(e) Washington, D.C.

In Section II. which comprises the next three classes, attention is directed to the limbs and structure of the body, the following extract indicating the method advised::

Section II. The Limbs and Walls.

Skin, muscle, tendon, blood, blood vessels, nerves, fat, bones, joints, ligaments, cartilage.

Sources of knowledge. The body. At home-fur, raw and cooked beef, leg of a fowl, veal, lamb. At the market-sides and cuts of beef, mutton and pork, bones. At school-shank of beef, bones, pictures, diagrams, books.

What to teach. The organ: its chief characteristics and its name; its position and uses; how it should be cared for; the effects upon it of alcohol and narcotics.

Method. 1. Find what is known. 2. Teach pupils to observe the organ; to observe its uses; to learn its care from experience, home training, from knowledge of use, from reading. 3. Contribution of facts. Selection and arrangement of facts by pupils. 4. Oral and written descriptions, drawings with and without objects, according to outline. 5. Reading of selected articles. Suggestions. Observations of corresponding parts in other animals. (Teach to put a piece of sticking plaster on a wound; to cleanse and bandage a cut; to assist one who is weak.)

The remainder of the course is devoted to the consideration of food, air, clothing, removal of waste, exercise and rest, the necessary illustrations being gathered by the pupils and added to by the teacher; the nutritive, digestive, circulatory, respiratory, motory and nervous systems being considered and studied in Section III. by the higher grades. Teachers are exhorted to avoid technicalities as far as possible with the younger pupils, to make use of numerous simple experiments, and to let rules for the proper care and use of the different organs, systems or functions of the body be repeated and re-enforced. Special attention to the interdependence of vital processes is advocated, and the ideal of a strong, wholesome and unabused body as best fitted for successful and happy living is kept constantly and conspicuously in the foreground. In consequence of the law which requires special instruction in schools as to the effect of alcoholic drinks, stimulants and narcotics on the human system, these subjects appear in each section of the course, but the teachers are cautioned to deal only with the more serious consequences, just enough to attain the purpose of mentioning them at all, to refrain from assertions of what is uncertain or sincerely doubted by high authority, or likely to be repudiated by the pupil when he is mature enough to judge for himself. If the children thoughtlessly incline to make merry over the weakness, or folly, or misfortune of persons visibly under the influence of alcohol, their teachers are advised to lead them to a truer and more serious attitude towards such things, dwelling on the personal effort and capacity necessary to form good habits and to avoid bad ones, and showing by illustration, that the man needs a strong and beautiful body if it is to be sound and well balanced. Special delicacy of treatment is pointed out as necessary in those unfortunate cases where children find themselves between the safe teaching of the school and the counter practices and influences of home.

Good methods and wise counsels to teachers find admirable illustration at Washington, where the enthusiasm, on occasion limited elsewhere to supervisors, extends to most members of the staff. This is largely due to Mrs. I. G. Myers, who has been responsible for many years for the Normal School curriculum and has also had an intimate connection with the schools themselves.

The following extract from the "Outline of Work for 1901" speaks for itself as to the personal practice which it is assumed should accompany the teachers' precepts:

"To the teacher

"Study the ventilation of your own building and schoolroom. Know how to secure the best possible fresh air conditions for the children and for yourself. Test this frequently by going from the room for a minute, returning sensitive to vitiated air. Keep a fraction of the mind on temperature, to see that it is the proper one. Have a watchful care to the adjustment of shades, for the best distribution of light. Be mindful of the seating of pupils having defective sight, so that their defects may lessen by fostering care. The direct aim of the early study of physiology is the intelligent care of the body. The formation of healthful and refined habits is the end to be secured."

In Grades IV., V., VI., VII., and VIII. advantageous place is found for the elements of sanitation. The skin, nails, hair, and teeth are first studied in Grade V., then appears the following note: "Study the conditions of a healthful schoolroom: sunlight, its effect; dust, its dangers; fresh air, its value; temperature, what it should be. Let the responsibility for this care gradually pass from the teacher to the pupils, by whom in turn, it should be sustained, with intelligence and conscience." In Grade VI. sanitation comprehends "The care of the sleeping room; a kitchen sink, use, construction, care, risks from want of care, etc." In Grade VII. air and ventilation are required to be treated experimentally and "practically;" and sewer gas, its nature, effects, and dangers, is considered in connection with the city regulations for plumbing. The physiology in Grade VIII. is confined to a simple general study of the nervous system: the sanitation concerns itself with the sources of diseases, germs and their conditions of development, a study of simple disinfectants (sunlight, soap, and water, par excellence), and concludes with an introduction to municipal sanitation (sanitary dwellings, street cleaning, sewerage, garbage, contagious diseases, etc.). Appended is this suggestion: "Combine this unit with the study of city government;" the force and worth of which note is appreciated when the fact is recalled that boys of 13 or 14 constitute half the pupils who come under this instruction. No text-books are suggested for use until Grade IV., then "The Child's Health Primer" and Stowell's "Essentials of Health" are named as suitable; but long and valuable lists of reference books are appended for the teachers' use throughout the course, all of which are available at the teachers' library. Among books on general physiology, Foster's, Colton's, Tracey's, and Bertha Brown's find a place, with Ball's "Care of the Teeth," Mercier's "Nervous System and the Mind," Rosenthal's "Muscles and Nerves," and Lagrange's "Physical Exercise;" Billing's and Morrison's excellent books on Ventilation and Heating, and Prudden's "Dust and its Dangers" and "Story of the Bacteria" are also included, besides the Annual Reports of the Health Department and references to articles in current literature.

