Syllabus of physical exercises for schools

Contents

PAGE

PREFATORY MEMORANDUM v

CHAPTER I. — Introduction 1 » II.— General Directions to Teachers 21

” IIP— Description of Simple Exercises and

Positions

” IV. — Marching, Running, Jumping, and

Breathing Exercises 5°

V. — The Arrangements of the Class 59

VI. — Order and Progression of Exercises 64

” VII. — Tables of Exercises with Introduction.. 71

Series A. (For Children aged 7-9 Years).. 74 Series B. (For Children aged 9-11 Years).. 99

Series C. (For Children aged 11-14 Years).. 124

APPENDICES.

A. Supplementary Physical Exercises : —

(a) Abdominal Exercises 149

( b ) Skipping Exercises 152

(c) Dancing Steps 152

( d ) Games 155

B. Class Room Exercises 160

C. Physical Exercises for Infants 161

D. A Suitable Dress for Girls 164

E. Suggestions on the Construction of Tables of

PREFATORY MEMORANDUM.

The present Syllabus of Physical Exercises has been compiled by the Executive Council of the Strathcona Trust with a view to preserving uniformity in instruction in Physical Training in the Public Schools of the Dominion, and has been approved by the various Provincial Departments of Education for use in the schools under their control.

This Syllabus is, in the main, a reprint of the latest official Syllabus authorized for use in the Public Elementary Schools of England which is based on the Swedish system of educational gymnastics, already adopted by several European countries.

While certain of the words of command and explanatory notes have been modified, no change has been made in the general arrangement and form of the exercises in the English Syllabus, which have been most admirably selected and arranged in proper progression with a view to the promotion of the harmonious development of all parts of the body, and their suitability for children of school age; special care having been taken to exclude all exercises likely to prove injurious to children of weak physique, to which end some of the ordinary Swedish exercises, or combinations of movements, though well designed for average use have been omitted or modified in order to avoid risk of straining children below the average, either in vigour or physical capacity. Further, freedom of movement and a certain degree of exhilaration being essentials of all true physical education, games and dancing steps have been introduced into many of the lessons. If appropriately taught, many of the free movements accompanying games and dancing steps cannot but have good results, as, indeed, experience has shown where such exercises have been introduced.

With a view to encouraging teachers to consider the principles embodied in the Syllabus and to apply them to the teaching of the children under their care, some general guidance has been provided in the Chapters and Appendices of the Syllabus as to the I heory and Practice of the subject. These have been dealt with as briefly and simply as possible.

A. G. Erwis,

Secretary, Executive Council, Strathcona Trust. Ottawa, June 15, 1911.

I

CHAPTER I.

Introduction

GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

The Object of Physical Training.

The object of Physical Training is to help in the production and maintenance of health in body and mind.

The conditions of modern civilisation with its crowded localities, confined spaces, and sedentary occupations ; the increasing need for study and mental application ; and the many social circumstances and difficulties which restrict opportunities for natural physical development, all require that children and young people should receive physical training by well-considered methods, not for the purpose of producing gymnasts, but to promote and encourage, by means of such training, the health and development of the body.

The purpose of Physical Training is not to fit the child to perform certain more or less difficult exercises, but to give him a stronger and more healthy body and to aid him to approach more nearly to the ideal of perfect physical development.

It is especially during the period of growth, when body, mind and character are immature and plastic, that the beneficial influence of Physical Training is most marked and enduring; and the highest and best results of education cannot be attained until it is realised that mental culture alone is insufficient, and that Physical Exercise is necessary to the development not only of the body but also of the brain and the character.

Physical Training . should thus be commenced when the child first attends school, and should be continued at least throughout the whole of the growing period. The natural free movements of the very young child supply all that is required at the beginning of life in the way of physical exercise. When, however, the child first comes to school, his natural desire for movement is necessarily restricted for purposes of organisation and discipline. This restriction must be compensated by frequent opportunities for free movement, which should chiefly take the form of play. This constitutes the first step in what may be considered as Physical Training. By degrees a few simple exercises may be introduced into the curriculum, which should still contain a large element of play, but play directed by the teacher. The exercises should then be gradually increased until they take the form of regular lessons on the lines indicated hereafter. It is of the greatest importance that the recreative element should never be omitted if the best results are to be gained. Enjoyment is one of the most necessary factors in nearly everything which concerns the welfare of the body, and if exercise is distasteful and wearisome its physical as well as its mental value is greatly diminished.

Effects of Physical Training.

