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200
Annual Report of the London County Council, 1912.
than that necessitated in ordinary teaching. The essential difference in the basis of the teaching
required under this scheme from that practised Under ordinary conditions was early demonstrated. The
teachers found themselves cut oft from the use of books, the regular stand-by of modern teaching,
whether of normal children, or the deaf, or even the blind. They had to teach with no adventitious
aid other than the most primitive of materials, chalk and a board. The readiness, intelligence, and
suggestiveness of their efforts in face of the difficulties has made the success of the experiment.
The classroom.—The necessity of a room for a myope class is sufficient natural illumination. The
windows must be of such size in relation to the floor space that there is on an ordinary winter's day
at least 15 foot-candle illumination on the wall opposite the window at the height of 4 feet from the
floor. The window should be on the left hand side of the children's desks. Windows on the right
hand side in addition to those on the left are permissible if the sills are at least 6 feet above the floor
level, indeed such windows, or top lights, are an advantage in these rooms on account of the considerable
amount of handicraft to be done in them. Windows on several sides of the room are objectionable
unless they are placed high up in the walls, for they limit the wall space available for blackboards.
Artificial lighting for these rooms is a negligible consideration. All work, other than drill, oral
lessons, or games, should be suspended immediately artificial light is required.
No special equipment other than table and blackboard provision is required. The ordinary school
desk is unsuitable, and a special desk for these classes was designed by Mr. Harman in 1908. The
first half-dozen of these desks were made by the boys in the workshops at the Anerley Deaf School.
The desk has proved to be satisfactory, and is now the ordinary equipment of these classrooms. The
desk provides a good sized blackboard for each child, suitably sloped and at a convenient height for
sitting ; and also a large flat table for handwork. It is convertible from one use to the other by merely
lifting the board.
Each room has fitted all round the walls a band of blackboard. The boards are fixed to the
walls at a convenient level; so that they are available for both teachers and scholars without adjustment,
which is not provided.
The use of a hall, or room clear of furniture, is essential for the satisfactory working of these
classes. Prolonged sitting or close work of any kind, even when it is so simple that it entails little use
of the eyes, is bad for these children. For this reason none of the furniture of the rooms occupied by
them is fixed, the myope desks and the chairs on which they sit are easily moved to the walls and the
greater part of the floor space cleared. Further, a bare floor space permits of a variety of useful and
attractive methods of teaching which cannot be undertaken in an ordinary classroom.
With the oral lessons, to be taken in company with the normal children of the school with which
the myope class is associated, there is no difficulty; it is merely a matter of a convenient time table,
and of the recognition by the teachers of the elementary school that front places are required by the
short-sighted children. In the higher standards the want of some permanent record of the work of the
children was felt, the essentially temporary character of blackboard work did not seem altogether satisfactory,
mistakes were so easily corrected that carelessness was engendered. In these standards
exercise books of a distinctly novel pattern are being tried. They are made up of large black paper
sheets, and the writing is done with white crayon which gives a record of fair durability, but it can be
washed off if desired. The exercise books are clipped on to the desk blackboards and the writing is,
done free-arm fashion, so that none of the dangers of ordinary Writing, such as stooping over the Work
are involved. The eldest of the pupils are allowed to make a permanent record of their work by printing.
Two sets of printing type ar? provided for the use of each class. The sets are rubber-faced block letter
types one of 1 in. height, the other of 2 in. height. These are mounted on wooden blocks fitted with
lateral pegs and holes so thai they can be joined together to form words. The words are prepared and
printed upon large sheets of white paper, and the record is permanent and goes to form a class library
of scrolls which are useful for subsequent teaching. This device has done away with the necessity of
invoking the aid of the professional printer to provide some form of literary matter which could be
hung up in the sight of all the children and read with comfort by even the children in the back row. The
printing itself is an admirable training in care and exactness, and is greatly liked by the children, in
fact it becomes one of the prize tasks of the class.
The ordinary thin white lines seen in the blackboard work of lecture theatre or schoolroom are
quite out of place in a myope class where the chalk lines must be broad and strong. To secure this
the chalk supplied to these schools should be square edged, and of at least double the measure of the
stock size. Drill and games enter largely into the time table, and attempts are being made to associate
some of these games with instructional work.
The most difficult section of the work to arrange is the manual training. Whatever the work
done, it must be such that fixed attention of the eyes is not demanded. For that reason all sewing
work is prohibited ; it has been tried with a few of the elder children but was quickly stopped. Knitting,
on the other hand, fulfils the necessary conditions, a child that has any aptitude for the work readily
learns to do it automatically and with little use of the eyes; these children are allowed to practise it.
The junior children, both boys and girls, are taught modelling, paper folding, stick laying, felt weaving
in colours, and knitting. The seniors, and some juniors, might be taught modelling maps or rough
woodwork where measuring can be done with brass rulers with raised and fretted divisions such as are
used in the blind schools ; advanced basket work, according to the advanced scheme on the workshop
principles (but not including Raffia work, which is too fine); bent ironwork, particularly for boys;
netting of hammocks, tennis nets; and for the girls cookery and laundry of a simple sort, just so much
as is sufficient to give help in housewifery.
The extent to which the short-sighted children can be permitted to join in games with the normal
children depends upon the state of their eyes. Many of these highly myopic eyes are very frail and