Practical methods and field trips are advocated, and unusual trouble is taken to inter-connect this with other school studies. The much talked-of principle of correlation is practised with most encouraging results in the Washington schools, though all concerned are aware that but the first steps along this right road have yet been taken.

At Philadelphia the Good Habits Talks find a place among (f) Philaobject lessons in the four primary grades. delphia.

In view of the well-recognised fact that eating and drinking bulk largely in a small child's mind, the conversational lessons open on articles of food and drink (bread, beef, mutton, coffee, tea, butter, cheese, rice, fruits), and from what natural objects these are obtained, followed by a similar treatment of common articles of clothing. In Grade III. the care of the human

(f) Philadelphia-continued.

body, by means of cleanliness, clothing and breathing fresh air, gives occa-
sion for much useful talk, so that by the time Grade IV. is reached (the
children being from 9 to 10 years old), curiosity is aroused as to the general
structure of the body and the means by which it receives sensations. Dur-
ing the remaining four years the physiological and hygienic aspects of the
study are well balanced in treatment, as is evidenced by the written notes
of the more advanced grades. By the courtesy of Miss Wright, one of the
Board of Education Supervisors, I have been furnished with a large num-
ber of notes made by pupils in Grade VIII., executed without previous
notice in the ordinary course of work, and handed to me without revision
as they left the writers' hands. Of these, forty papers are on the nervous
system; they are clear, well expressed, and, as a whole, satisfactorily
accurate; the plentiful introduction of pen and ink drawings illustrate the
facility attained in this mode of expression by an American child. Each
paper contains a verbal sketch, illustrated, of the cerebro-spinal and
sympathetic nervous systems, and highly creditable drawings of the under
surface of the brain, showing the cerebrum, cerebellum and medulla
oblongata; each paper concludes with the hygienic applications to be
made of the knowledge gained, couched in evidently original language --
"It is the worry in many cases that causes nervous sickness."
"To keep
our body in health also tends to keep the nervous system in health, as the
blood which nourishes the nervous system must be pure and good. The
nervous system can be easily abused, sitting up late at night, overtiring the
body, reading cheap novels and going to the theatre too much all tire the
brain." The following extract from one of the best papers illustrates the
danger, to which reference has been made as so liable to arise from well
meant efforts to simplify a complex, and, as yet, incompletely understood
subject; though the general tenour is excellent some of the daring asser-
tions on the part of the pupil are inaccurate and misleading. "The use of
narcotics, strong drink and opium all tend to weaken the nervous system.
The alcohol gets into the blood, takes away all the healthful parts of the
blood and it gets into the nerve tissue which is very watery, and the
alcohol dries up the water and takes its place, and when the alcohol is once
in the nerve tissue it is very hard to get out, so for this and other reasons,
alcohol should be avoided by every sensible person. Opium and all other
drugs should be equally avoided, the craving is very hard to get rid of and
will often be inherited by the victim's innocent children. The opium has
a deadening effect that is very dangerous, often resulting in death; all the
patent medicines and cough cures often have a form of opium in them, and
they should be avoided as a household remedy, as the effect on children
especially is very dangerous."

Even more striking is another set of papers from the same school for the variety in verbal expression of identical facts and the really beautiful pen and ink drawings of the structure of the ear, including separate illustrations of its parts. The evident grasp of the theory of sound, in addition to the fitness of the human ear for the transmission of sound waves, is most apparent, and the remarks on the care of the ear are simple, rational, common sense. A third set of papers deals with the eye and also merits high praise. Sketches enter even more fully into these notes, and are used with great effect to illustrate and assist to shorten written descriptions. It is evident that the hygienic applications have been well impressed, though a number of the writers wisely omit any notes on the effects of alcohol and tobacco on the eye, which are reported by others in words similar in substance to the following extract from one paper:

"Effect of Alcohol on the Eye.-It in a general way dulls or weakens the nerve. Alcohol is known to produce congestion of eyes. It irritates the delicate linings of the eyelids and lessens the acuteness of vision.

