The Waikato Times. With which is Incorporated The Waikato Argus. MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1929. OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS.

Waikato Times, Volume 105, Issue 17787, 12 August 1929, Page 6

The Waikato Times. With which is Incorporated The Waikato Argus. MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1929. OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Open-air schools, where they have been established, are very strongly favoured by parents, teachers and pupils as well as the medical profession. For instance, one of the teachers at the Fendalton school has stated in a letter to the press: “I have nothing but praise for the Fendalton type of schoolroom and have never enjoyed better health than during the time I have been teaching in one.” Visitors to Christchurch have heard similar expressions on all sides. Among the ardent advocates or the new type of schoolroom are Dr. Phillipps, School Health Officer for Canterbury, Professor Shelley (Professor of Education), and Archbishop Julius. Medical people are almost unanimous in their praise of the open-air plan. Sanatorium physicians are specially urgent in their appeals, pointing out that it is far more sensible to save children from tubercular infection by allowing them to live in the fresh air then to send them for fresh-air treatment after they have become infected. Sir Truby King, the famous promoter of Infant health in this country—which leads the world in the preservation of child life—spoke very strongly in a recent address in favour of open-air schools. In other countries the movement has made more rapid progress than in New Zealand. Indeed, we are far behind the times, according to a statement made by Dr. E. B. Gunso", president of the Auckland Open-Aii Schools League, last Friday. He pointed out that in England the number of schools of the new type had increased in a single year from 100 to 380 and that the Derbyshire authorities had decided to build none but open-air schools in future.

Our educational authorities' recognise the need of ventilation in the classrooms and some claim that the modern buildings at present in vogue have advantages over the three-sided bungalows in use ft Fendalton. The respective claims of the two types of

building will doubtless be stated before the meeting to be held in Hamilton to-morrow evening for the purpose of forming a local branch of the Open-air Schools League. The Auckland Headmasters’ Association some months ago expressed a preference for having the. whole school in a single block. It Is to be hoped that the reasons for this attitude will be made clear, as the opinion of these men of experience is certainly of the highest importance. Advocates of the bungalow plan point out that rooms in a large building can never have the'same freedom of air as these separate classrooms, with one side open and with high windows on the other three sides which can be used for ventilation if the open side has to be closed because of the weather. Hamilton sometimes has successive weeks of westerly storms, and during such periods the teachers and children in rooms facing the west are deprived of needful air. The separate classrooms are built with their open side away' from the prevailing winds. Mot only the fresh air but the sunlight, unspoiled by the glass which takes away certain rays, is a giver of health. Other advantages claimed are that the pupil; and teachers are not disturbed by movements in other rooms or corridors, that the ohildren feel themselves in close contact with Nature, a“nd —most important —that they can very easily be released from the room for a joyous recreative run or game after each lesson. The people of New Zealand are realising more and more the benefits of the open air. The practice of sleeping on porches or verandahs is becoming more and more general. Children enjoying such conditions in their homes are surely entitled to like benefits in their schoolrooms- Parents who are convinced of the advantages of the open-air plan have now the opportunity of uniting to urge its adoption for the schools of this district. Others who wish further to weigh the pros and cons will have valuable information placed at their disposal. The future depends greatly on those who are ready to approach the subject with an open mind.