Physical Training has, or should have, a twofold effect; on the one hand a physical effect and on the other a mental and moral effect, which for convenience may be termed educational in the popular sense. The direct results upon the health and physique of the child may be described as the physical effect. The teacher must clearly recognise that the child is a growing organism whose powers for physical work vary definitely and widely at different ages, and that a scheme of exercises designed for men undergoing training is not suitable for young boys and girls. To meet the special circumstances of continuous growth and development, a course of graduated exercises has been framed to suit children of all ages and both sexes, which aims at training every part of the body harmoniously. Not only can it be adapted to children of various ages, but under medical supervision it can be used to counteract and remedy various physical defects of weakly children.

Exercises, if rightly conducted, also have the effect, not less important, of developing in the children a cheerful and joyous spirit, together with the qualities of alertness, decision, concentration, and perfect control of brain over body. This is, in short, a discipline, and may be termed the educational effect.

These two elements are obviously blended in varying degree in every suitable exercise and, according to circumstances, now the one aspect of the exercise, now the other, is to be regarded as the more important. The difference consists rather in the stage at which, and the manner in which, the exercise is taken than in actual difference of movement.

PHYSICAL AND EDUCATIONAL EFFECT.

Exercise of the body may therefore be considered, according to its effect, physical or educational.

I. The Physical Effect —

(a) On the General Nutrition.

(b) Corrective.

(c) Developmental.

These are interdependent parts of one combined effect.

II. The Educational Effect —

On the formation of the character and the development of the higher mental and moral qualities.

I. — Physical Effect.

(a) Effect on the General Nutrition.

Exercises having a beneficial influence on the general physique produce a nutritive effect, that is, they contribute to the better nutrition of the body. Such exercises consist chiefly of massive movements, which are of two kinds : general and special.

General Massive Movements are those of the limbs and trunk which involve the whole bony and muscular structure of the body, and quickly and powerfully affect both respiration and the circulation. Types of such exercises are to be found in the natural play movements of children such as running, leaping, and skipping, also in marching, dancing, cycling, and games of all kinds. It is chiefly through such movements, given a sufficient supply of suitable food and fresh air, that the structure of the body is built up during the growing period, and the artificial conditions of school life make it of the first importance that adequate provision should be made for such exercises. Wherever opportunity offers, children should be encouraged and, if necessary, taught to take part in all manner of games in which a considerable number can engage at the same time. The value of organised games as an adjunct to physical training is very great, though they should not take the place of the regular lessons in physical exercises.

Among the Special Massive Movements may be included the various balance movements, shoulder exercises, and lunges. These have a beneficial effect upon the nervous system and strengthen the control exercised by the nerve centres over the muscles.

(b) The Corrective Effect.

The term “corrective effect” is used here to denote the remedy or adjustment of any obviously defective or incorrect attitude or action of the body, or any of its parts. Exercises employed for their corrective effect do not usually involve the whole body, but the trunk or limbs taken separately, in order to encourage local development. Special movements of the head, back, and arms, corne under this heading, and we may also include respiratory exercises. “Remedial” exercises also fall into this group, but are not, as such, within the scope of the present Syllabus.

Breathing Exercises are used in particular to stimulate the activity of the lungs and circulation, and thus increase the supply of oxygen to the body. Unless the lungs are from time to time expanded to their maximum capacity, they cannot attain their full development, and it is equally necessary that the chest walls and the muscles controlling them should be properly exercised. The object of such exercise is thus to promote the healthy activity of the lungs, as well as to increase the mobility of the chest. In this connection it is important to note in estimating the effect of chest exercise, that the most important measurement is not that of the chest when distended to its maximum capacity, but the difference in measurement between the full and empty chest. Respiratory movements have also a mental effect in quieting and controlling a class, particularly after a vigorous exercise, but they shoqld not be attempted while the children are actually “out of breath,” or in a badly ventilated atmosphere.

These exercises are also valuable in the correction of “mouth breathing.” In a large number of cases this is originally due to a faulty habit of breathing, and not to any obstruction or hindrance to the free passage of air through the nose. In such instances the habit can nearly always be eradicated, with great advantage to the health of the child, if breathing exercises, with the mouth closed, are efficiently practised.

Corrective exercises proper are designed to counteract the malpositions so often assumed by children in school, and also to correct certain bodily defects, many of which, unless care is taken, are apt to be intensified by the artificial conditions of school life. For instance, Trunk forward and backward bending, and the lateral Trunk movements are most useful in assisting chest development and in strengthening the back and neck muscles in children who have round shoulders and flat, ill-shaped chests, while shoulder blade movements are also useful for the same purpose. Such children have often great difficulty in doing these exercises well. Again, Heel raising corrects the tendency to flat foot. A teacher is often able to effect marked improvement in children who habitually assume malpositions by means of some of these exercises.

