Physical work; management and methods

Front matter

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Preface

The physical directorship of the Young Men's Christian Association is a profession that has made unusually rapid progress. It is becoming more and more technical and constantly enlarging, both in breadth and depth.

The moderii spacious buildings with their splendid equipment are attracting a steadily increasing membership of boys and men. Directors with large executive ability as well as thorough technical training are needed to conduct the right kind of work in these buildings. Then, too, the physical director of the modern Young's Men's Christian Association finds himself related to the various civic organizations that promote the construction of parks and playgrounds; to the physicians, who are among the first to advocate all movements for prevention of illness; to the municipal organizations, whose duty it is to preserve the public health, and to the religious and philanthropic societies, which aim to improve the moral and religious conditions.

In order that the most approved and up-to-date methods that have been learned in the school of experience, and certain underlying fundamental principles upon which the physical work of the Young Mens Christian Association rests, may be available in concrete form to the men in the profession and to such as may look forward to the work, the Physical Directors' Society has created a special committee to collect and compile the data herein contained.

iii iv PREFACE

To the many men who have given much time and thought in preparing special articles, and to others who have given most helpful criticism, we would pay a tribute of grateful acknowledgment. George J. Fisher, M.D., M.P.E., George F. Poole, M.D., M.P.E., George M. Martin, Louis R. Welzmeller, M.D., M.P.E., John H. Scott, B.P.E., and William H. Ball, M.P.E., have been especially helpful; while a score of others, both in and out of our work, have given valuable counsel, all of which has enabled us to prepare this work which we sincerely hope may yield large returns in unifying, broadening and increasing the efficiency both of the workers and the work.

Martin I. Foss, B.P.E., Chairman, James H. McCurdy, M.D., M.P.E., M.A., Henry F. Kallenberg, M.D., Albert B. Wegener, B.P.E., Harvey I. Allen, William Y. Reithard,

Committee on Handbook.

Contents

PAGE

I. A Brief History of the Physical Work of the Young Men's Christian Association

II. The Physical Director

II

In the light of the foregoing what shall be the training of the physical director? The demand is for men of broad general preparation with a thorough technical education. Men are needed who know and can sympathize with the deepest desires in the lives of young men.

A commission which made a very thorough study of the physical directorship, concluded that the qualities demanded in the physical director were the following in the order of their presentation: (i) Christian character and religious leadership; (2) executive ability; (3) cultural and technical training; (4) attractive personality; (5) athletic and gymnastic ability; (6) business ability. There was a time when this order was just the reverse. Men who simply see the physical side of the work, or who think of it as simply a job, must be discouraged from entering the work. Most men of this type are doomed to failure early in their career.

This service demands a devotion deeper than the mere joy of physical exercise. The optimist with leadership ability who is an earnest Christian, will find in the Christian physical directorship the best opportunity for guiding adolescents during their formative years. The men who are nearest to the physical activities and play life of the youth are thereby in a better position to lead them spiritually.

With thorough technical preparation he will also find in the profession a rich field for scientific investigation in the problems of physical and moral efficiency.

What are the qualifications demanded? First, as to physical characteristics. A healthy, alert, vigorous body, abounding in life, with some native ability in gymnastics and athletics. Dyspeptic, pessimistic individuals have no place. Born optimists are needed. Second, as to social characteristics. The social instincts should be well developed. Social rather than individualistic qualities are demanded, and a deep spirit of friendliness and interest in men. Third, as to intellectual characteristics. Interest in knowledge should in general be related to men rather than things; knowledge not simply for the sake of knowledge, but for the sake of men. Men are needed who have the capacity for study and love of it.

Fourth, as to religious characteristics. The men needed are those who see the possibility of God's kingdom coming here and now. Honest men are needed who have confidence in God's handiwork, men whose training has. made them broad enough to confess their ignorance when they don't know, charitable enough to give the other man an opportunity to differ with them, deep enough in their own spiritual life that men shall recognize in them real Christians. The need is for men of emotional power, coupled with common sense, whose ambition is to be servants of God used in bringing the world to Himself; men who are reverent students of God's laws as written on tables of flesh as well as on tables of stone.

