^°^:*^^-% cP^i-i^^V ^"^^-^^"^ cp -'- ^^^ °^ .'''#V^.* o.P^ % ^ j>- '^y::yf^^^\ ^^'^^^s^V^'- '^/'."J^^V^ c^^^^^i'^V >°^^^4L^%_ c?t^:,;^^>^ cp^^_^ f^ ^^ \> . ^ - . -^ o-> -^ V'^ Q. - '^ %,^ ^:^ft^^^ X* r.^^ s^ aO' f~^^;^^,%'-^^':~^'.%'-^€^ S^.S' '^ --^^''% cp^.^^^-^.S ^^:;<^''V <^ -L. ^0' 0> ^ u ,■' i%\^.- .*.^ ''M . ^r \:^' :V"'^X<^-:^^\\%/ .^ ^^ ^^^. ^ y o ^(P, ^^ <. ' . « s ^ A^ ^. <''' ^'M'^^'^^^- :'MX^\<^ :'«-V ^.^'::j-%^ - 7. If city children were required to walk farther to school, would it not give them exercise that many of them need ? 8. Determine the best construction and best usage of basements under school buildings. Note all points mentioned in the text and set forth such others as may occur to you. 9. Set forth in detail all the facts that you can find and those that you can discover which will enable you to determine with approximate accuracy the proper dimensions of a classroom for forty pupils of the elementary grades. 10. Study the floors of school buildings, so as to determine what sort to recommend to school authorities. Explain how they may be kept in the best condition. 11. Take an ordinary general high school program, find out how many classes there are daily, how many pupils there have been in each subject listed for the past five years, and, on the basis of this information, plan the size and number of rooms needed for these classes. 12. Locker rooms for high schools are often located in basements. Is this location justifiable, taking all conditions into consideration ? Why ? 13. Make a careful investigation of a number of school buildings in which transoms are found, in order to determine fairly and accurately the practical value that they have had, and also the troubles that they have caused by catching dust. Note their condition as you find them. 14. Do you think doors without panels are to be preferred to doors with panels ? 15. Of what advantage are platforms for teachers? What disad- vantages have they ? 16. Experiment with glass blackboards in order to determine what color is most satisfactory. (A sliding frame into which various colored paper may be placed behind the glass will furnish an easy method of changing the color.) 17. Make careful note of the amount of blackboard surface needed for various grades, and for mixed grades. 18. Devise a method of cleaning erasers so as to keep them clean with the least effort, and so as to scatter as little of the chalk dust in the room as possible. 19. Try the method of covering up the blackboards on dark days, as suggested, and note the effect. T' 20. Would it be more in accord with the laws of hygiene to use black crayon on a white board, than white crayon on a blackboard ? Why ? Location and Construction of School Buildings 51 21. Experiment with the various kinds of blackboards now on the mar- ket in order to determine as far as possible what kind is to be preferred. 22. What height above the floor should the bottom of the blackboard be for each grade, including the high school? Note the demands for each subject. -J— 23. Would American schools lose or gain by adopting the German method of having blackboard space for the teacher only ? 24. Experiment with various kinds of crayons and talc to determine which gives the best results on the boards that you are using. 25. Are your blackboards properly located? Why? 26. How can the walls in schoolrooms be decorated to best advantage ? 27. Are the restrictions set on the height of school buildings justifiable ? Why? 28. Make an investigation into the relative cost of wood, brick, stone, and concrete construction for school buildings. 29. Which seems more likely to meet the hygienic requirements of school buildings, wood, brick, stone, or concrete ? 30. How wide should the halls be for an elementary school building ? High school ? 31. Make a careful study of the needs of assembly rooms, and the best position in the building for them. (See the reference on American Schoolhouses.) SELECTED REFERENCES Barry, W. F. The Hygiene of the Schoolroom. New York, 1903. 19s pp., illus. Boston School Committee. Annual Reports Schoolhouse Committee. Briggs, W. F. Modern American School Buildings. New York, 1909. 411 pp., illus. Bruce, W. G. School Architecture. Milwaukee, 1910. 285 pp., illus. BuRGERSTEiN and Netolitzky. Schulhygiene. Jena, 1902. 997 pp., illus. BuRRAGE and Bailey. School Sanitation and Decoration. New York, 1899. 224 pp., illus. Clay, Felix. Modern School Buildings. London, 1906. 555 pp., illus. CopEMAN, S. M. Influence of Soil on Health. In a treatise on hygiene and public health (edited by Stephen and Murphy). London. pp. 309-312. Crowley, R. H. The Hygiene of School Life. London, 1910. 403 pp. Dresslar, F. B. American Schoolhouses. U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 5, 1910. 133 pp., illus. 52 School Hygiene Ellis, A. C, and KuEHNE, H. School Buildings. Austin, 1905. 125 pp., illus. EuLENBERG and Bach. Schulgesundheitslehre. Berlin, 1900. 1390 pp. Fletcher B. F. and H. P. Architectural Hygiene. London, 191 1. 284 pp. Gerhard, W. P. Sanitation of Public Buildings (Chap. IV). New York, 1907. 262 pp. Hamlin, Snyder, and Others. Modern Schoolhouses. New York, 1910. 61 pp., Ulus. Johnston Brothers. Plans and Specifications for Small School Buildings. (For New Mexico), 1909. 94 pp., illus. Mills, W. T. American School Building Standards. Columbus, 1910. 324 pp., illus. Lyster, R. a. School Hygiene. London, 1908. 359 pp., illus. Moore, J. A. The Schoolhouse, its Heating and Ventilation. Boston, 1905. 204 pp. Morrison, G. B. School Architecture and Hygiene. New York, 1910. 56 pp., illus. New York State Department of Public Instruction. Recent School Archi- tecture. Albany, 1897. 425 pp., illus. Parsons and Son. School Buildings. 175 pp., iUus. Rice, Mrs. I. L. "Quiet Zones" for Schools. Forum, v. 46, pp. 731-742. RoBSON, P. A. School Planning. London, 1911. 108 pp., illus. Shaw, E. R. School Hygiene. New York, 1901. 