Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-26
WHY SPINES AREC CURVE
A PHYSICIAN SAYS IT COMES
FROM CARRYING SCHOOL BOOKS.
Vanity One Reason Children Carry
Loads Of Literature Through
the Streets.
From the New York Tribune.


Curvature of the spine among school chill.
dren is largely the result of the necessity
that the pupils of this city are under to
carry daily to and from school heavy loads
of books according to DIR. Luther Halscy
Gulick, director of physical training under
the department of education. In his re-
port OH his work during the past year he
says:
I'm view of the large number of cases OF
spinal curvature and of the fact that these
cases arise largely during the grammar
school years, have made preliminary in.
quiry as to one Of the possible factors in
the case, namely, the carrying of books OF
considerable weight daily to and from
school
1.-THE observations were made in seventy
three schools and in all parts of the city
by sixteen different observers. The rec
ords cover 40 classes in all grades and in
cludes pupils of both sexes. The facts in
the seventh year may be taken as fan
samples for those of the whole series. For
ty-five schools with classes in the seventh
year were observed. The average number
of books that are required to be taken home
is slightly in excess of four. The number
actually carried varies from three to seven,
with an average number of four and severn
tenths The weight of this pile of books
varied from ~ to 9A pounds. These books
were carried on the left arm by 60 per cent
of the pupils, both boys and girls. The carr
riage of the body was bent to one side di-
rectly in proportion to the load of books
carried.
Home Study and Pride.
The reason for carrying home the number
Of books are: First, necessities of home
study. This would account for 90 pounds
in the year which have selected for Illus
tration. Secondly, the safety of the books,
pads. pencils. boxes and so on, since 1t
has been found necessary for their pfotec-
ton that they be removed from the schools
when these buildings are to be used for
evening schools. Thirdly, the pride of the
children. especially of the girls. who like
to go in the street with many books, so as
to appear to be in high grade. One report
noted child who carried twenty-one blank
pads to swell her pile. go"
my own tentative conclusions in regard
to the matter are that, owing to the fact
that in the grammar school years the spine
is having it's chief growth and development,
1t is peculiarly susceptible to any constant
tendency away from the normal, and that
the constant carrying from five to nine
pounds of books for periods varying from
ten to thirty minutes daily is sufficient to
be a somewhat serious factor in the promo
ton of curvature of the spine. This is
the condition obtains most frequently in
children of weak muscularity, and these
are precisely the ones who would carry
their piles of books with the greatest diff
ficulty.
Essential Books.
The steps which occur to me as -heips
more or less feasible for remedying the
conditions are, to extend the practice, al
ready prevalent in a number of schools, of
having the books taken to and from school
twice day, and limiting to each trip the
ones that are related to the session that
is TO follow; this is the two dose system
by suggesting to the teachers that they OBJ
serve the pile of books being carried home
by the children and restrain those children
who carry unnecessary material, for 1 am
confident that 1t is in these cases that the
chief evil occurs; by advising the children
to carry the books on each side alterna tely,
although l am aware that advice of this
kind can be given much more readily than
1t can be enforced; by employing son1e ne-
vice in schools which are used in the even
ing by which it will be possible for the day
pupils to store their belongings SO that they
need not be removed to and from their
homes every day; by following the practice
of number of European schools, upon
the suggestion of Superintendent c. B. Sny-
der of the building bureau, where the pu-
pills carry their books home in a modified
form of knapsack carried upon the back.