The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1911-02-15
SCHOOLS IN OPEN AIR.
AZ OLD GRECIAN SYSTEM HAS
PEEN REVIVED IN NEW YORK.
PLPILS BENEFITED PHYSICALLY

ItSoH ESCbDASlICu Al the lily, and
children Are Making Faster Pro-
gress Than Those Who Are Shut
in Rooms.
NEW YORK.-The day may NOT
be far distant when the school chill
dren of Greater New York will do
most, if not all, their studying in
the open air, or in rooms wide omen
to the weather, no matter what NAV
be the temperature 1t has baan
proved conclusively that children
studying under such conditions make
more rapid progress than when
gathered in warm class rooms and
that they keep in better health The
idea is centuries old-it was carried
out to its fullest extent in the omen
air schools of Greece 5000 wears
ago. Of course the climate of Attn
ems is milder than that of New York
but the recent application of tho
same principle in this and other cit-
les throughout the United States has
been equally successful
mere are nearly dozen open-air
schools in the city, all of them main.
tanned for children who have either
tuberculosis or who are predfsnoged
TO the disease. AS soon as noeeib1o
open-alr class rooms will be provid-
ed Tor perfectly normal children al
so, and it is expected that in +ho
course of a few years fresh air
SCHOOLS, will be the rule.
How the System Works.
Four of the fresh air schools es-
yaonsheu are on ferry boats. All the
CHIuren who study, there have ~
oercuiosls, but in spite of their ba-
ing victims of this disease and frai1
ana Feeble in body they are makina
taSIeF progress in their studies tha1
nose VINO are perfectly we'll Int
VINO are shut up in artiiciaIIv heat.
ca cIaSS rooms. The hygienic ron-
-Ig IN these ferry boats is Dractt-
saLy dhe same. School hours arc
IoHI TO D. At 10 O'Clock nvorT
LoThlng crackers and milk are Saw
tS 10 the pupils. In the middle of
ne Jay they get a warm dinnor
a aI III the middle of the afternoon
D -ey nave crackers and milk again
Issues the ordinary school eGnin,
ne4I a steamer chair is providod far
5 @Cn cnlId, and after the warm mia
10y meal the children have to lie
Go"n IN steamer chairs for nv 1r0
~ siyohe is we'll protected from H.
70 IoIu by heavy blankets and boo .lie
- d enid is asleep when the aftor
Ioo1 session begins he is NOT o1,oI,
49, put IS allowed to finish bir
noP' whenever a child dons Ia
teel wen or seems weary he co, IT, IT,
uo|H IN MS steamer chair ana ~
anu SIeep as long as he likes Do
s eween tlmes the children do inst ~
oane IhingS that they do in sin SIN ,i Ilie
o1 GS IN the regular schools e..
VIZ WI weather they wear n,it+ox -
%Ien the time comes for wri+ino. 10 30,
ttapHetIhg they take off tboir 80 ~
, rVt5 LOT hVe or ten minutes and rronI-
~ ~ a. states or pencils and nanor ~, n
MI 'neir hands are cold. Thew 49,,
| on Ihelr mittens and 90 aboTt
ooinelhlng else. Despite All tbcso
lIl5I uptlons and the apparently
S"9y way IN which their studies are
LoIuucJed these children make much
DoICer progress in scholarship than
PeIIectIy healthy children who sit in
tHe warm school house class rooms
How the Movement Started,
All this work in outdoor schools
IS largely the result of the efforts
0! the Committee on the Prevention
Vi tuberculosis of the Charity Or
SANITATION Society. Four years ago
inns committee started day camps
LOT the care and education of chill
uFeh. After these had been estab-
lSHeu the city assumed the expenses
VI maintenance. The tuberculosis
committee, however, continued to
provide nurses for the sick children.
Today the tuberculosis committee.
lue BOARD of education and the de-
pdItment of health are working to-
sether in the matter. This fresh air
work Tor the education of children
Is divided into two parts, which are
Kept absolutely separate. The first
VI Ihese deals with the children who
are AFFLICTED with tuberculosis. and
me second those who are badly nour-
lsned and predisposed to this dis
Inc Dig work is in preventing chill
qIeh from getting tuberculosis. No
pouy knows how many thousands or
ems OF thousands of school children
are on the edge of this disease. The
nedICh department doctors are going
through the school continuously and
plcklng out those that seem to be in
lle most danger and need attention
,.e most. The children selected are
u,Vlded into classes of 20 of those
apouC the same age, and they are
Iaken care of in the open-air schools
On land, some of which are on the
roofs of buildings. On the ferry
poats those afflicted with pulmonary
tuberculosis and those suffering