260 pp., illus. Young, A. G. Seventh Annual Report of the Maine State Board of Health, 1892. 399 pp., illus. Wheelwright, E. M. School Architecture. Boston, 1901. 324 pp., illus. American School Board Journal. Milwaukee. Monthly. Pedagogical Seminary. Worcester. Quarterly. Das Schulhaus. Berlin. Monthly. Das Schulzimmer. Charlottenburg. Quarterly. Zeitschrift fUr Schulgesundheitspflege. Hamburg. Monthly. BLACKBOARDS Dresslar, F. B. Blackboards. Cyclopedia of Education. New York, 1911. Farley, D. H. The Proper Use of Blackboards. Educational Founda- tions, V. 21, pp. 534-541. Perry, A. C. " The Use of the Blackboard." In his Problems of the Elementary School. New York, 1910. (See the various texts on general school hygiene for additional references.) CHAPTER IV LIGHTING OF SCHOOLHOUSES Amount of Glass Surface Needed. — In every schoolroom of the normal size with proper orientation and unhindered sky exposure, there should be from one fourth to one sixth as mach glass surface as floor surface. That is to say, in a schoolroom thirty-two feet long and twenty-four feet wide, provision should be made for from one hundred and twenty-eight to one hundred and ninety-two square feet of glazing. In the south and southwestern parts of our country, however, there is less difference in the duration of dayHght for summer and winter, the sun's path is higher above the horizon, and there are fewer foggy days during the year. In these parts, and espe- cially in the southwest, where the glare of the sun reflected from brown fields or mountains is sometimes very trying, one hundred and twenty-eight to one hundred and fifty square feet of glass surface for a room of this size is sufficient. This amount will suffice, however, only on condition that the win- dows are properly placed, where they face either to the east or west, and where in every case they have unhindered exposure to the sky. Under the topic on Orientation there have been given the reasons for the preference for east and west exposure over that toward other points of the compass. In the north, where the days during the winter are relatively short and there are many dull days during the school year, it is often necessary to have a greater window area. In smoky cities where tall buildings, often in the immediate neighborhood of schools, and in all positions where near-by mountain ranges or high hills raise the sky line on the window 53 54 School Hygiene sides, it has been found advisable and even necessary to have one fourth as many square feet of glass in the windows, as there are square feet in the floor surface. In climates where the winters are long and cold, double windows are necessary, and these of necessity reduce the Kght somewhat, hence allowance must be made to offset this loss. Regulations in Foreign Countries. — Baginsky gives in a table the amount of glass surface relative to floor surface in all the newer buildings of BerHn, and this runs from about twenty-three per cent to sixteen per cent ; but the great major- ity of them have about twenty per cent as much glass surface as floor surface.^ Sir Ashton Webb in a paper read before the Second Inter- national Congress on School Hygiene held in London, 1907, says : — " The Board of Education lay down one fifth as the ap- proximate area of window glass to the floor area, to light a classroom satisfactorily. In very confined sites, however, one quarter is sometimes found necessary, and in open and exposed sites, one sixth will sometimes suffice. Anything beyond the amount of glass actually necessary to give a satis- factory fight is undesirable, as it tends to make the room cold in winter and hot in summer, and adds considerably to the difficulty of the effective treatment of the room both externally and internally. The glass fine should not be more than four feet above the floor, with the heads of the windows carried up as near the ceiling as possible." ^ Nearly all the progressive European countries have, in recent years, enacted laws fixing the amount of window sur- face for all new school buildings from one fourth to one sixth of the floor surface. It must not be forgotten, however, that these proportions will prove satisfactory only when windows are properly placed in the room, when they have the best orienta- 1 See Baginsky, Schulhygiene, Vol. I, p. 260. Stuttgart, 1898. 2 See Transactions, Vol. I, p. 58. Lighting of Schoolhouses 55 tion and are not rendered more or less ineffective by outside obstructions. It is of the utmost importance to place the windows in the schoolroom in the right position, and I wish to emphasize this point, for here is perhaps the most difficult problem for the architect to solve. Difficulty of placing Windows to secure Enough Surface. — If the schoolroom is thirty-two feet long, twenty-four feet wide, and twelve and one half feet clear from floor to ceiling, we must, if we have one fourth as much glazing as floor surface, handle the wall space carefully. Height of the Lower Part of the Windows above the Floor. — To begin with, the bottom of the windows in the rooms de- signed for the primary classes should be at least three feet six inches from the floor, and for all upper grades, including high schools, they should be set four feet above the floor. There are several reasons for these demands. The bottom of all school- room windows should be higher than the eyes of the pupils when seated at their desks, in order that no light from the windows may shine directly into their eyes while they study. The Kght needed is that reflected into the eye from the page of the book or the written work upon which the pupil is engaged. If the strong direct light from the windows strikes the retinae, auto- matic adjustment of the eyes takes place to suit this, and hence of necessity, maladjustment for the weaker light reflected from the page must follow. If, therefore, the eyes