The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-29
SCHOOL MEN CONFER.
Puget Sound Club Discusses
School Days Length.
MAJORITY AGAINST A RECESS.
Libraries Considered - Superintendent
usoif Makes Suggestions Concerning
Historical Anniversaries.

The Puget Sound schoolmasters' Club held IT'S
second bi-monthly meeting for 1901 % ut olvrn-
p'a yesterday. The following school men vera
N attendance: Prineipals K s. Bingham. w.
y. Alien, G A Stanley. A. A. Barton c. "
foung and Professor A p Poyelsou of Ia
coma Professor W. F. Baocock, Port Town
SEND superintendent +. J. Barnard and Prin-
clpai e. Iwttmyer, OF Seattle: Superintendent b.
brlntnaL and State Superintendent BRIAN. of
olympia, Principal Forrest. of Chehalis; Prin
clpai Knight, OF shelton; Principal HAYES. of
bucods, and Principal Dewey, OF Sumner Miss
by MISS McClurken and Miss Richards. of
olympia, were among the visiting guests, In
.he absence OF the regular appointed officers OF
the club Professor Brintall was elected to act an
president and Professor Babcock "a secretary
Ine discussion OF the following topic was
opened by Principal Edwin Twitmyer of Seat
Tie: THE Length OF the School Day; One or
Two Sessions; With or Without Recess" Mr..
Iwitmyer spoke as follows:
In my opinion the length of the school dav
should be as follows: First, for pupils Just en-
tering school. or first year pupils, three hours.
second, Tor second year pupils, four hours. and
third, Tor all grades above that the limit should
s os piaeel at nve hours mean that each grade
snouid DO that many hours actual work ire
spectiye OF any intermission that might be
gwen. 10 retain children, just entering school,
VINO have been accustomed to all the liberty the
ne and activity of childhood demand, for a
longer period, is barbarous The transition
from the freedom the child previously enioyed
70 the restraint and confinement of the school
shoulc De made as gradual possible. At the
end OF the first year he will have
Pee a somewhat Injured to school
h hn.,. ana Til be able to endure longer
VIII De able TO endure the full limit OF the school
Gay Nor would place the full limit OF the
school day for the intermediate and advanced
grades at five hours for the sake of the pupil
alone, put Tor the sake OF the teacher as we'll
ane nosl vigorous man or woman cannot do
efncient teaching for q long period
would have two sessions The strain of a
single session Is usually severe. Teachers nor
pupils seldom work with the delibsrateness and
ease as with double session. The single
session, too, gives pupils a long afternoon
which is likely to be spent in play; and when
evening comes. they are liable to be Indifferent
about study. and will go to school the next
morning with lessons indfferently prepared
would also advocate a double session on the
grounds that when our boys and girls go out
into life they win find the laboring day divided
into the forenoon and the afternoon. Why not
school?
The recess question has received considerable
discussion in the last ten years throughout our
entire country. AT a meeting of the various
superlntendents of the state of Michigan, held
az Lansing In 1883, 1t was regarded as best to
dispense with 1t entirely. The practice of doing
away with 1t IL undoubtedly increasing. Its ad-
yocates claim: % 1t favors health by prevent
ing exposure. % 1t has a tendency to refine
ment by removing the opportunities for rude
and boisterous play. 60 1t takes away the op-
portunity for the corruption of morals incident
to association with the vicious. 40 1t relieves
teachers of an extra burden. In answer to the
hrst claim 1t can be stated that the exposure in
CURED during recess is only occasional and less
than that undergone in going to and from
school. If it be Injurious to health, take it to
be less 80 than the poison of the vitiated
atmosphere OF poorly ventilated school
room. And how often the air becomes
bad in our school rooms and the teachers
unconscious of the fact. They need only to step
out into the fresh air for moment and then re-
turn to their rooms to realize how bad it is
Then, by the sedentary habit of the school-room
certain physical organs of the i'm
mature beings through inactivity are
l weakened, which means suffering and i'm
paired health during adult life. 1t must be re-
membered that two-thrds of our school child
rem are yet under II years of age From the
Popular Science Monthly quote: 'Tndoor life
has already too strong attractions. Out-ofdoor
exercise should be sought with avidity by every
child. Deprivation of sunlight is a serious mat