Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-12-03
SCHOOL HYGIENE.

By DIR h. ISAAC JONES, OF SCRANTON, PA.
1t is sa d, with every increase in the worlds
stock OF gold, that the metal loses some Of its
value, while every addition TO the worlds store
of scientific truth adds to the value of that it
already has. and is a step TO the acquisition Of
more; and if this be true, OF science generally,
it is true, in the highest and broadcast sense Of
the word, of science Of hygiene and sanitation
There has long heen a growing sem of the
need, which undoubtedly exists, for ample
and practical recognition of the interest and
principle Of school hygiene as an integral part
Of State policy; they demand broader and
clearer views from the government.
IL must become the duty of this association
to institute inquiry concerning the hygienic
condition of school life, and tbs physical and
mental training of the yOuBg in schools, wheth-
er public or private, which may prove of value
to the parents and school authorities; to the
former by supplying them with data as to the
points good school should offer in the way Of
several sanitary and hygienic management; to
the latter by providing them with a series of
rules by the exercise of which they can main
tain strict sanitary supervision over the school
and inmates, with different instruction how to
provide, 10 case of epidemic breaking out In the
neighborhood. To arrive at the true way to the
condition Of schools in this country, would be
to seek the cordial help of those who are en-
gagged in the care and culture Of the young
counting with iDfidence on the fact that
those 50 engaged. The days Of DotherbSs
Hall Of Dickens are past. The faults of to-day
ere errors Of judgment. or defects arising out
or. II not due 70 circumstances.
The part played by schools in the dissemina-
ton of infection is only now beginning to be
apprehended The assembling together Of
children in schools during epidemic constitutes
one OF the most formidable scources of those
local outbreaks of the infectious diseases Of
children. and particularly Of scarlet fever and
diphtheria.
Children, crowded and sitting close together
on benches, perhaps in i'll ventilated school
rooms, il can be readily understood how the
conditions of school life are peculiarly favor
able to the transmission OF infectious diseases
whether the infection be conveyed from an
individual in the early stage Of a spreading
disease, or from the infected clothing Of
children coming from a house where
infection exists. There can be no wish
even on the part OF the most enthusi-
astic supporter of education that our schools,
while serving their primary object, should
serve also as a breeding ground for infectious
diseases When the Board of Health and
School Directors work cordially together, no
difficulty has been experienced 10 closing, or
otherwise regulating the management of
schools, so as to exercise the most important
influence in limiting the spread Of infectious
diseases among the young. On the other hand, |
when cordial relations have existed between |
these two bodies, the school has remained hot |
bed of contagion. must state here thst the |
best Of relations exist between our School d. |
rectors and Board Of Health. It viii be hap