Evening star., 1898-11-08
# growing organ was always a danger
The Teacher Considered.

| UI a growing organ was always a danger
| to it.
The Teaches Considered.
DIR. Sofie A. Nordhoff-Jung spoke on the
effects of school life upon the teacher.
Among other ideas advanced. she said:
1T seems though in proportion to the
Improvements made for the benefit of chill
dren the teachers lot becomes a harder
one The community expects the children
to be properly taught, and this can only
be done by healthy corps of teachers. In
lighting the school room only the advan-
tage of children has been taken into con-
sideration, and the light is directly damag-
ing to the eye of the teacher. 1t has been
proven that eye diseases. both functional
ana organic, are caused by this. During
school hours the teacher has to speak in a
loud voice in an atmosphere of chalk dust
ana other impurities. This often causes
serious chronic throat trouble.
The time Of recess is not a time of rest,
for many teachers have to supervise the
play rooms; others have extra work to do.
The principals are the most oyerworked
OF all the teachers corps. for. i'll addition to
| teaching as many hours rs an ordinary
teacher they nave special duties to per
form, which require great physical exer-
tion.
The worst of all is the long standing dur
ing school hours, to which they are COM
PEELED by an unwritten law. This is most
injurious to the health of Young women
especially if at the same time they have
to tax their psychic and mental functions
TO their utmost capacity. Nervous trou-
bleS and heart diseases are so frequently
found in women teachers ana are alone
attributable to the perntcious habit of
standing. In European countries the teach
ers Sit on raised platforms. and the disci-
pine of the school room does not only not
suffer, bat is better, for a physically ex-
hausted teacher is not able to do her duties
III we expect the best work from the teach
ers 1t becomes our duty to place them nm
ial Ixr-rf
inSs. We must not make chronic inyali5s
OF the women who give the best years of
their lives and all their energy to the chill
dren o. our community. Audiatur ct altera
pars."
Dr. Samuel S. Adams spoke on Some of
the Causes of So-caiied School Diseases
Found in the Home" He spoke of i'm
proper diet being given school children and
OF their hurried meals in order that they
might get to the school in good time He
spoke of the practice in Boston of proyid-
ing lunches for children at the school build
lngs, and said it might be a good thing TO
try the experiment of providing lunches
In similar way in this city
Should He Better VeRtiIuted
The program of the evening was con-
cluded by DR.. George NJ Kober, who smoke
on the many causes of so-called school dis
eases found in the school. The schools. he
said, should be better ventilated The
Smead system of ventilation in use in the
school buildings of this city should be SUP
planted by better system. Medical in
spectors should be provided for the schools.
We appreciate the labors of our school
trustees, and especially of Mr. Powell the
eIhcient superintendent, to elevate the
standard OF our public Schools DR. Kober
SAID We realize. too, that they have ac-
conplshed the utmost which a given
also believe that the evils and defects
pointed out this evening Should be
promptly corrected, because the mental and
physical visor of community depends
upon the environments of childhood ans
youth, when the whole organism is plastic
and yields readily to external and internal
Impressions.
The occurrence of so-called school dis
eases cannot tie questioned. nor is this sur
prlsing when we consider that children
upon beginning school. enter upon a new
life and environment. Up to this time they
have been allowed TO run and play i'm the
open air exercise the body and senses
without restraint, but now, without a ne
riod of transition, they are Obliged ro re-
nam Tor several hours during the day in
close and often overcrowded school rooms
taxing their minds and straining their eyes
for near objects.
Effect of Air.
This cannot but be injurious to children
at such a susceptible period of their lives.
In the first place, he said, there is a de-
cided difference In the purity of the coun-
try and city air, especially in the amount
of carbonic acid. organic matter and germs.
and this difference is still more marked be-
tween the open air and the air of habita-
tions and school rooms. Every excess of
either cannot fail to be without effect I'm |
the publication of the blood.
Impure air means impure blood, and IS |
therefore potent factor in the production |
Of anaemia, chlorosis and all nutritve dis
turbances, and paves the way for tubercll-
iosis and nervous diseases 1t is quite true. |
some of the disorders attributed to school |
life are due to improper food and air at /
home and TIE pernicious penny shops; but |
it has been conclusively shown that many |
of these disturbances apparently disaDpe 4
during vacation, showing that the air of |
the school room has more to do with i, |
than the home life. Hence we, the speaker /
insisted, should not relax our efforts 10 ST. |
cure the best possible system of ventila- |
ton for our schools. and as the Smead sys- /