(c) The Developmental Effect —

One of the aims of Physical Training is to promote the development of the muscular system and the body as a whole, in order to attain the highest possible degree of all-round physical fitness. Physical Training has also an equally important influence on the development and specialisation of the brain cells.

There are in the brain certain “centres” or masses of brain matter which preside over co-ordinated movements _ of all kinds. These centres begin to perform their functions in early life, when the child learns to stand, to walk or to talk. As new movements are attempted new centres become active, certain nerve impulses become more or less habitual, and thus new nerve paths are opened up and established, and the connections between the centres in different parts of the brain become increasingly well defined and co-related. It has been found that within reasonable limits the greater the scope of the physical education, the more complex and highly specialised and developed do these centres become.

Massive movements, involving large groups of muscles, are acquired earliest; the finer movements — for instance, those involving the small muscles of the hand, the balance exercises, and the more difficult combined exercises — come later, and a premature attempt to develop these more difficult movements results in unnecessary fatigue of the nerve cells. Accuracy and precision of movement are not to be expected from young children, because their brain centres are not sufficiently developed. As the centres are gradually educated, so the exercises become more precise and exact.

There should, therefore, be no demand for accurate movements in the infant school and but little in the lower standards. It is only in the upper school, with children from 11-14 years of age, that real precision and smartness of execution should be required.

II. — Educational Etdlct.

The Educational effect is common in greater or less degree to all physical exercises, which have a strong mental and moral influence in addition to their direct effect upon the brain and body, and must be recognised as a powerful factor in the formation and development of character. The child unconsciously acquires habits of discipline and order, and learns to respond cheerfully and promptly to the word of command. For the correct performance of the exercises it is essential that the response shall be ready, as this encourages activity and alertness together with accuracy and precision.

Again, in the process of learning a variety of new movements and exercises the memory is strengthened. As the exercises become more advanced there is. an increasing demand on the powers of concentration and initiative, and also of endurance and determination. The constant call for self-control and self-restraint, for co-operation and harmonious working with others, needed for performing physical exercises and for playing organised °-ames helps to foster unselfishness and promotes a public spirit which is valuable in after life.

Rightly taught, Physical Exercises should serve as a healthy outlet for the emotions, while the natural power of expressing t lought, feelings and ideas by means of bodily movements is encouraged and brought out — a power which was in ancient times carefully and even religiously cultivated, but which now tends to disappear under modern conditions. This appeal to the aesthetic sense is very great, and extremely important, for in learning to appreciate physical beauty in form and motion, the perception of all beautiful things is insensibly developed and the child gradually learns to seek beauty and proportion not only in his external surroundings, but also in the lives and character of those he meets.

While this educational effect is not wanting in such simple natural movements as walking, running, or breathing, when performed with intention, it belongs in a higher degree to other and more -difficult exercises in the Syllabus. At first, each of these exercises requires for its performance a certain concentration of mind and a certain effort of will, and it is only by repeated, and at first laborious, efforts that perfection of execution is attained. Some degree of fatigue always accompanies the earlier performances, and the more immature the structures put into action the more sensitive they are, and the earlier do they show fatigue. In this connection it should not be forgotten that those exercises which involve the two sides of the body symmetrically are easier to learn, and entail less mental fatigue than asymmetrical movements. An exercise, for example, in which the right arm and left leg move together requires much more thought and concentration than one in which the two arms or legs are making equal and similar movements. At the same time the effect of each performance is stored up as a permanent memory, the repetition becomes by degrees less fatiguing, and as a result of lessons repeated week by week the exercise is eventually performed automatically. At this stage its educational value to some extent ceases, but its nutritive value and physical effect remain and are even increased. It follows that in a school course, one and the same exercise may be used for two quite different purposes: (i) During the process of learning, for its educational effect; (2) When it has been mastered for its physical effect. Though, as has been pointed out, no hard and fast distinction can be drawn in practice between these effects, the matter is of importance when it is necessary to determine into which group an exercise shall fall in arranging a Table of exercises.

THE APPLICATION OF PHYSIOLOGY TO PHYSICAL

EXERCISES.

An important physiological effect of physical exercise is to promote the functional activity of the various parts of the body, either directly or indirectly. Increased activity will, within limits,, produce increased efficiency. It is necessary to a right understanding of this matter, which lies at the foundation of the science of physical exercises, that a brief consideration should here be given to the elements of physiology which are chiefly concerned. A subsequent section will deal with the application of this knowledge to the work of the Syllabus.

Preliminary Note on Physiology.

The Body Framework.

