In training for health

Front matter

COPYRIGHT DEPOS&

MALDEN HEALTH SERIES

BV

Preface

This book, like the others in the same series, is the outgrowth of experimentation in methods of health education. It has been developed from classroom situ¬ ations in experimental teaching with fourth-grade children.

The children who use this book will have had a health-training program in the earlier grades de¬ signed to help them establish a limited number of the more important health habits. This book pre¬ sents some new features to the child. It is likely to be his first health textbook and it presents a new ap¬ proach in suggesting that the child may assume more responsibility in working out the detailed practices of health. The analogy of training for sport is used to interest the class in going into training for health and in working out a detailed list of those practices which are involved in such a training program. Chil¬ dren in many of our classes have enjoyed deciding upon the training rules and keeping notebooks in which these rules are recorded. Such a book gives opportunity for the development of a health vocabu¬ lary and a means of experiencing many health activities.

IV

PREFACE

The knowledge requirements at this grade-level are limited. The child’s progress is primarily in terms of activity and health training. The teacher usually finds it worth while to take an appreciable amount of time in considering each of the various habits. By class discussion and reports, she will dis¬ cover the present status of health practices and the habits which need reenforcement. She will probably wish to use several exercises in discussion of activi¬ ties centering about the rules presented in each chap¬ ter. In order to meet the needs of her pupils, she may prefer to use the chapters in an order other than that presented. The children become interested in discussing health practices, and their ideas become clarified and organized in so doing. This book serves as a guide and stimulus for the health-training and the activity program.

The child’s interest in gaining weight each month aids him in developing health practices and meas¬ ures for him in some degree the success which he is attaining. He comes to feel that his health progress is not measured so much by a perfect paper record of health practices as by growth and by success on the playground and in the classroom.

This book is based on a program which is positive rather than negative. The responsibility for develop¬ ing sound practices is turned over to the individual pupil so, far as is practicable. Children are com¬ mended for their efforts and successes rather than de¬ nounced for their failures. Care is taken not to hold

PREFACE the child responsible for conditions over which he has no control. Recognition is given to the readiness with which children are guided by the judgment of the teacher and the class group.

Conduct and attitude are regarded as more im¬ portant than knowledge at this age-level. Without direct reference to this problem in the text, we have sought to plan a program which develops right men¬ tal attitudes. We hope that both teacher and pupil will regard health as a means of enriching life, not as an end in itself. It is not difficult to make health interesting and enjoyable as a school subject. In this program we find opportunity to train children to rest, to achieve success, to express themselves, to take effective action when necessary, to develop normal social relationships, and to make the school a friendly, happy, and optimistic place. By keeping these principles in mind, a great contribution's made to the mental health of the child.

The authors wish to express their thanks and ap¬ preciation to those who have assisted them. The School Departments of Malden and Cambridge, Massachusetts, have provided opportunities for prac¬ tice teaching in the development of this material. The following persons have read the manuscript and contributed helpful suggestions: Miss Georgie B. Collins, Director of Health Education, Malden, Massachusetts; Miss Olga Anderson, Physical Edu¬ cation Department, University of Wisconsin, and Miss Sallie Pinckney, Bureau of Publications,

VI

PREFACE

Teachers College, New York City. We wish also to express our appreciation to our artist, Mrs. Hazel B. Ives, for her painstaking and original work in the preparation of illustrations.

C. E. T.

J. M. P.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. Players in Training ..... . i

II. Practice.13

II

In the last chapter we read about training. Part of the training program is practice. Athletes practice every day. “Practice makes perfect,” it is said. Do you think that a player could make the team if he practiced baseball just one day in the year? If you study music, you practice every day. Why is practice im¬ portant? Just what does it do for you?

By practicing we get the habit of doing things in the right way. We can see examples of forming right habits in any sport. When a boy learns to play tennis, he is shown how to hit the ball, and then he practices hitting the ball over and over again. He is shown how to hold his racket correctly. When he does not hit the ball right, he is shown how to do it. After a time it becomes natural for the player to pick up the racket in the right way and to

hold it in the right way without thinking about 13 i 4 IN TRAINING FOR HEALTH

it. Holding the racket correctly has become a habit. He has trained himself—his nerves and muscles—to do it that way.

Habits are formed in the same way when you learn to play baseball. The boy who is just

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again .

learning to play is slow in throwing the ball, and the ball usually does not go where he wants it to go. After he has played enough, he can throw it more easily and more quickly. He can make it go where he wants it to go.

