C. Athletics for elementary schoolboys in Boston. XI. The teaching of hygiene.. A. Problems of the teaching of hygiene. Lillian M. Towne IX. Mental hygiene of the school child__ A. Child classification and child hygiene. Arnold Gesell. B. The distinctive contribution of the psychoeducational clinic to the school hygiene movement. J. E. W. Walliu___. A. Effects of athletics upon health. C. F. Stokes, M. D. D. Museum cooperation in the teaching of hygiene and sani- tation. C. E. A. Winslow....... E. An experiment in student control of school sanitation and F. Improving hygienic conditions among the native school chil- dren of Alaska. William Hamilton- G. Hygiene in the Philippine schools. A. J. McLaughlin.. XII. Miscellaneous topics ---. A. How women's clubs can aid the hygiene movement. Elsa B. The school and vital statistics. Franklin C. Gram, M. D... C. Accident prevention as relating to child welfare. Marcus D. Intestinal parasites and the rural school. John A. Ferrell, LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BUREAU OF EDUCATION, Washington, October 7, 1913. SIR: The Fourth International Congress of School Hygiene, held at Buffalo, N. Y., August 25-30, was a notable event in the progress of health supervision as a part of public education. Because of its importance, a member of this bureau, W. Carson Ryan, was detailed to attend this conference and prepare a report of it. This report is contained in the accompanying manuscript, in three parts: I. An introduction giving a brief summary of the proceedings of the congress. II. A summary of some of the most important papers. III. Concrete data of the school hygiene movement as shown in the scientific exhibit made under the direction of the congress and in connection with it. I recommend that this manuscript be published as a bulletin of the Bureau of Education. Respectfully submitted. To the SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. P. P. CLAXTON, Commissioner. 5 SCHOOL HYGIENE. PART I. INTRODUCTION. Public opinion appears to have accepted health supervision as a part of the educational system, presumably on the sound basis of the social purpose of education. Health is, above all, socializing in its influences, since in respect to it the welfare of each individual is.in a literal sense the welfare of all. Easy as this realization seems, in practice it has come very slowly, only under stress of public necessity, and even now the belief in school hygiene as a practical function of school work is by no means as well accepted in practice as in theory. So far as the United States is concerned, therefore, the most important fact in connection with the Fourth International Congress of School Hygiene recently held in Buffalo is that in some sections of the country at least the period of propaganda and experiment is yielding to that of actual result. There are now a number of communities in the United States that have had their school health work organized long enough to be able to give comprehensive reports of actual accomplishment, and these reports were a most valuable feature of the scientific exhibit held in conjunction with the congress, as well as in the sessions of the congress itself. The two subjects that received most attention at the congress were open-air schools and sex hygiene. On the subject of open-air schools, sentiment was notably extreme. The delegates appeared to accept unqualifiedly the idea that the benefits of fresh air should not be reserved for ailing children alone, but should be conferred upon normal children as well. Statements similar to that of Dr. Knopf, of New York, that "the open-air school must become the rule and the closed room the exception," were frequently made and as frequently applauded. There were additional reports of the comparative physical and mental improvement of children in open-air classes, open-window rooms, and regular rooms; the part played by school feeding in the betterment observed in open-air school children was discussed on the basis of hæmoglobin tests from a recent New York experiment; splendid pictures of open-air school work in many cities were shown; the possibilities of open-air architecture were discussed by school architects; and the congress adopted a resolution calling on the American Government to follow the lead of Italy and place at the disposal of the various States abandoned battleships for use as floating hospital schools for tuberculous children.' The influence of the open-air propaganda was revealed in the reaction that appears to have set in against intricate and expensive systems of ventilation. School architects seem to be less certain than formerly of the necessity of the elaborate ventilating systems that have been typical of modern city school buildings in this country. Sex hygiene was distinctly the problem that aroused greatest interest at the congress. Not only was the main evening meeting on the subject a large one, but an afternoon section meeting devoted to the question had to be held in the largest hall in Buffalo. Over 2,000 persons listened intently to a discussion that was sensational, not only from the subject matter, but from the prominence of the speakers and the striking differences of opinion expressed. Sentiment appeared hopelessly divided. There was general recognition of what President Foster had termed in his paper "the social emergency." It was felt that something ought to be done toward remedying an intolerable condition; it was even admitted that the policy of silence had been a failure; but on the direct question of actually introducing instruction in sex hygiene into the public schools, there were two diametrically opposed points of view. On the one side were arrayed those who believe with Dr. Hugh Cabot that teaching control of the sex instinct is the function of the public school; while on the other side are those who insist that, if the subject must be taught at all, it must be broached only in the home; that knowledge of sex details imparted in a school course, or in any other way, is dangerous in that it is "apt to put forward by several years the time of temptation." It was clear from the discussion that medical men have gone much further on the subject than the public is willing to go with them; the most determined advocates of sex instruction were medical men of the very highest standing. Both sides admitted the urgent need for character training in connection with any instruction that might be given on sex, and several speakers declared that character building must precede any attempt at sex education itself. Nearly all stressed the point that no matter how much knowledge might be needed, knowledge alone would not suffice. Many of the speakers were intolerant of the attitude of parents on the sex question. There was the usual doubt expressed as to whether children are really as ignorant of sex matters as many parents believe them to be. Several speakers declared emphatically that par 1 For the full text of the resolution, see p. 39. |