Fifth, as to educational equipment. This should include such general subjects in science as physics, anatomy, physiology, psychology, chemistry, mathematics and biology. In language a knowledge of English, German and French is the best general preparation. The physical director's English training should fit him for public speaking and the writing of papers and articles. A knowledge of French and German will give him access to the best scientific literature in gymnastics, physiology and hygiene. His history study should not be a matter of dates and figures, but should make the great men and their achievements a living reality to him.

Sixth, as to technical education, a thorough technical education is as essential as a good general education. Formerly the doctor, lawyer and preacher were trained by the apprenticeship method. A young doctor, for example, accompanied an experienced physician, picking up what information he could as he went along. It is essential now that the medical school have a library, laboratories and hospitals. These educational features must be di~ rected by a corps of specialists in the various branches of medicine. The length of the course has been increased during the last fifteen years from two to four years.

A similar increase in the technical training of physical education teachers is now demanded. Many experiments w^ere tried before it was seen that a technical education was absolutely essential. First, professional athletes, pugilists, wrestlers and runners were selected, until the necessity for a general education was seen. Ex-college athletes were then selected. This was an improvement, but still unsatisfactory. The next step was the placing of medical graduates, where possible, in charge of the physical training. It was soon seen that the physician's education fitted him primarily for dealing with the sick, while his work in physical education would chiefly be with the well. He lacked training in general pedagogy, and in those special branches of pedagogy related to physical training. In studies like anatomy and physiology, in which it was thought his medical training would directly apply, it was found that he had studied surgical anatomy rather than animal mechanics, and the physiology of drugs rather than the physiology of exercise. It was found that while these studies might give excellent general training, they were in no sense a technical preparation for this branch of teaching.

The experience of the last fifteen years would place the courses of preparation for physical education in the following order: First, a good general education; second, a technical course, such as is given in the best normal schools of physical education; third, a medical course with as much emphasis on the problems of physical diagnosis, personal and public health, school hygiene and orthopedic surgery, etc., as the flexibility of the medical curriculum will allow, but skill as a physician has become subordinate to a man's ability as a teacher, organizer and promoter.

At present the best normal schools of physical education give better courses in personal public and school hygiene than do the medical schools. The medical schools give the best courses in physical diagnosis, and as a rule in orthopedic work, though the exercises themselves are usually given by nonmedical specialists in physical education. The trend during the last ten years has been toward a greater emphasis on the combination of the cultural and technical rather than on medical training. The largest positions are open to men without medical training.

Our own training schools in the Young Men's Christian Association furnish the most complete courses provided in North America. These include courses in anatomy, physiology, hygiene — personal, school, public — diagnosis, prescription of exercise, anthropometry, pedagogy and administration. These are described in the printed catalogues and need not be discussed here in detail. The courses at Springfield and Chicago give in addition a thorough training in religious education and in religious pedagogy-

The Continuous Mental and Spiritual Development of the Physical Director

This statement has to do with the mental and spiritual culture of the physical director after he has entered the work. It may not be amiss in addition to preface the statement with a few words also in reference to the care of his own health, for there are some physical directors whose physical condition gives the lie to the profession they represent. The physical director must in his own life represent the things he stands for in the community.

The desire to grow in efficiency must necessarily be in the heart of every man who has within himself to any degree, the elements of success. There is no short cut to growth and development, neither can these be attained without an objective and some kind of a program of procedure. Three things are necessary for growth:

i. The realization that continuous growth

IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY FOR CONTINUOUS EFFI- CIENCY. The physical* director who does not grow must step down and give some one else, who will grow, a chance to do things; otherwise he becomes an obstacle to progress.

2. There must be a large vision of his profession. This alone will give courage and inspiration. It is vision which makes possible a constructive program in the life of any individual. " Where there is no vision, the people perish."

3. The adoption of a schedule or system of training. Such a program should contain the following items:

Reading. This may be grouped as follows :

a. General; such as fiction, poetry and history. Good fiction portrays the various phases of life of the times in which it was written, introduces bits of history, illustrates effective methods of expression, and the best use of language in general. Poetry appeals to the aesthetic sense and develops the power of imagination. History recalls the past, points out its lessons and in a measure forecasts the future because it indicates what may reasonably be expected under similar conditions.

b. Technical. This should at least include general biology, organic evolution, sociology, anatomy, physiology* psychology, physiology of exercise, hygiene and sanitation and philosophy of physical education.

