CHAPTER VIII
SCHOOL HYGIENE
SCHOOL BUILDING
Site
In the consideration of school hygiene we will first briefly discuss the school building. Its site should be carefully chosen. It should be reasonably high; the soil should be porous, if possible, and properly drained to insure dryness. The building should not be located near a manufacturing plant or other places where there is much noise, smoke, gases or fumes. The buildings should be plain but artistic, and should by all means be modern, fireproof, substantial and sanitary.
The building should be surrounded by sufficient yard room to provide ample playground. There should be plenty of shade but not so many trees that there will be an interference with the sunlight and ventilation of the grounds. Some attention should be given the beautifying of the yards, for it must be remembered that the entire child goes to school—physical, mental and spiritual natures must all be developed.
The number of stories a modern school building should have is somewhat of a mooted question; however, it is quite obvious that there are many objections to a building of more than two stories. A two-story building certainly is an advantage and especially is this true when the pupils have to change for their different classrooms.
Stairways
Stairways should be of ample width, allowing pupils to pass up and down without danger of crowding. The risers should be no more than six inches and the treads not more than twelve inches. Where the pupils are compelled to go from one floor to another several times a day it is much better to have inclines instead of stairs.
Corridors
The corridors should be wide enough so that the children in passing and repassing will not have to crowd. They should be at least ten feet in width and should be supplied with plenty of doors for exits, ventilation and light and also windows for ventilation and light. When practicable the corridors should be along the north side. This insures sufficient lighting and at the same time does not interfere with the lighting and ventilating of the schoolroom. It is more important that the direct rays of the sun be admitted to the schoolroom than to the corridors.
Basement
The basement should be well protected from dampness; therefore it should be well ventilated and properly heated, as well as arranged so that the direct rays of the sun may reach at least a part of it.
The basement should not be used for classrooms unless it is for machine shops, or workrooms. It should not be used for playgrounds or gymnasium, but may be used for bathrooms and toilets. It should occupy the entire space under the building.
The Schoolroom
In planning the building it must be remembered that the schoolroom is the unit of the building and therefore must receive primary consideration. The entire building should be a collection of schoolrooms properly arranged.
The schoolroom should be about twenty-five feet by thirty feet with not less than a thirteen foot ceiling; this size room will be large enough for thirty pupils and no teacher should be required to take care of more than this number in a class. There should be plenty of entrance and exit doors for each room.
The interior of the classroom should be attractive but plain, the surfaces smooth, the junctions of ceiling and floor with walls should be concave. All mouldings, projections, ledges where dust and dirt could lodge should be eliminated. The walls should be of such a color as to absorb as little light as possible and prove least taxing to the eyes. A light green-gray is favored. The walls must be so treated with paint or some other method employed so as to be readily washed or otherwise cleaned. White ceilings which reflect the light are best. Floors are made of hard wood in narrow planks with matched joints, or they are dovetailed. This may be laid over false floors of boards or reinforced concrete. The walls, floors, ceilings and partitions must be proof against sound, dampness, fire, vermin, and dust.
Lighting
The lighting of the schoolroom, the amount of glass surface or window area, will be governed by the aspect, the location of the building, direction from which the light is admitted, shape of the room and the proximity of other buildings or objects which might obstruct the light. The window area must be ample to insure sufficient light in every part of the room even on dark, overcast and cloudy days. The rule is that the window area should be at least one-fourth of the floor space and it is practically impossible to have an excessive window area for the light may be toned down and softened by shades and awnings. Prism glass is more practicable because it refracts the light and gives a more even distribution over the entire room.
Most of the light should be admitted over the left shoulder of the pupil so as to eliminate annoying shadows, but it is not necessary that all the light come from the left. The windows should reach to the ceiling and the height of the sill from the floor should be about four feet. Light should never enter from the front and strike the eyes of the pupil. The upper fourth of the window furnishes one-third of the light, also the best light; therefore it can readily be seen that window shades should not be hung from the top but from the bottom, and should be rolled upward. In nature the light comes from above, hence this being natural it is consequently best.
