The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-09-16
To SELECT DIRECTOR
TO TEACH PHYSICAL CULTURE TO
TEACHERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
DIRECTOR WILL SUPERINTEND
ALL THE WORK IN THIS DEPART
MENT BY THE TEACHERS.

MENT BY THE TEACHERS.
Physical Culture Taught in All
Larger school Systems and 1t Is
Found to Result BenehciaIIy-Su-
pcrintendent AshmOre Talks of
The General Plans for WOrI-The
Report of the Committee Recon-
mends That the work Begin With
Fourth Grade and That 1t BE
Compulsory.
A general plan for the introduction
of physical culture in the city public
schools has been decided upon, and
| the details will be worked out as rap
idly as possible. The system will
be taught by physical director to
the teachers, and they in turn will
conduct the exercises with their pu-
pills.
When asked yesterday. concerning
the plan Supt. Ashmore said:
The details of any plan have not
been worked out, owing to the very
short time which has elapsed since the
Board of Education decided to incor-
porate the system in our schools. but
these will be arranged as rapidly as
| possible and definite announcements
made within a short time. The general
plan is to teach the system to the
| teachers and after they have been
given the basic principles and Ihe diff
ferent exercises used they will teach
their own pupils.
"A physical director will be chosen
and it is probable that the director
will be a lady. She will have complete
charge of the physical culture. work,
| though she will devote most of her
time to the instruction of the teach
ers. She will supervise the work that
is being done with the children. and
will give some instructions to the pu-
pills herself. It is our desire to pro-
cure a director who is well Informed
as to the best methods to be used in
! this work among the children of
school age, and who is also able to i'm
! part to the teachers the best plans
for conducting the work.
Physical Culture I'm Schools.
Physical culture in the public and
| private schools of the country has
| spread wonderfully and to-day there
| is scarcely any large school system
in which the work does not receive
| attention. In the normal school sys-
| TENS in many of the states especial
! attention is paid to physical training
| not granted to any who have not
I taken the prescribed work in physical
| culture and who cannot present a GER
| tificate from their Instructor to the
effect that they are competent to teach
the work to their pupils. The work is
required in the public schools systems
| of several states. ~
l. In Georgia there is no law requiring
1.-THE teaching of physical culture in
the publis schools and there is Sc
rious doubt if the state school funds
could be used for employing a physi-
cal director system that is operated
| under local laws like the schools of
Savannah may introduce it however.
When asked about the general use
i of physical culture in the schools Supt.
Ashmore said:
YES, the work is becoming very
| general throughout thee country and
there is scarcely any important sys-
tenn that does not pay more or less
attention to it. The directors system
is used generally. the nsystem being
| identical with that for teaching sew
| ing, needle work, or similar. subject.
"A competent director is chosen to SUI
perintend the instruction given and to
devise plans for securing the best
| results The physical culture work
| is now found in nearly all the large
school systems of the country"
President MERGERS Statements.
| Col. George A. Mercer, president of
l $ha Board ~ oaid. 5o
not know just what schools have in
troduced the work but it is probable
that some schools have 1t while others
| do not. l doubt if the state funds
could be appropriated for the purpose
| of employing a teacher to carry on the
physical culture work; but as we tax
ourselves we can do what we please
with our money. AS stated in the re-
port of the special committee to con-
slider the advisability of introducing
the system here. we believe that the
work will be beneficial. and that it
should be introduced. The board in
dorsed our action in the matter"
| When asked what the general plan
of work toward establishing the ply
steal culture teaching was, President
| Mercer said: "All the details have
been left in the hands of Supt Ash
more. The only recommendations
| maze Dy the board or the special com
mittee are as found in the report sub
mitted at the meeting yesterday"
The Special Committees Report.
The report of the committee states
that it was its unanimous opinion that
the work should be introduced into the
| school curriculum and that through the
omission Of IT heretofore the city
schools are behind the alignment mark.
ed out for progressive schools.
The report as stated in. the Morning
| News yesterday recommends the install
| lation of the system at the earliest DOS
| sible date. The details are left to fhe
! superintendent, as is also the selection
| of a teacher, but several suggestions
are made in the report.
Among others, the committee sug-
| gests that the military exercise known
| as the setting up exercise" would suf-
| fee and that no exercise involving a
| straining OF the muscles should be
adopted. What is desired is some sim
! pie exercise which would develop every
muscle and limb of the body. The re-
| port further states that the exercises
can not consume more than ten or If
teen minutes of the day, and that
whenever possible they should be con-