Evening star., 1898-07-06
EMINENT EDUCATORS
The National Council Discusses School
Hygiene.
ADDRESSES BY LEADING AUTHORITIES
Various Topics Bearing Upon the
important Subjects.
THE OPEN ING SESSION

". L., a.
Dutton of Cleveland as secretary.
Supervising Principal Chas. s. Clarke of
this city was introduced, and on behalf of
the citizens of Washington welcomed the
council in cordial terms.
There was a good attendance and the
general subject of school hygiene was con-
sidered in a series of addresses showing
deep research and long study.
school Hygiene; What 1t Is and Why
We Need It," was the subject chosen by
DR.. Edward NJ Hartwell, secretary of the
department Of municipal statistics in Bos-
to- The only hygiene, he said, worth con-
sic ration was that which derived it's
str myth from modern doctors; the con-
sur mate flower of biological research. The
boz was a machine for doing work in
wh ch We find the physiological arrange
n its for labor thoroughly organized and
co ordinated To do its work properly it
m st be properly cared for. 1t is a Won
derfully intricate organism. AS Huxley
says, it is an army. Each cell is a separate
soul, and as an army depends upon the
well-being of its individual soldiers, SO the
body must depend upon the well-being of
its cells.
DR.. Hartwell treated at length the neces-
sity for observing hygienic laws in the
schools Of the country, as it was upon the
young who were developed in them that
the work of the nation was to depend
Proper school hygiene, he said, was SIM
ply the application of the laws of physioi-
ogy and of embryology to the laws of edu-
cation. and cleanliness was necessary in
the school room as in the hospital.
Prof VIM. H. Burnwell of Clark Univer-
sity, Worcester, Mass, paid attention to
the literature pertaining to the subject of
school hygiene.
Architecture and Ventilation.
The subject of school architecture, heat
ing, ventilation and sanitary arrangements
was the theme of addresses by Superin-
tendent +. Louis Soldan of ST. Louis and
DR.. D. H. Bergey of the University of
Pennsylvania. DR.. Bergey, in the course of
his remarks, said that in school architec-
ture a question of primary Importance, the
consideration OF which is frequently neg
lected, IS that of location, with regard TO
the nature of the soil and it's drainage ca
pacity. Satisfactory sanitary arrange
ments can rarely be secured in any build
ing unless the site is carefully selected
with regard to the drainage capacity of the
soil. The soil structure, as regards pre-
ponderance of definite sized grains, coarse
or hne, influences the drainage capacity,
and consequently the healthfuness of the
site The amount of slope and the prox-
unity of streams, either surface or under
ground, also influence the character of the
soil. For these reasons IL is OF primary i'm
portance that the site selected for a school
building should be of such nature as to
afford the very best possible facilities for
drainage, not only of refuse and excreta
collected in the building but of the surface
ana rain water flowing over the soil. When
the soil of the site is not perfectly dry it
should be first underdrained.
staving selected the site for the building
the nature of the building is of considera-
bic Importance. 1t should be detached SO
as to obtain an abundant supply of fresh
air and the greatest amount of light
Important Considerations.
In the ventilation of school buildings the
cubic space and the floor space must be
considered. The minimum cubic space al
lowable for each child is 800 cubic feet.
With this amount of cubic space the air Of
the room may be satisfactorily changed
three times an hour without creating draft
ana at the same time maintaining the re!a-
tive purity of the atmosphere. The rela-
ton OF window space to cubic space must
aISo De considered, so as to have the light
ran on the left shoulder of the pupil.
The position of blackboards the arrange
ment OF corridors, cloak rooms and ward
ropes are also important matters for con-
Sideration.
The ventilation and heating of school
buildings are probably most satisfactorily
accomplished by the method of Indirect
neaths, whereby constant supply of
Iresh AR IS introduced a such a tempera-
ture as to maintain the proper Temperature
OF the room. Such an ARRANGEMENT re-
quFes the introduction OF fans either 10
propel the incoming air or to extract the
q
tens.
1t Is highly essential that schools should
De Prov Hied with automatic water closets
and latrines, and toilet rooms provided
with SINKS on each floor. With such ar
rangements it is possible to maintain the
health of the pupils in d satisfactory man
ner.
school Furniture.
The morning session closed with ad-
dresses on school furniture by School Su-
perintendent Charles F. Gilbert of Newark.
N j., and School Superintendent Albert p.
Marble of New York city.
Superintendent Gilbert said there was 50
much practical unanimity among school
people upon most of the material used in
the school room that no discussion was
needed Il will simply state the consensus
Is | understand it, he said
'FIrst-School desks anG'seats
Both desks and seats should lie adjust
able TO the size and shape OF individual
chhdren. Desks should be provided with
book rests parallel with the eye when the
body is in an erect position.
No entirely satisfactory adjustable desk
has yet been invented, the elements ailnC st
lacking being simplicity of con-
sIuction and ease of adjustment. The best
form that l have ever seen n these RESPECTS
IS that of the ordinary plano sIool with
clamps to hold the desk and seat in place.
The desk that saw, however, was support
ed with sufficient strength. l believe that
this is the principle of the coming adjugt-
able desk
Second-Blackboards.
'AH school rooms should be equipped with
blackbuards covering all the available
space. These ho;trds should be of sla.e
and should be placed at suitable heights for
the children of the grades that are 10 oceu-
py the rooms.
Third-Maps.
so generalization can be made in regard
to maps. except that all schools engaged
in the study OF geography should have an
abundance Of maps of various sorts, such
as the work requires. If but one kind of
map can be obtained, it should be a phys-
!cal map. 1t is well for maps to hang open
before children even when not in direct use.
"Fourth-Baths.
Baths and Fairgrounds.
There Is no reason in the nature of
things why schools should not furnish
baths to those children who are not bathed
elsewhere The cost of two bathing tanks
one for boys and one for girls, in each
large school building would be slight The
difficulties of administration are much less
than they at first appear. / have no doubt
that most of us will live to see the school
buildings erected in crowded and poorer
districts of our large cities euuinDed with