It is highly desirable that the physical director secure for his own library the best books on these various technical subjects. Information concerning the best literature on many topics can readily be secured from authorities, such as teachers, physicians and librarians.

While books on fiction, poetry and history are very helpful for general culture, those books which have to do with the problems of physical education and of the conservation of health are absolutely essential for the physical director's specific development for these deal directly with his work. A man in any of the older professions, who wishes to keep posted, must study constantly. This is even more true of the younger profession of physical education which is still in its plastic and changing state. Every physical director should be encouraged by his Association to pursue a definite line of reading. In the appendix a suggestive graded course in reading is presented.

Attendance upon conferences and conventions. There is nothing that helps to broaden one's view point so much as contact with other men and their views. Simply studying the problems in one's own small field carries with it the danger of narrowness and provincialism. Like solitary confinement, it leads to monotony, which kills ambition. A man not only gets new ideas at conferences, but more than that he catches the spirit of the times and gets an appreciation of the bigness of the movement of which he is a part and is therefore inspired to do better and bigger things.

Every Association should encourage the physical director to go to at least one conference a year. Some Associations not only do this, but also pay the conference expenses of their physical director and make regular provision for it in the budget of the department. Money spent in this way will bring large returns to the Association through the increased efficiency of the physical director as a result of his contact with men and new viewpoints.

Attendance upon summer schools. It would seem almost unnecessary to mention the place of summer schools in the life of a growing Association man. However, it might be well to recall the fact that the summer schools bring together students from all parts of the country and expert instructors who bring to the students the best as well as the newest thought on any given subject. One of the most valuable features of a summer school is the contact with men who have come from other sections of the country. Here friendships are formed and ideas exchanged which are almost as valuable as the knowledge gained in the class room.

Every physical director should plan to attend a summer school at least two weeks every third year. This advice is not merely for the younger and newer men in the work. An older and experienced physical director who had become so occupied with his local work that he failed to attend a summer school for four years until 1910, said "I did not realize how rapidly the Association work was progressing until I reached the summer school this year and never again will I stay away so long. " For advanced and experienced men special seminar courses and advanced subjects are prepared.

It is gratifying to note that some Associations are planning to have their physical director attend a summer school once in three years. Furthermore some Associations are planning to adopt the policy of paying part or all of the physical director's expenses at such a summer school. This is very desirable. The time spent at such a school should not be taken out of the physical director's vacation, but the time thus spent should rather be regarded just as other educational institutions regard the sabbatical year during which the instructors are given leave of absence with pay, for study.

A study of physical education as a movement. There is nothing so conducive to growth as a thorough study of the profession in which one is engaged. The physical director would find it broadening and stimulating if he undertook a study of the physical work as conducted under the auspices of various organizations, such as settlements, churches, playgrounds, athletic clubs, turners, schools and colleges and to note where the emphasis is being placed and the results produced. He should discern the trend of physical education in these agencies, noting how and why they are departing from earlier methods and adopting new ones.

Physical training is a phase of education. The basic fact which gives physical education the right of recognition at all as a science, is that the mind and the body react upon each other. Medical men, psychologists and scientists in general are giving the major portion of their research to a study of these reactions.

Physical education is more and more relating itself to the problems of efficiency, both mental and moral. Physical directors are more and more concerning themselves with conditions and habits of life which make for or against efficiency, and are therefore rapidly emerging from the class of mere athletic coaches. The physical directors are no longer merely concerned with gymnastic and athletic activities, but are interested in the study of such subjects as dietetics, fatigue, the relation between fatigue and morality, health and efficiency, as well as the physical basis of industrial, social and educational problems.

In no profession is there greater progress being made or a more rapid shift of emphasis occurring than in physical education. For example, witness the shift of emphasis in physical examinations from bone and muscle measurements to the examination of eyes, ears, nose, throat, teeth and vital organs; from the emphasis upon the development of muscles to the development of organic vigor ; from the teaching of athletic and gymnastic stunts to the teaching of right-living habits. Physical education stands for prevention rather than cure; for formation rather than reformation; for conservation rather than restoration. Because of these changing emphases the physical director must be a student of his time.

