The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1895-11-19
Increase of Specialized cbi,dro.

" '"0'o hoo pooh au enormous in
crease OF late in the number of chill
dren who have been compelled :,
wear spectacles. Ten or fifteen van,
ago it was the rarest thing to soo :
child with glasses. Now, the no,ion
that glasses belong to the aged =,
at any rate, to persons who bav.
reached maturity, is eptirelv
ploded, and the father of famii.
learns with no great astonisbmnn,
that the doctor considers that h;S
boy or girl, aged eight or ten, baS
better at once call in the help Of ~
optician to aid his or her eyesiob,
The Education Department has a.,
ed wisely in addressing a letter ~
several of the larger School Board,
in England on the subject, in wbiCb
it is suggested that inquiries should
be made as to the cause of tba
growing evil. Their lordships aro
anxious to ascertain whether and
how fat, the conditions which now
exist in elementary schools under
the Department can be shown IN
exercise injurious effects upon the
eyesight Of the scholars, and how
improvements can best be intro.
duced. They think that the uro.
posed inquiry would be of great use
If it were clearly established what
rules should be laid down for the
guidance of school managers re-.
spe citing such matters as the light.
ing of the schoolrooms, whether
natural or artificial, a d their posi-.
tion with respect to the points of
the compass and to surrounding
buildings, the slope and height Of
desks, the relation OF the seats to
the desks, and the position of the
desk in relation to the light The
proposed inquiry is also to include
the type and form OF the books
used; the nature OF the exercises in
needlework, drawing, and other
handwork; TIE material and use OF
blackboards; the amount Of byework
required of children, especially in
home lessons; and the discovery Of
those children who need glasses in
order to enable them to work pro.
perly and without injury. Such an
inquiry may be one not unattended
with difficulty and delay, for to be
at all reliable, it would be necessary
to employ ophthalmic experts, or
other duly qualified men, and that
the testing of the children should
take place more than once, and at
intervals sufficient to show the alter
atoms in the sight of particular
scholars aud groups OF scholars
But the Importance OF such an in.
quiry can scarcely be overesti-
mated. The list Of inquiries that
We have just detailed is fairly e1.
haustive, but there are some OF them
much more pressing than Others. 1t
can scarcely he doubted that the
proper lighting of the school is one
OF these. The windows should not
reach lower than the heads of the
children when standing, and where
it is at all possible, especially in
rooms for drawing or sewing, light
should be admitted from the roof,
and yet this is just one of the things
which the Department has hitherto
frowned upon in the erection OF
schools. Then properly CONSTRUCTED
desks and benches should be pro-
vided, and should be arranged in
subdivisions according to the vary
ing sizes of children in the same
class. No class should last longer
than three-quarters OF an hour, and
The intervening fifteen minutes
should be spent in exercises for the
children, and in ventilating the class
room. 1t would be well, also, if
children were carefully watched to
prevent them getting into the habit
OF keeping their books or their work
nearer the eye than fourteen inches
or so. In fue, it would be well to
avoid all fine work, such as fine
sewing, as being detrimental to the
children up to the age OF at least
ten years. But the greatest OF all
cause Of defective sight being on
the increase during the school. going
period of youth is the simple TACT
that no matter what may be the
conditions under which the children
do their work, they have too much
work to do. When a scholar OF ten
der years has to keep his or her eyes
hour after hour, at home as well as
at school, upon a book, or a black
board, or a sheet OF white paper, any
weakness must soon show itsell
Unfortunately the weakness is nov
always discovered either by tae
scholar or mis- parents at a sum
GENTLY early stage to effect per,
manent cure, and it is only wnen
the aching eyes of the child becomes
seriously defective that remedy ID