Omaha daily bee., 1898-12-29

completely purified by opening all IN.
windows. A little care and thought will
keep the air pure In q small school. blu,
where large numbers OF children are masseS
tosether these devices are not sufbcient
Inc foul air cannot be removed and fresh
ar supplied quick enough by natural open.
ihss where 100 or 200 children are collected
on one floor. II is found that each child in
q classroom requires about thirty cubic fee,
OF fresh air per minutes, or 1900 per hour,
with many children In a room, the only way
In which this amount can be supplied with.
out creating drafts Is by employing air
snafts. The air Is kept In motion In these
shafts by heated coils. or by fans moved by
machinery. Modern sanitary engineers have
made q careful study Of this kind OF air
supply for large buildings. 1t IL thus pos
sible to compute how much fresh air can be
supplied to every Individual In q room, at
the same time drawing out the exhausted
air at q given rate. In the alteration and
construction Of large school buildings, the
most Important point, namely, good ventila-
ton, should always be referred to a sanitary
expert.
The proper lighting Of the school room 10
. point OF very great Importance. Prof.
Conn OF Breslau and others have found
mat there Ii a progressive tendency to
nearsightedness in school children, induced
to q certain extent by the nature Of their
work and encouraged by defective illumina.
ton. After examining the eyes Of 10000
school children, Prof. Coh found that the
nearsightedness increased from the lower
to the upper classes. Thus. in the Latin
schools (gymnasiums), the lower classes
showed 1875 per cent, and the highest class
65.s per cent Of nearsightedness. Everything
tending toward eye-strain must thus be
carefully avoided. Reading or studying for
several consecutive hours should not be en-
c~ouraged, but periods Of rest for the eyes
allowed. One way Of, resting the eye while
at close work k to occasionally change the
focus by looking at some far object. The
book may be held about the distance Of the
elbow from the eye; some writer's consider
sixteen inches az approximately the proper
distance. II the child requires the printed
pages near the eye and assumes a STOPPING
position, 1t 10 an violence either Of poor light
or nearsishtedness, and the case should be
investigated.
Importance of Proper Light.
A proper position Of the chair and desk
are important In this connection, and will be
spoken Of later. The print must always be
clear and distinct, and the paper should have
q dull, smooth finish, with thickness enough
to prevent any impression from the type on
the opposite side Of the page. A suitable
position Of the body, "a we'll a. the eye, Is
favored by employing the vertical rather
than the slanting style Of handwriting, and
the paper or book should be parallel with
the edge OF the desk. The source Of light
should be AZ far as possible above the floor;
hence 1t is best to have the windows reach
closely to the ceiling. A skylight is a very
effective means Of Frightening q room.
Desks must not be placed directly In front
Of windows; a side-light from a. high q
source a. possible, 30 arranged as not to
throw a shadow from the body and arm
upon the work, 10 desirable. 1t Is usually
considered preferable to have the light come
from the left side. Windows should not be
supplied with curtains or woodwork that
will obstruct the free entrance Of light,
especially In the upper sashes. II some part
OF the room requires artificial light upon
dark days, care must be exercised that the
children's eyes are not subjected to con-
Hicting lights between the natural and
artificial sources Of light. At the same
time, every corner Of the room must be so
plainly Illuminated As to allow reading
without any strain OF the eyes; but In striv-
ing to accomplish this we must try to avoid
conflicting or Elaring lights. The color OF
the school room wall should be OF some
neutral tint, preferably light gray. Even
when all the conditions Of proper lighting
are fulfilled, the teacher must keep a watch.
full oversight over the children. II any
watery, or II complaint Il made OF
hAaHaNhn AR natN In I'm AOaA tnv -
plication, II Is an evidence that the child's
eyes are being overstrained. The work
must then be lessened and q physician con-
suited.
Faulty Pastures.
The furniture Of a school room may have
an important influence upon the child's
health. II the seats and desks are too high
or too low or not in proper opposition, the
children will be obliged to work In con-
stricted. uncomfortable positions. In q re-
cent examination Of 1000 children In one Of
our public institutions the writer found that
q little over 10 per cent eof the pupils had Q
beginning curvature Of the spine.
Rapidly growing children are prone to
this condition. which 10 encouraged
and often actually produced by faulty
during school attendance. The
seat should be Of the height measured from
the knee to the foot, SO tina when sitting
the soles and heels Of the feet may rest
easily upon the floor. The desks are often
too high above the seats. which favors .
lateral curvature OF the spine. The back of
the desk should be at about the level OF
the elbow when the child is sitting upright.
The inner border of the desk should reacn
about one inch over the front of the seat.
compels the child to sit up straight
and prevents the curving forward Of the
spine too much. The desk should not over
hang the seat more than two inches, as
freedom Of movement may thus be impeded. |
1t may be sufhcient to have the
edge Of the desk vertical with the
'front.' edge Of the seat. The slant Of the
desk may be at an angle OF from Is to 20
1t is best to have the desk and
single and 1t will add to the comfort |
10 have the front edge OF the seat curved.
The back may also have a slight backward
Where the children In q school room
from tenement houses care must pe
In the use Of states, slate pencils |
and sponges. AS these agents may be re-
for the spread OF disease, es-
pecially Of the throat and mouth, It IL often |
safer to depend upon pads and pencils.
Among this class OF pupils the books that |
are taken home should be covered with
brown manila paper. Careful inspection OF |
tho drinking cups must frequently be- made |
10 insure perfect cleanliness. Here, again,
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