause. One of the greatest difficulties in small schools (and ( the majority were of this character) was , the sanitary arrangements. Unless the I headmaster made a daily inspection of these places they would*never be kept clean. There was nothing infra dig. in this work. The manager of a first-class hotel did not hesitate to consider such an inspection one of Ms duties, nor did the surgeon in the field. Insanitary outhouses were conducive to .more than physical deterioration. The floors should be all concreted or asphalted, and a hose should be handy, so (hat to wash them should be a task of little difficulty. In country places where the school was distant from habitation, and a stioata was near by, there should be no difficulty in fixing up a modification of the septic tank system, A concrete lined | tank, of suitable dimensions, with the

inlet and outlet pipe below the lord of the top of the sewage, would go far j to break it up so that little nuisance would arise at the point the effluent entered the stream. Where the pan system was used, the pan should net bo too large. It should only be emptied when full, at intervals not too long apart. THE OPEN DOOR AND WINDOW. The ail- in a_ schoolroom would not, they might take’ it, bo very pure after, say, two hours' occupation on a damp, cold day. The headmaster should, therefore-, see that on every occasion when the room was empty windows and doors should be as far "as possible opened. This simple precaution would do much to check the drowsiness of the children, and the headaches of tho teachers. More especially chouM the passage, or room, where the children hung their wet clothes, bo well ventilated. The smell in 6omo of these places was.awful. The desks, chairs, and room should be swept every day. The dirt and dust should be removed, not merely shifted from eno place to another. Saw-dust, moistened with any of the many coal-tar disinfectants, should bo sprinkled over the floor and the whole swept up and burned. DISINFECTION. Three or four times a year the whole building should be properly disinfected, and the desks, walls, and floor washed with a solution of washing-soda in hot water. When it was remembered that most of the infectious diseases which affected children were spread by discharges from tho nose, mouth, and throat, the absolute necessity could easily be seen for periodical cleaning of the desks. In addition to this yearly disinfection of the school generally, every desk at which a child had been "sitting suffering from an attack of. say, diphtheria or scarlet fever, should be thoroughly scrubbed down with hot water and. soda before any other child was allowed to occupy it. It was little use attempting to isolate children unless all stains *and marks they might have made whilst ill were removed.

MEDICAL INSPECTION OF SCHOLARS Referring to his opinion with reference to the necessity for a regular system of medical inspection of the children attending our State schools. Dr Mason said there would appear to be some misconception as to the part the teacher would be asked to play should it be adopted. He did not suggest putting any further burden on the teacher. Every teacher who took an interest in his pupils must, if ho wanted to get the best results, keep an eye on the physical condition of the individual scholar. All that would be asked under the suggested new regime would be that the teacher would place a pencil mark against tho name of any pupil he had decided fell below the normal standard. This blank list, so to speak, would be handed to the medical inspector when he visitpd the -schoolonly that and nothing more. The open mouth, the turning of one car always to the teacher, the inability to sec the writing on the blackboard, the continual cough, the limp in the playground, the unusual restlessness —all those were noticed now; only sometimes they were,misinterpreted. AILMENTS AND BREATHING.'

Dr Mason here went through the ordinary ailments of scholars, and proceeded to quote the. regulations of tho Board of Education at Homo as to school hygiene. He went on; to say that more attention should be. given to exorcisesHe was convinced that one,of the first things a child'should be taught was how to breathe properly. Having described proper breathing, Dr Mason added that only disaster would attend tho effort of trying to make a child blow, so to speak, out of season. WORN AND SLEEP FOE CHILDREN. Thai: was not a suitable place to question the school time-table, but he was convinced that not infrequently we expected too much of the child. In conclusion Dr Mason referred to the necessity for adjustable chairs and desks; and the, build of school books (which ho thought erred on the side of “spacing"). At the close of the lecture, a demonstration of how to clean desks which have been stained was given by Mr F. W. Grigg. A dirty desk was operated on, and. quickly cleansed. A number of questions were answered’'By Dr Mason, who was accorded a hearty vote of thanks, ing. , • - “The Greek Ideal in Education, or Some Problems of University Education.’' will be the subject of a lecture by Professor Brown at the Training*-College this even-