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52
medical rooms, etc., 3 to defective playgrounds and 7 arose out of special investigations
in connection with the control of infectious diseases.
Childhood is naturally a time of freedom and activity. Civilisation has,
however, decreed that in the preparation for life, children during considerable
portions of their time shall be disciplined and confined to sedentary occupations.
It is because of this fundamental divergence of physiological and conventional needs
that the school desk question can never satisfactorily be solved. One after another
new types of desks have been evolved only to prove in practice not to fulfil the hopes
which have been held out of perfect result. It is not good physiology for children
to remain seated at a desk for the greater part of a morning or afternoon, and the
most perfect adaptation that could be possible of desk and seat to anatomical
measurements of a particular child could not ensure throughout a session that the
children would maintain correct postures.
School hygienists have, therefore, almost given up devising and discussing
desks in order to direct their attention to curricula which give more freedom to the
child by reducing length of individual lessons, by providing frequent opportunity
for relaxing and stretching muscles by play intervals and corrective exercises and
by promoting active rather than passive means of teaching and training.
There has been, however, during the past year a recrudescence of attention to
the subject and the medical staff has been consulted on many interesting points in
relation to desks and desking in the elementary schools.
The London dual desk has proved in practice to give as good results as can be
obtained, provided we admit that there must be desks at all. The reason why
the London dual desk has given such satisfaction is undoubtedly not only
because the internal measurements and relations of the parts are well designed in
correspondence with physiological needs, but, also, because some 20 years ago,
on the advice of the medical officer, no less than seven graded sizes were adopted to
be supplied to the schools.
Desks and
desking.
The London
dual desks.