He throws the ball better, more easily, and more quickly.

Did you ever watch a mother robin or mock¬ ing bird teach her baby birds to fly? When the wings and tails of the young birds are well feathered, the mother bird thinks that it is time for them to leave their nest. They drop to the ground with a great flutter. Just as soon as they reach the ground, the mother bird be¬ gins to give them practice lessons in flying. She flies here and there, calling and urging them to try their wings. At first the young birds just hop. They hop awkwardly because they find it difficult to balance themselves. Next they try to spread their wings. It is not until they have spread their wings again and again that they become strong enough to lift them¬ selves slightly from the ground.

The mother bird is eager for them to learn to fly. She does not get discouraged. She flies before them on the ground, showing them how and urging them to try. They do try. Between trials they squawk out loud cries of excitement. After many trials the young birds can fly short distances.

But the mother bird is not satisfied until their wings are strong enough to take them up to the tree branches. She is happy then because they are safe and will soon be able to fly high and far. Gradually their muscles grow larger. The young birds become strong enough to hunt their own food and to protect themselves from enemies.

When we learn skating, swimming, danc¬ ing, hurdling, or any new exercise, we begin very muqh as the awkward young birds do. At first we make mistakes; but as we practice over and over, we train the muscles which help us to do these new exercises. After prac¬ ticing a long time, we learn to do them with skill.

When we do an exercise with skill, it means that we do it correctly and easily. When we say “He swims like a fish” or “She dances like a fairy” or “He skates like the wind,” we mean that this boy or girl swims, dances, or skates with skill. It is not easy to swim perfectly. First, there are the arm movements to be learned and practiced. Then the leg move¬ ments must be tried over and over. Then comes practicing the arm and leg movements to¬ gether. When you begin, you look like a frog splashing around in the water; but it is not long before both the arms and the legs are used with ease. As you continue to practice, you learn to swim longer distances in good form. You can swim on your back or on your side. When you are older and can swim the length of the pool eight times, do fancy dives, and teach others to swim, you may be able to save lives.

Not all of our useful habits are used in games. When you learned to dress yourself you formed habits. At first it was difficult to work the buttons. It was not easy to tell just what to do next. You did the same things every day until you could dress with skill. Now it

Those girls and boys succeed in forming habits who are willing to practice again and again.

has become so firm a habit that you hardly have to think about how to do it or what to do next when you are dressing. When you do a thing in the right way over and over, and want to succeed, you form a habit. You learn to do a particular thing at a particular time. The habit reminds you when to do something and helps you to do it more easily and more quickly.

All of us are playing the game of health. The rules for the game of health should be practiced. The training of our muscles is only one rule of the health game. There are others equally important. We need to train ourselves to be clean, to like wholesome food, and to give our tired bodies plenty of sleep and rest.

We need to practice each of the rules. We could not learn to swim very well if we prac¬ ticed only one swimming rule. Neither can our bodies grow well if only one of the rules of health is practiced.

Can you name some health rules? A great many boys and girls are practicing such rules as these in their health training:

1. Keep the body clean.

2. Keep the body erect.

3. Eat the right amount of wholesome food.

4. Get enough sleep.

5. Play and exercise in the open air.

6. Keep the school, home, and neighborhood as

healthful as possible.

7. Be happy.

8. Keep accidents from happening.

9. Know the health rules and live up to them.

These rules mean more to you when you talk about how to follow them. To say “Keep the body clean” is like saying “Throw a curve ball.” It tells you what should be done, but not just how to do it. In training for athletics, the athlete finds out just how to do each thing; then he practices doing it the right way. You have heard of many of these health habits in the earlier grades. Now you are old enough to work out a real program of health training for yourself. This year you can prepare a set of exact training rules, telling just how these things are to be done. Then you can practice those things which will give you better bodies, better minds, and better dispositions.

One of the first things to do in going into training is to make sure there is nothing wrong with the body . The doctor and nurse help you to do this .

There are many persons who can help you with your program of health training. Your friends, the doctor and nurse, can help you to take care of your body. The teacher can be your coach in health training. Possibly she can weigh you each month so that you can see how fast you are growing. To gain every month is a sign that you are succeeding in your health training. Perhaps the class can take a few min¬ utes each morning for health inspections and for finding out how different pupils are sueceeding in their health habits. It may be that a milk lunch in the morning is part of the train¬ ing program. Father and mother can help you to keep the training rules when you are at home.

