The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-10-09


family doctor. School routine is M
cure for ailing children; it hurts them
and 1t may endanger other pupils to bc
kept in contact with them. Therefore
the teacher should be first a kind OF
inspector of her charges. And 1t Il
properly the women who are teachers
| of children, until the children are old
enough to have some understanding OF
| health and sanitary values. She should
| satisfy herself at the beginning Of each
school day that every child In her
charge is in good working order, bright
cheerful and happy. II she detects
any symptoms not normal. she should
carefully, quietly and sympathetically
investigate. and any dropping pupil
should be excused and sent home with
note to the mother explaining. Re-
member, incipient colds. diphtheria,
tonsilitis and other troubles start with
droopy physical conditions, and the
sooner a proper diagnosis is made, the
better for all concerned. 1t may prove
unnecessary in the end, but take no
chances.
Taking 1t for granted that all the
pupils begin the day full of life and
energy. 1t is the teachers duty to see
that they end the school day in the
same condition, ready to shout and
laugh and run. That is not possible
without perfect ventilation. Open win
; dowg DOM mean gusty drafts, but they
mean fresh air. Colds don't come
! from drafts half as often as from
vitiatsd air. bad air that has been
nreathed two or three times already.
In some OF the great hospitals the
wards are considered to be overcrowd-
ed where less than fifteen hundred
cubic feet of air space Is provided for
each patient. There are many advo-
Gates OF schools in the open air, or in
:ents where and when climatic condi-
lions do not interfere. and school ses-
s.ons have been. and are being, held
out Of doors in certain communities in
the North. as recent newspaper &C.
counts have recited.
Living as close to nature as nature
will permit brings ideal sanitary con-
ditions, whether in sleeping or waking
hours, For the old as well as the young.
Fresh air and the necessary discipline
of the school room run close side by
side. The child with dropping spirits
and a "dopy' feeling caused by foul
air, is more likely to violate the rules
than the one who has all his senses
alert.
The eye Is a. delicate organ. Some
times it is wonderful how much abuse
il withstands and remains servieeable.
And the eyes Of the school children are
as much a charge of the teacher as
their minds. Never permit a pupil to
study in a weak or poor light. and
never permit him to sit facing the
source of outside illumination. In
other words. have the desks so ar
ranged that the light from the windows
comes from the side or back-never
from the front.
Don't permit the temperature Of the
school room to 60 above seventy de-
grees from artificial heating. Outside
climate conditions in Florida, and else
where, often make this a matter i'm
possible to control, but considerable
share of the school year is in seasons
in which artificial heating is required.
With good air. good light properly
placed, and an tnvigorating tempera-
ture, good work is possible and it is
much easier for the pupil and the
teacher than when any Of them are
lacking.
The teacher with tact and it Is a
prime qualification for success, has
abundant opportunity to instil other
ideas than those that come from the
books. without embarrassing the over
sensitive child, it is possible to Guilt
vate habits OF cleanliness. Clean hands
and faces are not so essential in the
long run as clean teeth. Older people
know the troubles that come from
neglected nolars. and It isn't fair that
the children should have such troubles
saved up for them when proper atten-
ton may ward them off.
Clean finger nails, clean ears-such |
subjects can be approached only with |
almost infinite discretion, but they are |
none the less important; they have a |
serious bearing on the future of every |
child. The teachers duty lies In such |
directions no less than in the mental |
discipline of the younger pupils. The |
duty sometimes is rendered more try
ing by the neglect Of such matters at
home. and also by the parents resent
ment Of what they consider unwar-
ranted interference by the teacher.
But infinite patience and feminine
tact accomplish impossible things and
ultimate success only contradict their