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137
REPORT OF THE ORGANISER OF PHYSICAL TRAINING.
To the Education Committee. February, I920.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to submit the Report of my work as Organiser of Physical
Training for the year 1919.
As in former years, my time has been devoted to:—
(1) Visiting the Senior Mixed, Girls', Junior Mixed and Infants'
departments of the Elementary Schools for the purpose
of advising the teachers on the Physical Training given in
these schools.
(j) Holding classes for the Teachers and Student Teachers in
the Elementary Schools.
(3) Visiting the gymnastic classes held in connection with the
Girls' Evening Institutes and the Juvenile Unemployment
Centies.
(4) Attending at the School Treatment Centre, 228. London
Road, four sessions weekly for the purpose of giving
Remedial Exercises to children requiring such special
treatment.
The work in the Elementary Schools has continued on much the
same lines as hitherto. As only about half my time can be devoted
to this branch of the work I am not able to visit and help each
teacher as often as I should like, but I endeavour to see every class in
the departments under my supervision at least once a year. In 1919
I paid four hundred and five visits to the schools.
When seeing the physical exercises of a class, I also endeavour to
help the teacher as to the treatment of any children of especially
poor physique and posture, and advise as to the general Physical
Training of the class.
In general, I find a keen desire on the part of the teachers to
encourage and promote the physical welfare of the children, and time
and thought is expended in making the physical training lessons of
real benefit to every child.
I am strongly of the opinion that more opportunities should be
given in the teaching of organised games and the right type of
dancing (folk and national dances of various countries). Many schools
are doing good work in these two directions under difficult conditions.
The provision of suitable playing fields for organised games is still an
urgent one. During the year a few schools, situated near public
recreation grounds, obtained permission to use these for the organised
games' lessons, but the experiment was not entirely successful, owing
to the difficulty experienced in getting the ground marked out and the
necessary equipment supplied. In one case the ground granted was
in such a rough state that running games could not be taken. Even if
it were possible to arrange that every school conveniently near a
recreation ground should have proper accommodation there for
organised games, there would still remain a number of schools too far
from any recreation ground to be able to use it.