Practise in public speech. Most physical directors have opportunity upon occasion in schools and churches, and at conferences and conventions to present addresses and papers upon topics of health, recreation and exercise. Such opportunities should not be neglected as they are valuable in his own education. They exalt his standing in the community and in his profession, develop his power to think and marshal facts in orderly and effective fashion, and facilitate his efficiency in public speech and address. The writing of articles for newspapers and magazines is also very helpful, and should not be neglected either from the standpoint of the good such articles will do, or the development which will come to the physical director through this kind of work.

Committee work. Another very helpful means for development is committee service in connection with local societies, as the Society of Physical Education, Parents and Teachers Association, Anti-Tuberculosis Society, Playground Association, and the like, and also in connection with such national societies as the Physical Directors' Society of North America, and the American Physical Education Society.

Committees represent the harness of any organization and all work is done by committees. Committee work develops the spirit of cooperation, the power to bring things to pass, and offers opportunities for rendering service.

It is taken for granted here that every physical director will relate himself very intimately, especially as a member, to local state and national movements which deal with the problems of hygiene, sanitation, and physical education.

Research work. There is nothing that will stimulate the mind and induce intellectual growth so much as the undertaking of a bit of research work, no matter how insignificant it may appear. Important and interesting research work can be conducted with very little or no laboratory apparatus. It is well for a physical director to study some one phase of his work well, be it technical, social or executive. Every physical director, of course, should study his own field thoroughly for an intimate knowledge of his field will enable him to adequately meet the needs of his community.

A study of the Association movement as a whole. Every physical director should be familiar with the history, traditions and policy of the Association movement. He should know something of the army, navy, student, industrial, county, as well as the city work, of the Association.

Furthermore, he should acquaint himself with the work and organization of the International and State Committees and the relation of these agencies to each other and to the city and other forms of Association work.

The Relationships of the Physical Director

The whole work of the Association is controlled by a board of directors of which the general secretary is the executive officer. From this board different committees are appointed to have direct oversight over the various departments of the work.

One of these is the physical department committee and it employs as its executive officer the physical director. All details of the physical department are under this committee's control. They look to the physical director to prepare plans to meet the needs of the membership, to conduct the business affairs of the department, and to keep them in touch with its activities. They rely on his knowledge of the theory and practice of physical department methods to recommend and carry out a practical and scientific system of physical training, and on his ability as an organizer of the forces resident in the membership to promote the physical welfare of young men. Through this committee, therefore, the physical director is brought into direct relationship with the board of directors.

What is the relationship of the physical director to the general secretary? This depends for its answer on the acceptance of three propositions: First, the general secretary is the executive officer of the board of directors and is an ex officio member of all its committees. He is the one whom the directors hold responsible for the success of the work as a whole. He is to the Association what the working president is to a college or large corporation. Results are the criterion of his success, and failure to achieve them is not put down so much to the failure of the department heads as to improper management on his part. Second, the general secretary is also the correlator of the work ; the one who must keep the departments in their right relationship to one another. He is the adjuster of the various activities of the Association, the bond which binds all departments into one harmonious whole. Third, the physical director is an expert, employed to take charge of a department. He is, therefore, to the secretary what the superintendent or consulting engineer is to a president. His work is the work of an expert, and he must be looked upon as such.

Admitting this, the relationship of the two officers is plain. All policies of the physical department which bear on the work as a whole are properly subject to the advice and approval of the general secretary, while all technical matters in organization and operation of the department are under the control of the physical director working as the executive officer of the physical department committee.

The relationship which the physical director bears to the other departments is one of sympathetic cooperation. His advice to the educational director is valuable in planning classes in hygiene, first aid to the injured and other topics which bear on the physical welfare* of young men.

In conjunction with the religious work director he should plan for the extension of the religious work throughout the department, and he should not only be in sympathy with, but should take an active part in, the conduct of this important work of the Association.

In the social features of the Association he should always be ready to cooperate in any way in which he, as a department head, may be able.

To the boys' department he should bear the same relationship as he does to the general work, and the physical welfare of the boys should be under his control.

His relation to the finances of the Association differs in various Associations. Some Associations hold the physical director with his committee responsible for raising the entire amount of the physical department budget. This may in some instances prove a serious hindrance to his usefulness to the membership, as his efforts may be looked upon as having a mercenary basis, and, further, the worry and thought given to the raising of finances may interfere with his best efforts in the regular work of the department.

