The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-01-06
NEBRASKA ATTEMPTS HEALTH EDUCATION BY LEGISLATION

| A lot of moral mentors tell these days that
 you can't mould q peoples character by egisa-
 ton, something like that. stephen Douglas
 used such argument with equal effect be- fore you and I were born. The great state of Nebraska makes an ambitious attempt to esta- fish health education in the public schools by act of legislature. Section 6446, school laws of Nebraska "Provision shall be made by the proper local school authorities for instructing the pupils in all schools supported by public money under state control, in physiology and hygiene with special reference to the effects of alcoholic drinks and other stimuants and mar cotics upon the human system."
 That specific mention of alcohol suggests the
 strong hand of the w. c. T. U., and l. for one
 wish em more power. My mother was member
 of the w. C. T. U. and it a mighty good
 thing for kids I'll tell the world. Still. some
 of the methods of education employed by the
 organization then and now, seem questionable
 One vivid lesson the good women taught us kids
 somehow failed to impress the youngsters who
 were destined to be whipped by booze. They
 poured out some alcohol in dish and touched a match to it, and it burned they told us beer
 and whiskey and wine burned the drinkers stomach just like that Fortunately for kids at home, Mother never tried to feed us such fairy tacs but it was not so fortunate for other kids who didn't get the right instruction at home Nebraska friend sends me the physiology and hygiene syllabus of the normal training high schools. The outlines therein laid down for the guidance of teachers are indeed imposing; to my mind they are forbidding. I'd say the courses
 of study for high school teachers in Nebraska would do well enough for professors in the med cal colleges and universities!
 Although this Nebraska Bulletin E purports to deal with physiology and hygiene there is a lot of the usual filler in the syllabus, stuff about histology. psychology. pathology, bacterology, and probably phrenology, astrology and theol- ogy-I fell asleep somewhere deep in the chap ter on tobacco. Here and there in the syllabus anatomy bobs up. It would seem that the high school normal teachers in Nebraska born with sufficient knowledge of anatomy, just as Tom, Dick and Harry eborn with a clear prehenson of what "the common cold" is.
 The syllabus includes the familiar old tables of average heights and weights for men and women at all ages and curious table giving the leverage normal systolic blood pressure for
 persons at various ages" Sillytilly business, but we must remember these outlines of instruction are prepared by educational authorities who are generally bit shy health education them selves If the Nebraska authorities at all different from such authorities in other states. heir official health education syllabus does not betray the difference.
 There are "ten health commandments in cluded in the work. The Moses of these "com- l mandments' is not identified. but suspects | he is not doctor his name is r. M. Gregg and he is professor of something other in Ne l braska Wesleyan university. I must hand it to the professor for his sheer courage in one re- spect; throughout his ten commandments, which | are aboue ten times wordy the original Ten, he never utters word of caution about | brushing your teeth Now let the Nebraska Dental association deal with the professor-and let him summon me if he wants witness.