Ventilation
Pure air is absolutely indispensable for mental work. Much time and energy is wasted by teacher and pupil in trying to work in vitiated atmosphere. The educational results obtained in the school will be influenced more than has been conceded by the character of the air the pupil and teacher are forced to breathe. Vitiated air will produce sluggishness, headache, listlessness, inattention, lack of energy and a depression of mental vigor which will prevent the child from doing his best work. The same influence will be felt by the teacher and the result will be inefficiency in instruction.
Natural means of ventilation should not be relied upon since it is difficult to get a sufficient amount of fresh air into the rooms in winter time without creating objectionable drafts which interfere with heating. Regardless of the method employed in ventilating it is a good plan to open all of the doors and windows occasionally during the day and flush the rooms with fresh air. At such time the children should exercise or employ some means to prevent them from taking cold.
Schoolhouses should be provided with the combined plenum and vacuum system and operated in conjunction with the heating plant in cold weather. In this way the air that is admitted can be regulated not only as to quantity, but also the velocity can be controlled and likewise the humidity and temperature.
Heating
The relation between ventilating and heating must be kept in mind. It is not only a question of providing a proper amount of pure air, but also a question of the proper temperature of the air. A poorly ventilated room is always more difficult to heat and an improperly heated room is very difficult to ventilate. Local heating should never be used in a schoolroom except when impossible to provide better means.
The best arrangement for heating school buildings is hot water or steam in connection with the ventilating system in which the air is passed over hot radiators before being forced into the classrooms and corridors. This is supplemented by heat from the radiators placed in proper locations throughout the building. In this way the temperature of the room may be kept at the proper degree and at the same time the air circulation and the humidity properly regulated. Best work is accomplished by the children when the temperature is kept at about 68° F.
School Desks
The furniture most important to the health of the child is the desk and the desk chair. These should be very carefully adjusted to the child; if this is not properly done the child will have a tendency to assume a faulty posture which will favor the development of curvatures of the spine and other physical defects.
The height of the desk should be such that the pupil will not find it necessary to raise the shoulder in placing the arm on the desk to write, or so low that he will have to bend forward. The top should slope at an angle of about fifteen degrees. The best distance from the eyes is from twelve to fourteen inches.
The height of the chair from the floor should be very carefully adjusted to the student and it should allow the feet to rest comfortably on the floor; that is, when the student is seated the thighs should be level and the leg at right angles to the thigh, thus allowing the feet to rest on the floor. If the chair is too low there will be too much weight thrown on the back of the thighs while a chair that is too high produces too much flexion of the lumbar region of the spine. The slope of the seat should be slightly backward and downward and the depth about two-thirds the length of the thighs. The back of the chair should slope slightly backward and should be made to fit the curve of the back.
The chair should be placed far enough from the desk so that the abdomen will not touch its edge. When properly adjusted in most cases the edge of the chair will project under the edge of the desk about one inch. In the lower grades it is best to adjust the seats and desks to the child twice a year.
Blackboards
The best material for blackboards is slate, which furnishes a surface that is not shiny and will not reflect the light. They can be washed and easily kept clean and thus lessen the nuisance of dust. Blackboards should never be placed between windows. When possible there should be no windows on the same wall because when pupils are looking at the board there should be no light shining in their eyes. The blackboards are best placed opposite the principal light.
Dustless chalk is best and the use of colored crayons made of arsenic or sulphide of mercury should be prohibited, since the dust from these crayons is poisonous.
The blackboards should be plainly visible to all the pupils and care should be taken that all writing or other work on the board is large enough for the pupils to see without eye strain. The distance of each pupil from the board should be governed by the strength of vision.
Charts
If charts are used the printed matter should be large enough for the pupils to read without undue strain on the eyes. Glass surfaces should be avoided to prevent objectionable reflections and all figures and illustrations should be plainly visible, but objectionable bright colors and clashy combinations should be avoided.
Cloakrooms
In school buildings having no lockers the pupils must place their wraps in a cloakroom. There should be such a room for each classroom. The cloakroom should be well ventilated, lighted and heated and should be connected with both the hallway and the classroom.
Special attention should be given the wet clothing and provision made for drying the same. This can be nicely taken care of during school hours by the janitor. Children should never be allowed to sit in damp clothing during the school hours. All dressing-rooms, cloakrooms and lockers should be kept clean.
