View report page

121
Dr. E. M. Johnson reports on the John Rnskin senior school (Girls') open-air
class, type C :—
" Standard IHb was the class chosen, as it contained a large proportion of
delicate girls. The average age was 8-9 years, and the number of girls 35.
" The class was held on the school roof, remaining out-of-doors from April 15th
to October 15th. Very few days were spent indoors, the weather being exceptionally
dry and warm. The average daily attendance was good, apart from two long
absences, one a girl with tuberculous cervical glands, the other a case of debility
During the six months there was no case of infectious disease in the class ; after the
first month there were very few colds or minor ailments. The girls now look very
well and there is marked improvement in both colour and nutrition. The class
mistress reports that the girls have worked well and appear to her to be more alert
and intelligent. The class has been very popular with the girls and also with the
parents."
School Journeys, 1929.
During the year 1929, 513 (496) school journeys were made. The children
taking part in them were medically examined in 512 cases before departure. In all
16,267 (16,008) children were examined; of these 110 (119) were rejected as unfit
to take part in the journeys on various grounds, as follows :—Suffering from otorrhea,
9 (14); suffering from infectious disease or contacts, 14 (9) ; tonsillitis and
kindred ailments, 15 ; temperature, 7 (11); personal hygiene, 5 (7); skin diseases,
23. (The figures in brackets refer to the year 1928). Six children were prevented
from going on account of the effects of recent vaccination. Several children were
provisionally rejected on account of personal hygiene but were subsequently passed
fit.
Physical Education.
The Council's organisers of physical education (Mr. A. H. A. Gem and Miss
Grant S. Clark) present each year a report to the Education Committee. The
following extracts are given from their report for the year ended July, 1929 :—
Ten years have passed since the present organiser of physical education for the
boys' work was appointed, whilst the present organiser for girls' and infants' schools
has been in London for five years. The time would therefore appear to be opportune
for a review of the work accomplished during these periods.
Elementary
schools.
Ph ysical
training.
(a) byllabiis work.—(1) General.—Ihe position which physical education holds
to-day is, in part, due to the spade work done by the pioneers in the early days.
Their efforts resulted in the acceptance of physical training, if not as an integral
part of education, at least as a useful adjunct. As time passed, they had the
satisfaction of seeing the introduction of physical training as a compulsory subject.
Originally, the work was of a purely military nature and it passed through a
series of changes, until finally Swedish exercises were introduced. Throughout all
these changes two characteristics apparently were evident: the tendency towards
a rigid form of movement and a continual striving to get the exercises performed
simultaneously by the class, frequently before these exercises were understood by
the children. This type of precision was often obtained at the expense of accuracy
of performance, whilst through their rigidity the exercises were in many cases robbed
of their full range of movement. Of what is to-day understood by general activity,
little was present. This, in brief, was the position in many schools immediately
after the war, and it was from this point that the reorganisation commenced.
During the past ten years the physical training lessons have been altered with
one main object in view, namely, the maintenance of health. The modern syllabus
lesson has two distinct contributions to make to this end—they are inter-related,
yet distinct :—
1. Good postural training by means of exercises carried out accurately,
vigorously and with a good range of movement.