The framework of the human body is made up of a number of bones of various shapes and sizes. Wherever two or more bones meet one another we find a “joint.” These joints may be “fixed,” such as those between the bones of the skull; or “moveable,” such as the elbow or hip joint, and these moveable joints are the important ones from the point of view of physical exercise.

Muscles.

The bones and joints are clothed with muscles. A muscle usually arises chiefly from one bone; it then passes over a joint, and is attached or inserted into another bone by means of a tough, fibrous extension which is called a “tendon.” Each muscle is made up of a large number of muscle-fibres, arranged in separate bundles, which in their turn are bound together to make up the entire muscle. Each muscle-fibre possesses the property of contraction and thus may become shorter and thicker. When contraction occurs the muscle as a whole also becomes shorter and thicker. The tendon, which does not contract, is then pulled upon, movement taken place at the joint on which the muscle acts, the bone to which the tendon is fixed moves, and the limb is bent or straightened as the case may be. Such muscles are known as “voluntary” muscles because they can be made to contract at will. There are also muscles over which the will has no control, and which are, therefore, called “involuntary” muscles. Such, for example, are the muscles of the heart, the stomach, and the intestines. When a muscle contracts, and so does work, certain changes occur : for example, some substance in the muscle is used up to supply the energy necessary for performing this work; and there remain also in the muscle as a result of the work certain waste materials, which if they are allowed to accumulate, exert a harmful and poisonous effect.

The Circulation.

Among the muscles and muscle-fibres, and in nearly all other parts of the body, we find a network of blood and lymph vessels. The blood-vessels start from and return to the heart, which is placed in the chest, between the two lungs, and which acts as a force pump to drive the blood along the vessels throughout the body. The blood as it is received from the lungs and as it leaves the heart is “pure,” and contains nourishment for the body. As it passes along the blood-vessels it gives up to the muscles and other tissues of the body the oxygen and the other nourishing substances that it contains, while at the same time it receives from the tissues on its way back to the heart the carbonic acid gas and various waste products that have resulted u0riu WOfk done by the body. The blood, therefore, when it returns to the heart from the system is “impure” and must be purified before it is fit to be distributed to the tissues once more. This purification takes place to a large extent in the lungs.

Respiration.

The lungs consist of innumerable tiny bags, or sacs, the extremely thin walls of which are covered with a network of the smallest blood-vessels. It is these air-sacs, or air-vesicles, which during respiration become filled with air. Tach act of respiration consists of three parts : inspiration, expiration, and then a short pause. In quiet inspiration, the muscles between the ribs contract and then pull the ribs upwards and outwards, so that the chest as a whole becomes shorter and wider than it was before. At the same time, the diaphragm, a large, thin, dome-shaped muscle which forms the floor of the chest and at the same time separates it from the abdomen, also contracts and becomes flatter and less curved. The floor is thus lowered while the sides of the chest are raised and widened, and as a result of this the capacity of the chest is increased and there is more room in it for additional air. As the diaphragm contracts and becomes flatter, however, it enlarges the chest at the expense of the other portion of the body cavity — the abdomen. Some pressure is therefore necessarily caused on the organs contained in the abdomen, and to relieve this the muscles of the body wall relax somewhat. The air that is breathed in is in this way able to pass quite easily downward into the lungs which at once expand. In ordinary quiet expiration the muscles of the ribs and diaphragm simply relax and the chest resumes its original shape, the abdominal muscles simultaneously acting. The air is expelled partly by muscular action and partly by the general elasticity of the lungs. In forced or hurried breathing other muscles are brought into action, such as those of the upper part of the chest, neck and shoulder (for inspiration) and of the abdominal wall (for expiration).

It will thus be seen that three groups of muscles are mainly concerned with respiration :

(1) the muscles of the chest wall (or thorax) ;

(2) the diaphragm;

(3) the muscles of the abdominal wall.

Breathing is, therefore, spoken of as “thoracic” or “abdominal,” according to which group of muscles is chiefly involved, the diaphragm being always used in any form or respiration.