Water Supply
It is very essential that an ample supply of fresh, pure water be provided. The old drinking cup is a thing of the past, except possibly in some of the smaller country schools, and it is fortunate that a more modern method has taken its place. The supply fixtures, such as the drinking fountains, should be conveniently located and in a part of the building easily accessible to the pupils. A sufficient number of fountains should be provided so there will be no necessity for crowding. They should be placed in a well lighted and properly heated portion of the building and special care taken that the floor does not become damp and unsanitary. The fixture which allows a constant bubbling of the water is most satisfactory, since it eliminates the necessity for the child to operate and hence lessens the temptation for the child to play in the water.
Toilets
Ample toilet facilities should be provided and separate toilets arranged for the girls and boys. The toilets may be placed in the basement of the school building, but special attention must be given to their proper ventilation. They should be kept so clean that it will not be necessary to use deodorizers; they should be constantly and automatically flushed. The floors should be of cement to allow thorough washing every day and the urinals of slate or some other hard, non-absorbent material. In the girl’s toilet the seats of the water closets should not be too high. Where practicable there should be a separate toilet for the little girls and stools provided with U-shaped seats. This will assist very materially in maintaining cleanliness. The toilets should be well ventilated and lighted. This is of special importance and should receive the most careful attention. A matron should be in attendance to help care for the kindergarten children and also those of the lower grades. The toilets at all time should be under supervision of a competent, dependable person.
PERSONAL FACTORS
Function of School Life
A large part of the child’s life is spent in the schoolroom and it must be remembered that it is that part of the child’s life when he is most susceptible to environment and is therefore most easily influenced mentally, morally and physically. The entire child goes to school, therefore the function of the school is to develop the physical and moral as well as the mental.
Youth is the time of unrest and intense activity and the schoolwork should be so arranged that the energies of childhood and youth may be directed so as to develop the pupil into a symmetrical adult. With such intense activity a great amount of energy is used up; thus it is clear that the child needs plenty of sleep and the proper amount of good, nourishing food and if he is deprived of these he can not do his best work mentally.
Age of Beginner
We have not yet fully realized that our present school system, well organized as it is, has certain ill effects on the health of the children. Many of the reasons are peculiar to the circumstance under which the child must attend school and can not be relieved, but there are many that can be corrected and in time will be. Children are often sent to school at too early an age and as a result the growth is retarded and in some cases results in an actual defective physical development. The physical development is often retarded by prolonged fatigue. This fatigue may be the result of improper ventilation, forced attention to subjects that are too difficult, strict discipline, lack of sufficient relaxation and many other factors connected with the ordinary school.
One of the greatest mistakes in our modern system of education is sending the child to school too young. Six years of age is plenty young; seven years old is better. Even at this age some are not sufficiently sturdy to endure the mental and physical strain of the schoolroom and the application to the studies that is usually exacted of them.
Play Periods Necessary
The school affords an environment that is entirely different from that which the child has been accustomed to; therefore the beginner should be allowed much liberty and should not be compelled to remain in his seat more than one-third of the time. This should be divided into short intervals, alternating work and play. It must be remembered that the small child is active; therefore it is imperative that he be given various exercises that will call into play the different muscles of his body. This will have a tendency to relieve the fatigue from sitting at the desk. When children first start to school they usually lose weight and become more or less nervous during the first few days or weeks.
The child should be allowed sufficient free time during each day for play and for the development of initiative. The amount of home work required should be very carefully considered and regulated according to the capacity and ability of the child; yet care must be taken or the especially bright child will be overworked and will not be given enough time for play and the development of a real childhood.
Peculiarities of Child Considered
The peculiarities of the child should be considered and the curriculum arranged accordingly. The methods of study should receive proper consideration as well as the methods of teaching. Special classes should be arranged for the backward students. Many cases of backwardness or mental deficiency are due to the child’s inability to see clearly or hear distinctly, and when these conditions are corrected the child will be normally bright. Many times a child is unjustly disciplined because of some physical defect or handicap which should be corrected.
Statistics show that tests and examinations have a detrimental effect upon the health of the pupils. Experiments have shown that children lose weight during such tests and examinations; that they are restless at night and suffer loss of appetite. All these have a bearing upon the health of the child.
Posture
Attention should be given the habits of the children and especially the posture of the child as he sits in the seat at his desk. A faulty posture may result in an adaptative curvature of the spine which in later years will do much harm. The sitting posture is of more importance than the standing posture since the child sits so much more than he stands.