This entire responsibility for the budget does not prevail in many places. A growing number of Associations now plan the raising of the entire Association budget in a very limited period of time and the physical director and his committee usually cooperate in the canvass. The physical director should always be ready, no matter what the plan, to suggest ways and means toward helping to bear the financial burden, and to suggest names of those who would be likely material for financial cultivation and help to cultivate the same.

The attitude of the physical director to the work at large should be one of cordial support. The welfare of all the members should be his chief consideration and all department partisanship should be set aside for the good of the whole.

In his own department the physical director, under the Physical Department Committee, is the organizer and director of all its activities. The various branches of the work are usually organized either in the form of clubs or under the supervision of committees. Whichever form of organization may be decided upon, the physical director should be in direct control and and an ex officio member of every committee in the department, and be present at all of their meetings.

His relationship to these committees should be advisory and never dictatorial, and in the formation of them he should select such men as are in sympathy with the general policy of the Association, so that the welfare of the membership as a whole will control in all matters of sectional interest. The interest of the entire membership should always be kept in mind. The action of all clubs and committees should be subject to the approval of the physical department committee and by this means the physical director can maintain an efficient check on all their activities.

His relationship with those associated with him in the work, such as assistants, should be one of helpfulness and support. As far as possible, they should be given direct responsibility for various features of the work and should be encouraged to develop the qualities of leadership. His relationship to the members of the Association should be one of recognized friendship, and he should hold the position of adviser on all matters pertaining to their physical welfare. His time, as far as possible, should be at their disposal, and every member should be made to feel that he will always be given a sympathetic hearing on any matter of importance.

His relationship to the physical welfare movement outside of the Association membership depends largely upon the community in which he is placed. He should bear a sympathetic and cooperative relation with all organized movements which have for their object the physical welfare of young men. If he is situated in a field where no such organizations exist he should consider it his duty to lead in their organization. These welfare movements can usually be better handled by independent organizations with which the Association works in hearty cooperation.

His relations to church, settlement, playground and school athletic organizations should be advisory, and he should rely upon the membership of the Association largely for the executive force in organizing and carrying out the work in these institutions.

His relationship to the community at large should be that of a specialist on all matters pertaining to their physical welfare. The physical director should always keep in mind that his first duty is to the Association, and should never allow outside calls on his time to interfere with the efficient administration of his department.

Beginning in a New Field

Wherever it is possible, it is w^ise for a physical director to be on the ground, one or two months before the season's work opens. During this period he should become acquainted with his fellow workers on the staff, the members of the Physical Department Committee and of the leaders' corps and other committeemen, and as many of the general membership as possible. It is essential to know the past work of the department and where practicable to build upon it. As far as possible in this limited time, information should be secured of the physical work in the educational institutions, churches, settlements and clubs in the community and the relationship that exists between them and the Association.

Upon the foregoing facts the policy and plans for the department can be outlined. The physical director should avoid criticism of the work of his predecessor, introduce changes in methods only after being convinced that they are improvements, boast little, and make few extravagant promises. Too much should not be attempted at first. A few things done well is a good plan to start with, then broaden and enlarge the scope of the work. If there is no leaders' corps, it is well not to formally organize a corps until the men are well enough known to avoid mistakes in selection. It should be remembered that the physical director is one of the partners in the Association firm, and as such should fit his work into the general work of the Association, with special reference to the policy of the local Association with which he is identified.

Resignation and Application for a Change

Frequent changes are detrimental to both the physical director and the Association. When after the most careful consideration the director is convinced that he should resign, it should be done in a straightforward, manly way, and only after a frank personal conference with the general secretary or president of the Association and the department committee. Sufficient notice should be given to enable the Association to meet the situation. It is decidedly advantageous in most instances to remain in a position not less than three to five years. The following are some conditions which may warrant a change: Difference of opinion in matters of policy, ill health, inability to fill the office, a call to a place of larger service, a completed work.

It is customary for purpose of record to present a resignation in brief written form. Public discussion of the reasons for leaving should be avoided. All the affairs of the department should be left in such order that the succeeding officer can take up the work expeditiously. When a change is decided upon and another field has not been accepted, the method of procedure is to notify the State office and the physical and secretarial departments of the International Committee.