The Dickinson press., 1909-04-03

attendance should be encouraged.
8. When you hear things that please
you. tell your neishbors. When you
hear things that displease, tell the
teachers.
A realization of some of these things
would increase the efficiency of the
schools from Is to 40. per cent.
SATURDAY MORNING
One Of the best papers Of the session
was that on The Schools and Public
Health by D.. G. A.Pekins, q portion
of which follows :.,7ai.
We hear so-much criticism these days
about our modern educational methods
and their effects upon the physical well
being Of our children. Thirty per cent
Of physical deficiency In youth Is a
condition which may well give concern.
A child's education has a triple func-
ton, the training of the character and
the body as we'll as the mind. The child
should be taught how to live. While
our present educational system is far
from ideal. I believe that the schools
get the credit for many q break down
among children which is due entirely
to defects in the home and home train
ing. For every child who is injured by
over study there are ten whose injury
could be traced directly to social dissfpa-
ton and idleness after school hours.
When q child is going to school his
business is to be at school. to take neces-
sary exercise, eat plain and wholesome
food and sleep from eight to ten hours
out of every twenty-four.
There is a tendency among teachers
to want to shorten or eliminate recess
periods and vacation periods. This
usually comes from selfish motives of a
teacher. Our hours are TOO long and our
rooms are too crowded, especially in the
lower grades. This is a hard problem to
be overcome and can be met only by
large increase in the force of teachers,
50 that a child could get much more
individual attention, thus making
shorter hours and more recreation pos
sible. Our girls suffer more from lack
of exercise. To this cause much of the
ill health of girls and women can be
traced. s
AS soon as a child enters school, he
should be taught deep breathing. He
should stand in an upri ght position and
take from six to a dozen deep breaths
two or three times a day.
The successful handling of the ques-
ton of the health and hygiene of our
school children brings US to the question
0 ffmedical inspection. This is necessary
for two principal reasons, to detect
physical defects and to discover and
protect against disease. We are told
that from Is to IS per cent of school chill
dren have eye deformities sufficiently
serious 10 interfere with their school
progress. Over ten per cent have de-
fective hearing. These cases can all
be helped and usually cured if taken in
time. The early detection and proper
handling Of CONTAGIOUS diseases can be
effectively carried on only through
medical inspection. ~
One of the greatest avenues for the
spread of contagious and infectious
diseases lies in the common drinking
cup. Among other things used in school
work which are great germ bearers I
would especially mention pencils. books,
p~enholders, rulers, soap and dirty towels.
I would advocate sanitary drinking
fountains. clean towels, soap in powder
or liquid form in sanitary containers,
individual pencils, etc.
We must have more teachers. We
need g~ymnasiums where. systematic
work can be given. especially in times
of bad weather. When the public rea-
Lies the great need of these things there
will not be any great trouble in securing
the necessary appropriations. The tea
cheers and physicians should be the
leaders in promoting a campaign of
education to ous public opinion in
the needs Of our schools along these
lines.
W. F. Kunze of Minneapolis, for
merly superintendent of the Red Wing,
Mimi. schools, explained in much de-
tail a system of heating and ventilation
designed for one room school houses.
There was a general discussion of this
subject. Supt. c. l. Vigness of Bur
leigh county spoke on what Does the
State Ask of Public Schools?" He said
that the state required each individual
to be so trained as to discover himself
and fit himself for the place to which
he is best adapted. The state wants its
schools to turn out good citizens, willing
workers and active, intelligent young
men and women.
The entire assembly then posed for a
photograph on the school steps. When.
this important matter was over C. J..