All these persons will help you, and you can help each other. But remember, the most im¬ portant things you must do for yourself. No athlete was ever made great by what other per¬ sons did for him. Fie gained success by his own efforts. Your own efforts in following the training rules for health will have the most effect upon your growth, upon your skill on the playground, and upon your success in school.

1. How did you learn to add numbers in arithmetic?

How did you learn new words in spelling?

2. Tell how an animal is trained to do tricks. Can

you tell how explorers train their dogs for the trips to the North and South Poles?

3. Use these words ,practice, patience, difficult, easily,

and skill, in sentences telling how you learned to play some game.

4. Name some good habits you are practicing. Name

some bad habits.

5. If you have the bad habit of eating too fast, how

can you train yourself to eat slowly?

6. Who was your coach when you learned to walk?

To ride a bicycle? To find your way to school? To plant a garden? To weigh yourself?

7. Make true sentences out of these words by putting

them in order:

a . try again try If succeed don’t first at you.

b . bring Daily willingly success done practices.

c. makes Practice perfect.

d . work play and easier Habits make.

e . bodies strong Our are by made practicing

rules health.

Ill

PRACTICE RULES IN CLEANLINESS

Have you ever seen a race horse or the prize animals at a big fair? How smooth and glossy is the coat of a race horse! He looks very dif¬ ferent from an old nag with a rough, dirty coat which has never received any care. It makes a great difference in the appearance of any horse if he is well groomed. The great race horse always receives good care, but people do not bother much with a horse which is of little value.

Are you a “race horse” or a “nag”? It does not matter how much your clothes cost, but clean clothes and a clean body do matter. They show that you are worth “grooming.” Besides, the things you do in getting yourself thor¬ oughly clean make you feel rested and com¬ fortable.

Are you a good sport about washing your

hands and face thoroughly? Do you play fair

PRACTICE RULES IN CLEANLINESS 25 in cleanliness? Do you work hard to get really clean? Let us see just what things need to be done in cleanliness if one is in health training.

What needs to be done in the care of the hands? Think of the number of dirty things your hands touch during the day. Perhaps you

It is easy to forget to wash the ears and neck.

have played a game of marbles on the ground, or emptied the garbage, or swept the room. Your hands collect dirt from most things they touch. The dirt looks like a black mark. It is really made up of small particles of soil, dust, or other powdered material, or it is a thin coat¬ ing of oil or some colored liquid.

If you have been handling something which has been used by a person with a cold or some other catching disease, your fingers may have picked up some of the disease germs along with other dirt. You may be able to see the dirt, but you will not be able to see the germs them¬ selves. They are so small that they cannot be seen with the eye, but they can give you the catching disease if they are carried to the mouth on dirty hands. This means that you must keep fingers and pencils out of your mouth. Do you keep your lips closed and keep your hands away from your face?

Children who have the bad habit of putting things in their mouths usually chew their pen¬ cils. Sometimes they bite their nails. Do you

PRACTICE RULES IN CLEANLINESS 27 have these habits? You need your finger nails for picking up small articles, creasing papers, and doing many other useful things.

Once several children were playing a button game. One of them hid the button under his hands and the child who was “it” had to guess where it was hidden. Some of the children could not play the game because they could not pick up the little flat button. They had bitten off their nails until their fingers were stubby and clumsy. Taking care of the nails makes the hands more useful as well as more beautiful.

Do you know some one with graceful and useful hands? Do you think a football coach would want on the team a player whose fingers were clumsy?

The coach in the health game says: “Keep your hands away from your face. Let your finger nails grow. When they need to be trimmed, use a nail file to keep them smooth and even. Clean your nails when you wash your hands. They are easiest to clean then.”

If you are a good sport about your clean¬ liness habits, you will wash your hands at the right time and in the right way. Wet the hands first. Use warm water if possible. Use enough soap to make a good lather, rinse off all the

Your hands and nails need to be washed with soap and water several times each day.

PRACTICE RULES IN CLEANLINESS 29 soap, and wipe the hands until they are thor¬ oughly dry. Hands which are not thoroughly dried may chap. When you have washed your hands, leave the wash bowl clean for the next person to use.

There are certain special times for washing the hands. A clean person always washes his hands before eating so that he will have clean fingers to carry food to his mouth. A clean person always washes his hands after going to the toilet.

