Hygiene by experiment; a series of problem studies in hygiene, for pupils in intermediate grades and in junior high schools

Front matter

X

Copyright N°__

COPYRIGHT DEPOSm

Preface

During the generation or more that the subject of physiology and hygiene has been required in the courses of study in our public schools, three points have been made clear, as follows:

1. That we need to lay increasing emphasis on hygiene and sanitation and less on physiology and anatomy.

2. That our aim must be to develop boys and girls who are not only intelligent but also physically fit.

3. That our methods must be made more effective.

This textbook seeks to further the purposes that these

three points indicate. It is the outgrowth of a good many years of experimentation with teaching methods in elementary hygiene in the training schools of the Peru, Nebraska, State Teachers College and of the Teachers College of Nebraska Wesleyan University. Its immediate predecessor has been the author’s manual for teachers, entitled Hygiene as Nature Study. It seeks to give the pupil:

First, the necessary motivation for the study of the subject through appeal to his normal interests;

Second, the necessary sense experience by which to interpret the terms of the printed page; and

Third, the necessary stimulus to guarantee the fixing of proper health habits.

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Contents

PAGE

A Talk with the Teacher. vi

PART ONE Habit Hygiene

A Word with the Boys and Girls. I

STUDY

2. Making the Body Strong and Straight.n

8. The Blood and Its Circulation.59

10. Taking Care of the Finger Nails, Hair, and Scalp .... 7 °

12. The Brain as the Home of the Mind.81

13. Taking Care of Your Eyes and Ears.87

14. What to Do in Accident and Emergency.92

PART TWO Community Hygiene To the Boys and Girls.95

16. Protozoa, the Smallest of Animals.105

17. How Your Body Fights Its Germ Enemies.no

18. How You Can Help to Combat Germs.118

20. Diseases Due to Plants Other than Bacteria.131

21. Diseases Caused by Protozoa.135

22. Diseases Due to Simple Animals Other than Protozoa . . 139

23. Mosquitoes as Carriers of Germs.142

25. Quadrupeds as Disease Carriers.155

26. Disposal of Garbage, Rubbish, and Waste.160

28. Community Care of the Sick.170

29. Inspection of Foods and Supervision of Food Production . 175

IV

CONTENTS v

PART THREE Personal Hygiene: Physiology

STUDY PAGE

To the Boys and Girls.187

32. How Foods Are Digested.197

36. Respiration and the Organs of Respiration.226

38. The Circulation of Blood and Lymph.240

39. Common Colds and How to Avoid Them.247

40. The Skin and Bathing: Clothing .252

42. Sources, Forms, and Exits of Body Waste.266

43. Bones and Joints.278

44. Muscles: Posture, Exercise, and Fatigue.283

47. Health Problems.305

A Final Word With the Boys and Girls.309

APPENDIXES

A. A Plan for a Health Club .311

B. Health Chores and Record Chart.314

C. A Score Card for Hygienic Living.316

D. Apparatus, Materials, and Supplies for the Course . . . .318

E. Reference Pamphlets for Pupils and Teacher.321

F. Suggested Reference Books.323

A TALK WITH THE TEACHER

In the following studies in hygiene, Part One is de¬ signed for use in Grade 5 or 6; Part Two, for Grade 6,

7, or 8; and Part Three for Grade 7, 8, or 9. The work in each of these parts may readily be made to occupy a half year of school time. The work can be given on suc¬ cessive days through a half year of school, or it can be taken up on alternate days or weeks throughout the year. Many teachers prefer the latter arrangement, since it gives a longer opportunity to help fix the health habits that it is desired to set up.

It is the conviction of the author that every major and even minor topic in the subject of hygiene for the ele¬ mentary grades should be approached through concrete observation and experiment by the pupil. These concrete studies can then be followed up by as much further book work as time and resources will permit. The vital point to remember is that the experiments and observations are to be done before and not after the other readings.

It should be said with a good deal of emphasis that, to insure the most satisfactory results, the teacher needs to keep looking well ahead so as to start the assembling of materials for the successful execution of the studies that are to follow in the work with the class. Just a little at¬ tention of this kind will fortify the teacher against em¬ barrassments that always come from neglect of details.

The teacher should plan from the very first to give her pupils opportunity to provide as many of the experi- . mental materials as possible and to assist in the experi¬ ments. This at once increases the pupils’ interest and decreases the teacher’s labor. How much of the work of any experimental study shall be done by the pupils

VI

*1 TALK WITH THE TEACHER

Vll individually , and how much shall be done as a class demonstration , will be determined according to conditions in the individual school.

While Parts One, Two, and Three of these studies have been prepared to be used with Ritchie-Caldwell’s Primer of Hygiene , Ritchie’s Primer of Sanitation , and Ritchie’s Primer of Physiology , respectively, any other authorities on the successive topics may be utilized. Indeed, a num¬ ber of such authorities may well be employed, and the hygiene work can be carried on under the plan of the socialized recitation. On pages 321-324 are lists of reference sources, and the list of materials needed for the course is given in Appendix D.

Study carefully the matter contained in the Appendixes at the back of the book. The suggestions these contain will help in solving your most important problem, that of getting boys and girls to put into practice the principles that are fundamental to good health.