La Junta tribune., 1899-04-05

Proper Lishtiag Of Classrooms In-
| portast = Faulty Coustructioa ol
Dcsks . Menace to the RapiAly
Gr0Ssisg ChllA.
One Of the greatest problems Of school
| hygiene is to secure good ventilation
1t is impossible to attain proper phys
ical and mental culture in the presence
Of impure air. A glance at some of the
standards Of atmospheric purity may
be interesting in this connection. says
Dr. H. w. Chaplin in The Independent
While many deleterious substances can
combine to taint the air it has been
found that for testing purposes only one
| need be considered-namely. carbonic
acid gas This substance represents one
OF the waste products Of the body and
| is thrown cut by the breath. Where
| this gas 10 present beyond q certain
| amount 1t Is an indication that some
kind Of organic decomposition is taking
| place. and the result will be deleterious
A heavy. musty odor, so often detected
in crowded and poorly ventilated rooms
is an evidence to the senses that there
is an excess of carbonic acid and gas
present II one stays long in such n
room. there will follow headache. or q
CONSTRUCTED feeling about the forehead.
or general sensation Of malaise.
1t is very obvious that of all places
the air of a schoolroom should be pure
This may be attained by allowing a
proper amount Of cubic air space to
each child and by careful system Of
ventilation. With reference to room
space. each child should be allowed at
least from 12 to 90 square feet of floor
space and from 200 to $50 cubic feet of
air space. according to age and develop
ment-
Ths proper lighting of the school
room is . point Of very great impor-
tance.
A proper position of the chair and
desk is important in this connection.
and will be spoken Of later. The print
must always be clear and distinct, and
the paper should have dull. smooth
finish. with thickness enough to pre-.
vent any impression from the type ON
the opposite side Of the page. A suit
able position Of the body. as well as the
eye. is favored by employing the YER
tical 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 as
far rs possible above the l. Jor: hence it
is best to have the windows reach near
ly to the ceiling A skylight is very
effective means Of Frightening room.
Desks must not be placed directly in
front of windows. A side light from as
high source rs possible, 80 arranged
as not to throw o shadow from the body
and arms upon the work. is desirable.
It 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
childrep's eyes are not subjected to con-
ficting lights between the natural and
artificial sources of light.
The furniture Of schoolroom may
have an important influence upon the
child's health If the seats and desks
are too high or too low or not in proper
opposition. the children will be Obliged
to work in CONSTRUCTED. uncomfortable
positions In recent examination OF
200 children in one Of our public in
stitutions the writer found that little
over 10 per cent of the pupils had be-
ginning curvature Of the spine.
Rapidly growing children are prone
to develop this condition. which is en-
couraged and often actually produced
by faulty posture during school attend-
ance The seat should be of the height
measured from the knee to the foot, SO
that 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 ell
bow when the child is sitting upright.
The inner border of the desk should
| reach about one inch over the front OF
the seat This compels the child to sit
up straight and prevents the curving
forward Of the spine too much. The
desk should not overhang the seat more
than two inches. as freedom Of move
ment may thus be impeded. Sometimes
it may be sufficient to have the inner
edge of the desk vertical with the front
| edge of the seat. The slant Of the desk
may be at an angle of from 15 to ~
degrees. 1t is best to have the desk and
seats single, and it will add to the COM
fort to have the front edge OF the seat
curved. The back may also have
slight backward curvature.
| Where the children in schoolroom
come from tenement houses care must
be exercised in the use OF states. slate
pencils and sponges. AS these agents
may be responsible for the spread OF
| disease. especially Of the throat and
\ mouth, it is often safer to depend upon
pads and pencils. Among this class OF