Why is hand washing at school important? Why do we like the boys and girls about us to have clean faces?

Do you wash your face thoroughly with soap and warm water or do you just splash a little water on your face and rub the dirt off on the towel? In the morning or at night when you wash your face, remember to wash your ears and neck. They get their share of dirt and need their share of soap and warm water. Don’t be satisfied to wash new dirt from your face and leave old dirt on your neck and ears.

3 o IN TRAINING FOR HEALTH

Look out for dirt at the edge of the scalp. Use your own wash cloth and towel.

The nose also collects dirt. Particles of dirt are drawn into the nostrils with the air we breathe. In taking proper care of the nose, use a clean handkerchief each day, and blow the nose gently.

One who is in training for health is also careful to keep his hair neat and clean. He shampoos his hair every two weeks. He uses his own comb and brush every day.

Did you ever think how useful brushes are in helping us to keep clean? Can you name several kinds of brushes? Some brushes are large, some are small; some are black and some are white; some are soft and some are stiff. Brushes have different shapes, sizes, and names, according to their use. They are made strong because they have heavy work to do. Here is a game about brushes called “Who am I?” If you will read very carefully what each of these brushes does, you will be able to tell correctly which brush is talking.

PRACTICE RULES IN CLEANLINESS

I

I have soft black camel’s-hair bristles and a top of shining silver. I live in the top dresser drawer with hair brush, my cousin. Every morning my master takes me from the drawer and gives me a few minutes of brisk exercise. Up and down his coat front I run. Around and around the coat collar I go; then down his trousers’ leg I skip. When I have brushed well his whole suit and hat, he puts me back in my place in the drawer. Who am I?

II

I live on the shelf above the kitchen sink. Because I am small and short I have been nicknamed “Shorty.” My bristles are very strong. Every day I work with at least one of my garden friends, Carrot, Beet, or Turnip. Before they leave the sink, I must see that they are spotlessly clean. Even though it takes a long time to do this work, I like to be with my friends. Who am I?

Ill

We are five slender brushes hanging in the bath¬ room in the sunshine. We have been taught to be careful about our habits. Each of us belongs to some member of the family. Each of us has his very own hook to hang on. We have differently colored handles —yellow, green, brown, white, and blue. Once each morning and once each night each of us is called upon to clean and shine thoroughly a set of pearls. With the help of water and powder we can easily keep these pearls shining. Who are we?

IV

I also live on a hook near the window in the sun¬ shine. I am much larger and stronger than my neigh¬ bor, the tooth brush. I do not have regular times for my work, but must be ready for use at all times. Often my short little bristles are lathered with soap. Down under the water I dive and there I struggle with ten dirty little fingers until they are as clean as they can be. I like best of all to clean nails that are strong and well kept. Who am I?

If you look at your skin with a magnifying glass, you will find that it has many pores, or openings. In hot weather or when you exer¬ cise, your body gives off sweat or perspiration through these pores. The best way to keep dirt from filling up these pores is by bathing.

Some people bathe every day. Others do not bathe so often. Doctors say that every one should take a cleansing bath with warm water and soap at least twice a week. Some persons, who do not have a bathtub, use a clothes tub,

PRACTICE RULES IN CLEANLINESS 33 a wash basin, or a foot tub to bathe in. By using warm water, soap, and a wash cloth, the whole body may be made very clean.

In addition to keeping the skin clean, you should keep it in a healthy and vigorous con¬ dition. You can do this by taking a cold bath daily or by splashing cold water on your face, throat, and chest, or you can take a brisk rub all over with a dry rough towel. These things bring the blood to the skin and give it a warm glow. A person who has toughened the skin in this way is not very likely to catch cold.

Our feet need special care. They carry us about all day long and certainly deserve some attention. The nails of the toes, like those of the fingers, need to be kept clean and trimmed. Cutting the toe nails square across instead of round will prevent ingrowing toe nails. A good time to care for the feet is just after you have had a bath.

We have been speaking only of some of the ways for keeping the outside of our bodies clean, but it is also important to keep the inside clean. Water, fruit, and vegetables help to do this. Coarse foods, such as whole-grain bread, cereal, and vegetables, act as scrubbing brushes in the stomach and intestines. Plenty of water between meals also helps to keep us clean inside.