The pupil should not be allowed to sit in a stooped position over his desk as this cramps the chest and interferes with respiration, makes the heart action labored and produces round shoulders; it also tends to produce a kyphosis in the dorsal region of the spine. If a child persists in sitting in this stooped position and finds it difficult to sit in the proper position, attention should be given the spine, for subluxations will be found which are interfering with the transmission of mental impulses to the muscles of the back, thus making it difficult for the child to sit in the normal posture. Or it may be defective eyes which make it difficult for the child to see his work and he therefore stoops that the work may be brought nearer the eyes. In this case a cervical subluxation will be found and when properly adjusted no more trouble will be experienced. It may be this tendency to stoop is the result of fatigue; to overcome this he should be given periods of rest and relaxation from time to time during school hours; or this fatigue may be due to poor elimination from the kidney place subluxations.
Recess
During the morning and afternoon sessions the pupils should be given a recess for fifteen or twenty minutes, and when the weather will permit all the children should be required to go outdoors and engage in some form of play or exercise, properly supervised by a thoroughly competent individual. This will not only benefit the pupils physically, but will also make the mind more active and aid very materially in their mental development. In addition to this exercise, some time during the day the windows should be opened, except possibly in extremely cold weather, and the teacher and pupils should engage in some form of calisthenics. This will tend to keep the pupils in a fit physical condition and mentally alert for the balance of the day.
The school grounds should be provided with modern equipment for the proper development of the children physically and should be supervised by kind and well trained attendants. Every school should have a well equipped and properly supervised gymnasium.
School Dis-eases
At one time the school was thought to be largely responsible for the spread of dis-eases among children, but this idea is changing in later years. In reality there are no specific school dis-eases. The dis-eases that have been so referred to are merely those abnormal conditions incident to childhood and youth. Rosenau gives a very interesting article on this subject. He says: “Parents naturally come to regard the school as a veritable pesthouse for the spread of communicable dis-eases of childhood—especially measles, whooping cough, mumps, diphtheria, scarlet fever, common colds, etc. Many of these dis-eases prevail in epidemic form during the summer time, when school is closed, and under other circumstances which show the epidemics may be independent of school attendance. It is difficult to determine just what part is played by the commingling of the pupils in school in the spread of such dis-eases and what part is due to other factors. Some dis-eases take a sudden jump in the autumn with the opening of school. Further, these dis-eases are not contracted by the school children alone, but are carried home to the other members of the household, and thereby create secondary foci. This problem of the communicable dis-eases and the school is far from solution; the spread of these dis-eases has not been conquered by medical inspection, and their relation to school attendance is one that needs careful observation and study.”
Thus we see that the cause of school dis-eases has not been answered, and we find in this article that which strengthens the contention of Chiropractic—that the cause of the dis-ease is in the child and not something introduced from the outside.
The environment of the school creates a necessity for certain internal adaptative actions, and if this adaptative action can not take place the result will be an abnormal condition peculiar to the necessity for adaptation. The lack of adaptation may result in incoördinations of the respiratory tract; incoördinations of the eyes, involving not only the sight but the different tissues and secretions of the eyes; incoördinations involving the heart, throat and mouth and many conditions of eruptions of the skin. Especially do we find deformities and incoördinations of the spine and spinal column.
In diagnostic terminology these conditions would be called bronchitis, bronchopneumonia, pleurisy, myopia, catarrhal conjunctivitis, trachoma, cardiac dis-eases, such as endocarditis, etc. The mouth, nose and throat dis-eases would be coryza, adenoid growths, enlarged tonsils, tonsilitis, nose bleed, etc. These conditions could all be prevented or corrected by adjusting the causative subluxations.
Prophylaxis
It is not necessary for us to go into an explanation of the spinal column and how subluxations are produced. It is sufficient at this time to call the student’s attention to the fact that subluxations are often produced, and especially is this true during childhood. The children are subject to falls during their play at school and they are most likely to produce subluxations. This being true, the children should be analyzed periodically to determine the subluxations and then they should be adjusted. When parents realize the good that is to come from such procedure they will take their children to the chiropractor and have their spine palpated and the subluxations adjusted. When this becomes a universal practice there will be a marked decrease in the so-called school dis-eases or children’s dis-eases.