"Effect of Tobacco on the Eye.- Tobacco smoke irritates the eyes. It causes sharp pain of the eyeball. Smokers often have confused and feeble vision due to partial paralysis of the optic nerve."

These papers are home-work on an assigned subject which had been previously studied in class, and rank as "Compositions;" the sketches are allowed to be copied from diagrams or objects. The execution of these careful drawings has various values, in addition to the inevitable mental impression received of relation of parts, of form and of structure; accurate observation, neatness, precision, manual dexterity, reliance upon means other than verbal for expression, the employment of facility gained in another branch of study, are all called into play. The method appears in general use. I have specimens of similar, though less advanced, notes collected in the course of a visit to some schools at Providence, Rhode Island, where pencil illustration rather than verbal description is relied upon. structure, the mechanism of a joint, the shape and arrangement of the teeth, the position of the organs in the thorax and abdomen are drawn; and usually six or seven written lines are considered to supply the necessary letterpress.

Bone

Good papier-maché models and anatomical charts are provided Illustrative under some Boards of Education, but a majority of those teachers Methods. whose previous training or post-graduate courses enable them to approach the whole topic from its practical side. confirmed my own opinion that one illustration from life or a familiar object, one demonstration on animal tissues, such as the leg of a rabbit or the eye of an ox, is worth more as a means to convey a true conception, to arouse active interest, or to stimulate subsequent observation than the free use of costly models. The extent to which this "better" way is followed depends upon the attitude of the Supervisors or school principal, and the capacity and enthusiasm of the teacher. The same spirit which has prompted the rapid introduction of the "laboratory method" into high schools and colleges is permeating the whole world of education, with a promise of good things to come for this as for other suitable subjects.

Special lessons upon the care of young children are not The Care of usual in the public schools, though exceptions to the rule exist Young in New York City, Washington, and very probably elsewhere. Children. In respect of sensible clothing, England can learn with advantage from the United States where babies, from birth, have necks, arms, and legs completely and continuously protected. The artificial feeding of infants is chiefly in the hands of physicians, who write individual prescriptions to be "made up at milk laboratories instead of at chemists' shops; and this custom was, in my experience, a reason frequently advanced for not giving instruction on the subject of "bottle fed" babies in schools. At Buffalo the use of tube bottles is forbidden by law. I do not know whether such enactments have been made elsewhere, but in this city the result within a comparatively short time was to reduce the rate of infantile mortality by onehalf. At the New York cookery centres the girls learn how to

Curricula.

sterilise and pasteurise milk; how to modify cow's milk to meet the needs of infants at different age periods; how much food to give and how often to feed; what are and what are not the right shapes for feeding bottles. They also learn how to make barley water and foods suitable when the child begins to require other than milk diet. What Baby must not have," needs to be well impressed in the poorest quarters of that city as well as in our own towns. Regular instruction is not given at Washington, but Mrs. I. G. Myers occasionally takes the elder girls alone, at one or other school, for personal instruction in nursery hygiene as well as in the wise care of their own health.

B. HIGH SCHOOLS.

To confine the following remarks to the teaching of the Domestic Sciences and Arts, and Hygiene in the public high schools is to omit, for the present, reference to some excellent examples of secondary school courses supported by private endowment, e.g.-those at the Pratt and Lewis Institutes, which will be treated in Part II. Nevertheless, adherence to the division of educational institutions into the two groups of those maintained by State funds or from private resources will, it is hoped, enable those unfamiliar with the intricacies consequent upon this parallel dual system to assign to each its just relative proportion to the mass of good work accomplished by both.

Domestic Science is classified, almost without exception, as Manual Training under all Boards of Education into whose high schools it has been introduced. The reason for this is found substantially in the system of co-education. If the girls of a division devote so much time per week to a subject from which boys are excluded, their occupation during these" periods must be of a character inapplicable to girls. Manual training is widely recognised as desirable for both sexes and is therefore conveniently, if not quite accurately, extended to cover cooking, sewing, laundry and table service, as well as its more legitimate subjects, work with clay, card, wood, or metal. It must always be borne in mind that a proportion of authorities maintain the training" value of all these occupations to be equal. In large cities which support several high schools, one of these is usually set apart for the express purpose of offering special facilities in manual training to both sexes, and is so denominated; not that all Manual Training High Schools necessarily include domestic subjects in their curricula, but they do so in many cities, and, I believe, to an annually increasing extent. At Providence (Rhode Island), at Ann Arbor (Mich.), and in the early days at Philadelphia, cookery and even sewing, appeared in the time tables of high schools before adoption into the grammar schools: but Brookline, (Mass.), offers an illustration of the more general tendency, viz., to include an introductory course in both subjects in the elementary schools, and to encourage further study and practice in the high schools.

As a rule, high schools provide a choice of courses for their students, usually from five to eight in number; these