SCHOOL HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION form very important branches of public hygiene in the United States. The school, since practically all the children are collected there, furnishes the great opportunity for caring for the health of all the people. During recent years the importance of this has been recognized, and a great advance both in physical education and in the application of hygiene in the schools has been made. Although they are more or less interrelated, the two subjects may be best treated separately.
The School-house.—This branch of school hygiene is concerned first of all with the best conditions of a workshop for growing children occupied in brain work. Architectural and artistic con siderations, although usually considered important, are secondary. First of all should be considered the health of the workers. For example, the unit in a school-house is the schoolroom, and the size of the room should be determined by consideration of the average limits of normal sight and hearing, etc. Many scientific studies of the best forms of construction, and of methods of heating, ven tilation, lighting, have been made ; and from these and the experi ence in building millions of school-houses certain definite norms for construction have been established. Although many poor school-houses are still scattered throughout the country in defiance of the rules of hygiene, the best are models of sanitary excellence. Hygiene of the School Child.—Child hygiene is based upon the character of the child's body and the laws of growth. It seeks to determine the needs and to avoid the dangers of each stage of development. Among its important contributions have been many scientific studies of development, the diseases and abnormalities of school children, the defects of the sense organs, the incidence of disease by years, seasons, months of the school year, the relation of defects to school progress and studies also in detecting and con trolling contagious diseases. By the introduction of health inspec
tion into the public schools, not only has the importance of school hygiene been emphasized, but valuable material for the study of child health has been collected.
Hygiene of Teachers.—A new branch of school hygiene relates to the health of teachers. The few studies made emphasize the great importance of the health of the great army of teachers. It appears that the members of the teaching profession are prone to respiratory diseases and to nervous disorders. Thus it is seen to be a matter of importance to make conditions healthful for the work and the life of the teachers as well as of the pupils.
Hygiene of Instruction.—This emphasizes the hygienic im portance of the mental habits formed by education, the secondary effects of instruction; and it studies every educational principle and method, the relations of teacher and pupil, the problems of the period of study, from the point of view of hygiene.
The importance of this newer field of school hygiene is seen when one considers the fact that an important means of cure for nervous and mental disorder is re-education, the development of healthy habits of mental activity,—wholesome interests, habits of attention, self-control and orderly association,—in fact, the very habits that are essential for hygienic school work. More and more scientific investigation and observation are showing the hygienic importance of mental hygiene both for pupil and teacher.
School Legislation.—The development of school hygiene is shown by the growth of medical inspection as well as by the train ing of teachers, the legislation in regard to the health of children and the sanitation of school buildings. While none of the laws in the different States are adequate, the legislation indicates fairly well the present interest and aims. According to J. F. Rogers of the Bureau of Education, 42 States make some provision for medi cal inspection. In 16 States it is mandatory; 19 command or imply a complete health examination of the school children; half the States have legislation in regard to ventilation of school buildings. About 6o% of the cities require annual health examinations of the children. In recent years, with increased attention to physical defects as well as contagious disease, the health inspection has been placed largely under the direction and control of the educa tional authorities.