You can now decide what some of your training rules about keeping the body clean shall be. Would you agree that a pupil in train¬ ing for health should do the following?

1. Take a full tub bath at least twice a week.

2. Wash his face, neck, and ears with warm water

and soap at least once a day.

3. Wash his hands before eating and after going to

the toilet.

4. Use a clean individual towel and wash cloth.

5. Know how to use the wash bowl and toilet prop¬

erly.

6. Keep his nails clean and trimmed.

7. Carry a clean handkerchief and use it properly.

8. Wash his hair once in two weeks and comb it

daily.

9. Keep his comb and brush clean.

10. Drink at least five glasses of water daily.

11. Have a bowel movement every morning.

PRACTICE RULES IN CLEANLINESS 35

It will be a good plan for your class to have a cleanliness review each morning. Perhaps some of you have seen an army captain review a company of soldiers. To review in the army means to inspect carefully. The captain care¬ fully inspects the soldier’s uniform, shoes, posture, and everything about his personal appearance. If he discovers a soldier with an untidy uniform, dusty shoes, or dirty neck, what do you think the captain says? What does the soldier do?

Your class may be reviewed in much the same way. One pupil from each row may act as the captain. It will be the duty of the cap¬ tain to report whether the row which he in¬ spects has a perfect record. Each row earns a daily score of one on each item for which the record is perfect.

You know how to keep your body clean. You also know that you must practice the cleanliness rules every day if you wish to make a good cleanliness record at school. Are you in training to be a race horse or a nag?

1. Why do you think any one who washes his hands

and face carelessly is a poor sport?

2. Did you ever see a fingerprint? Look at your

finger under a magnifying glass. Can you see both pores and creases?

3. Why do you think an artist or doctor takes good

care of his hands?

4. Name some things that you can do better if your

nails are well kept.

5. Score yourself in cleanliness on the following points:

Outside Cleanliness:

Clean hands. 5

Bathing twice a week. 10

Clean nails. 5

Clean face. 5

Clean ears . 10

Clean neck. 10

Clean teeth. 10

Clean clothes . 5

Inside cleanliness:

Drink 4-6 glasses of water. 5

Eat fruit every day. 3

Eat a vegetable every day. 10

Bowel movement every day. ... 10

Spirit of honesty and good sportsmanship . 10

Total . 100

PRACTICE RULES IN CLEANLINESS

6. Name some public signs which ask people to keep

places clean.

7. Why do many towns have a “clean-up week” in

the spring? What can you do to help make your neighborhood clean?

8. Place at the top of a large sheet of cardboard some

of the following articles: comb, wash cloth, towel, nail file, orange-wood stick, tooth brush. Let each child who has one of these for him¬ self put his name under the article.

IV

WHOLESOME FOOD PRACTICES FOR GROWTH

Sweetie and Samson were the names of two white rats which belonged to some fourth-grade children. They were young growing rats of the same age and weight. They had soft white fur, bright pink eyes, straight backs, strong legs, and slightly pinkish ears. They were lively, curious, and friendly.

Sometimes rats are enemies of people, and sometimes they are friends. The wild gray rats which destroy the farmer’s grains are enemies. The farmer tries to get rid of such pests from his barn. White rats are easily tamed. They are sometimes used as pets and are of real use to man.

Sweetie and Samson were born in a college laboratory where tests were being made on different kinds of food to find out which ones make young animals grow. They were given

WHOLESOME FOOD PRACTICES FOR GROWTH 39 to the fourth-grade children so that the class could find out which foods would make the rats grow best.

The children kept Sweetie and Samson in separate wire cages. Animals, like people, are healthier if they live in clean places. The children took turns in cleaning the cages thoroughly every morning, using soda water and a small scrub brush. They put clean torn paper in the cages for the rats to sleep under if it should turn cold. Every morning a fresh supply of food and water was put into the food jars.

After everything was in readiness, the cages were put in a quiet place, so that the rats might sleep during the day. White rats are almost wholly blind in sunlight hours. For this reason they like to sleep during the day and play at night, when they can see much better.

Sweetie was fed pure sugar candy and a mix¬ ture of cornmeal and salt. Samson was fed milk and a mixture of cornmeal and salt.

Every morning for five weeks the children

The children took care of the rats .

cared for their pets. Every Friday they weighed the rats in the balances or scales to find out how much they had grown. Rats, like boys and girls, must have certain kinds of food if they are to build strong bones and muscles.