Swedish educational gymnastics were intro duced into this country in 1888 by Baron Nils Posse, having been preceded many years by German gymnastics. These two schools or methods of work, differing radically, were each introduced with the handicap of the term °sys tem,° implying fixed limits and arbitrary modes of procedure, as distinguished from flexible methods, capable of growth and adaptation, though each claimed the latter quality. A bitter rivalry ensued, extending over many years and hindering the development of the subject. This warring of systems has largely given place to a broader spirit which recognizes the fact that different methods of gymnastic procedure are fitted to produce different results suited to dif ferent conditions and temperaments. Certain principles have emerged which, in a more flex ible guise than when first introduced to us, are more largely entering into all gymnastic work and may be said to serve as criteria of its qual ity. These principles include a careful con sideration of the condition and needs of the individual, a purposeful selection of exercise with regard to its effects, a general, though not of necessity an uninterrupted, progression in its use, all-over body exercise in a given lesson, and its arrangement with reference to curves of effort—that is, the gradual approach to, and receding from, maximal heart effects. Awk ward performance is giving way to the good form or finished execution that denotes definite training of the power of muscular co-ordina tion; cultivation of erect carriage and generally good posture are recognized as indispensable. Methods of teaching gymnastics are found to be as amenable to the laws of pedagogy as any other branch worthy to rank in the science of education, and recognition is given to the train ing or use of psychological powers — the motor sense, the will, objective and subjective inter est, automatic and voluntary attention, etc. In deed, physiological psychology and child study have contributed as much to physical training as has the physiological laboratory.
The professional training of teachers of gymnastics has done much to advance the cause of the subject which long suffered from the idea that agility of performance was a sufficient qualification for teaching. There are in the United States many normal schools of physical training, offering courses from two to four years in length, including several universities and colleges that give normal instruction in the theory and practice of the subject. In addition many normal schools for class teachers train their students to conduct class exercises in various branches of physical training. There are also each year many summer schools of physical training. The subjects studied in nor mal schools of physical training include physics, chemistry, histology, physiology, anatomy, kinesiology, anthropomotry, biology, symptom ology, psychology, pedagogy; personal, public and school hygiene, besides the various kinds of practice work in gymnastics, athletics, swim ming and other sports, fencing, games, dancing, voice training and practice teaching.
The modern gymnasium requires expert knowledge for its design and construction. From 30 to 40 square feet of floor space should be allowed for each pupil exercising in a class. Trusses or ceiling beams should clear the floor 20 feet and a gallery for a running track should be 10 or 11 feet clear from the floor. Lockers, swimming tank, office and examining room for the director should be included.
Anthropometry, as used in connection with physical training consists mainly of the meas urement of significant girths with a steel tape; depths, as of chest and abdomen, with calipers; standing and sitting heights with the stadiom eter; strength tests of the various muscular groups with dynamometers, etc.; the measure ment of lung capacity with the spirometer and the taking of weight. The testing of sight and hearing, and psychological tests for reaction, time, etc., are often included. To these are added examination of the heart, lungs, spine, etc., and a tabulation of facts of personal his tory bearing upon heredity and other significant influences. Such examination is made by the physical directors of practically all colleges and universities, secondary and normal schools and young men's Christian associations. From
this data an individual may be compared with the mean, average or normal type for his age and height, exercise prescribed according to his needs and development noted from time to time. Physical examination of children in the public elementary schools is rapidly becoming an estab lished feature, and many States have laws re quiring such regular examinations and system atic physical training for children of school age. Out of this there is evolving a more scientific correlation between the laws of growth and physical exercise. These laws have been largely formulated on the classic studies first made by a commission in Sweden, and in the United States by Dr. W. T. Porter in Saint Louis and Dr. H. P. Bowditch in Boston. From these measurements have come a recog nition of growth periods and laws of growth that form a valuable index to required exercise.
The representative organization of physical training in the United States is the American Physical Education Association (formerly The American Association for the Advancement of Physical Education), organized in 1885. The
Other organizations of national scope should be mentioned, each of which is devoted to a special phase of physical development. Ath letics and sports have been mainly fostered by the Amateur Athletic Union, the National Col legiate Athletic Association, The Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America, The Young Men's Christian Association Ath letic League and Public Schools Athletic Leagues for Boys and Girls. These athletic organizations govern amateur standards and awards, are more or less concerned with ar rangements for competitive games and meets, furnish officials for these and are usually rep resented on the rules committees for various games. The Playground and Recreation Asso ciation of America, organized in 1904, has secured children's playgrounds for many com munities throughout the country, and has fur thered all kinds of recreation for children and adults, including leadership in war camp com munity service during the World War. This organization has been a large factor in wide recognition of play as a factor in social economics and for its educational values, physi cal, mental and moral. The American Posture League, founded in 1914, has done much prac tical work in gaining recognition of habitual body posture as a fundamental feature of sound physical development and health. Its educa tional work has included the promulgation of a standardized or "Triple Test" for posture that has furnished means of measuring educa tional results in this particular. The main work of the society, however, has been to improve the environment as it affects posture, by fash ioning in correct anatomic form many articles of every-day use that mold the posture of the body — a scientific work engaging in the league's technical committees, orthopaedic sur geons, school hygienists, etc., and resulting in the standardization of school and other fur niture, shoes, corsets, waists, coats, hose sup porters and other articles. The Life Extension Institute, founded in 1915, is also unique as an organization in the field of public health and preventive medicine. It undertakes, by stand ardized periodic examinations, to discover incipient or developed pathological conditions and so forestall illness. These examinations are made by contract with industrial organiza tions for their employees, or for individuals on annual membership or otherwise. In the ex amination of many thousands of industrial and office workers the Life Extension Institute has found that from 50 per cent to 59 per cent have impairments of arteries, kidneys, heart or other organs that indicate breakdown if not taken promptly in hand and remedied. The army draft, with its rejection of 40 per cent on grounds of physical defects, and the Marine Corps rejection of 90 per cent startled the country into realization of the need for better physical development for children, better living and working conditions for adults and better personal hygiene for all.