The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-11-23
CIVIC BIOLOGY
TO Be TAUGHT
BY UNIVERSITY
DR.. c. r. HODGES TO CONDUCT
CLASSES FOR EXTENSION Dlvi-
SION OF UNIVERSITY or FLOR
IDA.

Several counties are being organ
gram which is being put on in the
state through the public schools by
the new General Extension Division
of the University of Florida This
work is being carried on by DR.. c. f.
Hodge, noted biologist formerly of
Clark University.
According to an agreement made at
the last meeting of the State Board
of Health, it was decided that the
General Extension Division should car
ry on this educational program in the
towns of Florida through work in the
schools.
This is a great opportunity for
teachers to render real service, earn
college credit and at the same time
help improve health conditions, ac-
cording to B. C. Rily, director of the
General Extension Division, University
of Florida, who says that the biology
of epidemics will be the first topic
taken up and that as needs arise other
topics will be assigned.
Grade teachers are being organized
into classes to meet once a week to
receive instructions from DIR. Hodge
in person and by correspondence for
carrying on the health program, and
classes in Civic Biology are being or
ganized among high school teachers,
club women and other interested per-
sons. The communities will be used
as laboratories and high school and
grade pupils will help make health
surveys.
Through the General Extension Di-
vision, the College of Education will
give three hours university credit to
teachers, provided the schedule is fol-
lowed and definite reports of the
work are turned in.
All who wish to take this work are
advised to get in touch with the
General Extension Division at once.
1T is planned to cooperate and to
coordinate this work with national.
state and local health officials and
with other reliable agencies already at
work in the field Mr.. Riley said 1T
is not the purpose of the General Ex-
tension Division to overlap or dupli-
cate the work of any of those agencies.
They take care of special problems
and specific needs; it is our purpose
to carry on an educational program in
our effort to make permanent the
work they are doing
"A definite community advance
along the line of one vital problem
said Dr. Hodge, lis infinitely prefer
able to learning any number of pages
from books or scattering energies over
many problems and getting nowhere
with any. How can we head off and
learn to control such epidemic scourges
as diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles,
pneumonia, rabies, trachoma and the
ever recurring colds that are sweep
ing over our communities, breaking
up our school attendance and making
life burden generally?
The matter is essentially plain and
enough is already known to accom-
plish these things, if only every
body knew enough to do his part.
The ideas are all in familiar use in
canning fruits and vegetables, in con-
trolling diseases in our truck gardens
and orange groves and in eradicating
Texas fever, hog cnolera, foul brood
or bees and the diseases of poultry I
am informed of Gown in Florida that
prevented an erSGemic of influenza last
winter by isolating and caring for
every case as 1t came into it, The
mayor of this town was an intelligent
woman. If one town can achieve such
results, asy town can do as well.''