Evening star., 1928-12-02
CHILD HEALTH EXPERTS HIT
FULL DAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
Five-Hour Day Held Injurious
to First and Second
Grade Pupils.
Serious Mental and Physical
HanCiCaps Believed Caused
by Long Hours.

The full-day schedule for first and
second grade pupils in the District
schools is injurious to the growing
bodies of the children, hampers their
recreational activities and in many
cases creates serious mental and physi-
cal handicaps, in the unanimous opin-
ion of five prominent child health ex-
pertS of Washington. expressed yester-
day, Their views were invited after
a number of Washington mothers COM
planned of the lengthy hours their chill
dren are required to spend in school.
I Officials Defend Schedules.
At the same time, school authorities
of the District defended the full-day
schedule, contending harm to children
through the f1ve-hour plan is rare and
that the full-day program was insti-
tuted only after survey by the United
States Bureau of Education revealed
the majority of American cities require
daily sessions of five hours and more
of first and second grade pupils.
Each of the five physicians said thew
had frequently certified to school
authorities that certain pupils should
not be required to spend a full day in
class and these pupils then were ad-
mltted to part-time sessions. One de-
clared in his opinion, the school calen-
Oar should be inverted so that children
would attend school during the Sum-
mer months when the longer daylight
hours would give them more time for
out-of-door play to compensate for
time spent in class, and would be on
vacation during December January and
February, when colds and the danger
OF contagion are rampant.
FOOte Opposes Plan.
DR.. John Foote, professor of pedia-
tries at Georgetown University, member
OF the Children's Hospital staff, and
author of Safeguarding Children's
Nerves" and other books, declared the
f1ve-hour day for the first two or three
elementary school grades "is entirely
too long," and 'in many cases" is re-
sponsible for nervous disorders of chill
dren. The danger of injury comes. Dr.
Foote said, in placing sudden restraint
upon young bodies and mentalities. He
compared this imposition of restraint to
a short-circuit in motor
DR.. Foote is convinced a halliday
schedule is all that should be exacted
of children before they are or 9
years of age.
DR.. Joseph S. Wall, also professor of
pediatr1cs at Georgetown University and
former president Of the Medical Society
OF the District Of Columbia, declared the
present five-hour system 'is absolutely
atrocious." Through that program, boys
and girls from to z years of age are
required suddenly to change their modes
of living completely. Proper nourish-
ment at home, he said, is Exchanged BY
the children for haSty meals at school.
At the same time. the children are re-
qulred to remain in restraint in their
claSsrooms during the hours they should
to taking their after-meal nap, which is
essential to the growing child, he con-
tended
Under the present program the first
and second grade pupils, along with
the older boys and girls, begin work
at o'clock in the morning and quit at
3 o'clock in the afternoon, with one
hour for lunch. On this schedule. DR..
Wall says, the children reach home
tired and without sufficient time to
enjoy out-of-door play. The young
sterS therefore are, required to abandon
suddenly their child life" for the adult
program at least two years to soon, the
OOCGOI believes.
Old System Lauded.
Under the old system. the first and
second grades we're dismissed at 1890
o'clock in the afternoon, which. in
the opinion of Dr. Wall, gave children
ample opportunity to reach their homes
in time for warm meals and maps. BY
the time they reached the age of 8
years the children were better pre-
pared physically to undertake the more
rigorous demands of the full-day school
program. .-.-..
"In my opinion" DR.. Wall said.
nothing has been more detrimental to
the welfare of our school children than
the institution of the full-dav schedule
for the younger children. The condi-
tion arising from the present schedule
is absolutely atrocious!"
DR.. Hugh j. Davis, practicing physi-
clan, who also Is director of child
hygiene and infant welfare in the Dis
trict Health Department, said he be-
lieves the five-hour school day for first
and second grade pupils "is too great
strain on them" The lack of fresh
air, the sudden restraint on children
and curtailed recreation produce in
many cases effects which are detri-
mental to "the entire physical state" :"
DR.. Davis said. The nerves, he believes,
are chiefly the victims of this system
and in some cases which he has treated
in private practice, he has found