Evening star., 1938-10-05
Decorations
In School
Rooms
Framed Pictures,
One Ornament
Sufficient.
By ANGELO PATRI.

CCHOOL is an extension of home, a
~ place where children live. 1t should
be made as beautiful as possible and
as comfortable as may be. The usual
school is a barracks, bare, hard, un-
lovely, and often unclean. No good
housekeeper would tolerate the condi-
ton Of some Of the schools in this
country. No modern mother would
stand for the state Of some Of the toi-
lets that children use every day. The
lack Of soap and water, the utter dis
regard of the comfort and health Of
the children is amazing when one con-
siders the talking we do about edu-
cation. A little personal interest on
the mothers part would work miracles
The class room is the children's liv-
ing room Here they work under what
ever conditions have been provided for
them by the school authorities. The
usual seats are wooden benches fast
ened to the floor. don't know of any
other kind of seating that would be
practical, but surely these seats could
be shaped and adjusted so that chill
dren might sit in them with some de-
gree Of comfort and without danger
to their health. Some schools in this
country are still using benches that
were installed in the days Of their
grandfathers, when all that was
thought necessary in the way of seat
ing was seating and nothing more
Legs. backs-well, they just weren't
counted in.
The lighting OF the class room has
a tremendous effect on the health of
the pupils. If the lighting is bad their
eyes are soon affected. They have
headaches; they grow listless and
weary: their stomachs are rebellious;
their digestion Is slowed down. The
whole child suffers when his eyes suf-
fer. And, Of course, he does not learn
as he might. The waste caused by
poor lighting in class rooms is inde-
fensible from any point Of view
The painting Of the walls Is some
thing that ought to be we'll considered
before any work is done. Green is
not always the best color, nor are all
greens alike in their effect on lighting
and on the children's vision The
height Of the children's heads when
they are seated, the direction from
which the light comes, the number
and the placing of the windows, the
exposures Of the rooms, remembering
the seasons and their sunlight, the
kind Of artificial light and the amount
Of it must be well considered before
taking action. These problems are
not to be solved by inexperienced peo-
pie, but by the lighting engineers. 1t
is better to pay them good fee for
intelligent help and supervision than to
pay for an OUTFIT that kills what 1t is
supposed to foster-the health and
efficiency Of children.
There is one point on which I have
q personal feeling. I dislike draperies
in q school room. They become filled
with dust which the dampness soon
makes into paste. Air filtered, If pos
sible to filter it through the dingy
folds, cannot be good for children.
Dusty draperies do not allow the fresh
ness Of atmosphere a schoolroom de-
mands. And have yet to see draperies
that were lovely in themselves in
classroom. A fine wall, well decorated
with fiat paint is in itself very fine,
and often restful. One or two framed
pictures, distinctive bit of ornament,
are enough. The main decoration of
q classroom is its children and teacher.