The normal, well-developed boy uses the chest and abdomen fairly equally, and men also breathe in. a similar way. As a little girl, however, grows up there is a tendency for her to use the abdominal muscles less and less in breathing, and her respiration therefore gradually becomes chiefly, and in some cases almost entirely, thoracic in type. This may be due to physiological changes, but it may also be caused in a great measure by the adoption of more tightly fitting garments, which tend to hinder the action of the muscles of the abdomen, and also prevent the lower part of the chest from fully expanding, though the upper part is still able to move freely. Thoracic breathing is, therefore, accentuated by any form of tight clothing. It is obvious that for healthy physiological breathing it is necessary to make full use of the cubic capacity of the chest. In quiet breathing (14-17 times per minute and slightly more frequently in children) about 30 cubic inches of air ( say, nearly a pint) arc taken into the chest: this is called the tidal aii. due chest can contain in addition to this about 120 cubic inches if the inspiration is as deep as possible: this is the complemental air. After the tidal and complemental air has been breathed out, another 100 cubic inches of air can still be expelled from the lungs by forcible expiration: this is the supplemental air, which is held in reserve during ordinary breathing. 1 here remains in the lungs another 100 cubic inches, the residual air, which cannot be breathed out. It is, therefore, never possible completely to empty the chest of air. We thus have, in the adult chest, the following :—

Tidal air - - - 30 cubic inches This constitutes the

Complemental air - 120 cubic inches

Supplemental air - 100 cubic inches

. vital capacity of the chest = approximately

Residual air - - 100 cubic inches I 250 c. ins.

Air should be breathed in through the nose and not through the mouth. By nasal breathing the air, before passing into the lungs, is wanned, moistened, and filtered, and thus is less likely to injures irritate the air vesicles.

Pure air, as it is breathed into the lungs, contains a large amount of y gen and only a small percentage of carbonic acid gas. When this ^'r £a' “JJ the air-sacs the oxygen passes through the thin wall of the air-sac a in reaches the blood which is contained in the network of blood-vessels covering it This is impure blood from the tissues, which is poor ,n oxygen but rich in carbonic acid gas. The blood receives this fresh supply of oxygen from the air and it gives up the carbonic acid gas, which passes into the air-sac to replace the oxygen and is breathed out, while the blood returns to the heart purer and again in a fit state to convey nourishment to the body. Thus expired air differs from inspired air in that it contains less oxygen and much more carbonic acid gas and other waste products.

Excretion.

Besides the carbonic acid gas there are other impurities in the blood which must be removed, and this removal, or excretion as it is called, is accomplished chiefly by the kidneys, and to some extent by the skin.

In the skin we find large numbers of sweat-glands, which have minute openings on the surface, the “pores.” These sweat-glands separate from the blood in the skin a watery fluid, the sweat or perspiration, and this contains some of the impurities of the blood. It is constantly escaping on to the surface, where it either evaporates or is absorbed by the clothing, and eventually the last traces are removed by washing. The skin has also an important action in regulating the loss of heat from the body, and so helps to maintain the body at an even temperature. When the skin is flushed with blood and feels hot, heat is rapidly lost from the surface of the body. When, on the other hand, the skin looks pale and feels cold, the loss of heat from the body goes on much more slowly.

The kidneys act on a larger scale in a somewhat similar way to the sweat-glands, and remove many other waste products or impurities from the blood. The watery fluid they excrete is called the urine, and this is also expelled from the body. The skin and kidneys act in harmony: when the skin is hot in the summer, for example, the formation of perspiration goes on actively, while the urine is diminished : in the cold weather the excretion from the kidneys is increased, while the sweat is reduced in quantity.

Digestion.

Digestion, which begins in the mouth and is continued and completed in the stomach and intestines, is the process by which the nutritive portions of the food are rendered soluble, and fit for absorption into the blood. This is accomplished by the various digestive fluids produced by the alimentary canal, aided by the contractions of the muscles contained in the wall of the stomach and intestines. By means of these muscular contractions the food is vigorously moved about in the stomach and thoroughly mixed with the digestive fluid, it is in due time expelled from the stomach into the intestines, and is similarly passed along the whole length of the bowel, while the residue eventually leaves the body in the same way. It will thus be seen that these muscular contractions play a most important part in the digestion and absorption of nourishment. When the muscular activity is for any reason decreased, the food is not sufficiently mixed with the digestive fluids, while the useless part tends to accumulate in the intestine instead of passing onwards, and so indigestion and constipation, with their attendant evils, are apt to result.

The Nervous System

The nervous system, consisting of the brain, spinal cord and nerves, has control of all parts of the body ; it serves to link up and connect them and ensures harmonious working between them. The brain, in which every portion of the body is represented, is the central authority. It receives messages cincl sensations from the skin or other parts by way of the nerves or the spinal cord. It translates them, despatches the answering messages and controls and regulates the resulting actions and co-ordinations. "The nerves which conduct messages to and from the brain and cord, form a complete network among the tissues, somewhat similar to the system of blood-vessels.

I he brain has also control over involuntary muscles and movements, such as the heart and circulation, respiration, and the processes of digestion, each of these systems being represented by its “centre” or special portion of brain tis-

IO

We may now turn to the application of these facts to the teaching of physical exercises : —