are sub- jected to the stimulations of two or more sources of light of unequal intensity, there will be a conflict between the demands of these stimuH, varying with the conscious attempts of the person to adjust to one or the other. Every one knows, or can readily see by shading his own eyes and watching their action in a mirror, that the pupils automatically contract when the light is strong and expand when the light is reduced. If windows in a schoolroom are set so low that the direct light from them enters the eyes of the pupil while he is at work, there will be a constant attempt, more or less unconscious, to shade 56 School Hygiene his eyes from the windows, or else he will be subjected to the strain of unhygienic vision and fatigue of the ciliary muscles. It has been my habit in attempting to bring this point forcibly to the attention of architects and school officers, to have them take a position near a window lower than their eyes and, after having them read for a few moments, place a board across the lower part of the window so as virtually to raise the line of light well above their eyes, and ask them for their preference. By repeating this experiment several times so that they will directly sense the relief that the higher window gives, you are then in a position to put your question forcibly, viz.: "Do you think it would be wise, or even humane, to build a schoolhouse, that will probably last for a hundred years, with windows so placed that hour after hour, and day after day, the Uttle children or young people who attend our schools, and who are more sensitive than we, would be compelled to suffer this inconvenience and fatiguing strain ? " The answer that you will get is the one that you want ; but you have gained other points besides. You have taught them that you know something about schoolhouse construc- tion that they had never thought of, and you have opened the way for cooperation, which will eventually produce willingness to follow the advice of one who knows the demands of the schoolroom. Recently, in a discussion of this matter a practical school- man objected to the windows being set so high, saying that, in case of fire it would be difficult for the children to chmb out. While this objection might have some weight for the primary grades, it could not apply to the upper grades. How- ever, since it is a rational and an almost universal plan to house the primary pupils on the ground floors of our schools, in buildings that are safely constructed with reference to fire protection, it is less dangerous for the pupils to be sent out directly through the doors than through the windows. T therefore see no real basis for this objection. Lighting of Schoolhouses 57 Again, it is claimed that it is not wise to shut out the world from the children by making the bottoms of the windows so high from the floor that they cannot see out without standing. No one is more anxious than I am to let the children see, but I do not think much good can come from mixing work and play. If at any time it is well for the children to look out, send them to the windows or, better still, send them out of doors to look about. But there is one thing that they always need, one habit of great importance that they should acquire, and that is to hold fast to the work in hand until it is done. " Work while you work, and play while you play " is an old saw em- bodying a bit of sound mental economy. Then there is still another reason why windows should be placed from three and one half to four feet above the floor. This arrangement enables you to get your architect to extend the windows nearer to the ceiling. In fact, it becomes neces- sary for him to do so, or else he will not be able to supply the requisite amount of window space in one side of the room. One foot of glass surface near the ceiHng of a schoolroom is worth more than two feet at the bottom of a low window, especially in rooms on the ground floor, for the reason that from thence the light is thoroughly diffused over the room, and especially because a great deal more light enters the upper part of a window than the lower part. This statement holds good, of course, only when no unnatural obstruction prevents. The upper part of a window properly exposed to the light has a lower horizon Hne, gathers up more reflected light, carries it farther across the room, and lets it fall more directly down- ward on the work in which the pupils are engaged. Height of Windows. — These reasons then enable us to give another practical and important direction to architects and builders : windows in schoolrooms ought to extend as near to the ceiling as the exigencies of construction will permit ; and since it is not now prohibitively expensive to employ iron and steel beams where needed, windows can extend to within 58 School Hygiene six inches of the ceiling without any necessary danger to the strength of the building. The top of the glass surface of the window should be at least twelve feet above the floor, thus al- lowing eight feet at least as the length of each window. Such a position of the windows, contrary to the a priori criticism of those who have never looked, gives them a more artistic appearance from within the schoolroom than the old-style setting, which gives a " spotty effect." Unilateral Lighting of Schoolrooms. — The windows designed for lighting schoolrooms should be placed on one side, and on one side only. The reasons for this direction are not obvious to those who have given no serious attention to school architecture. When windows open from opposite sides of the room, there can be but one line through the room along which the light will be equally strong from both sides, and this line is sliifting because of the changes in relative strength of the light due to the changing position of the sun, and other less important factors. In all other parts of the schoolroom, the pupils will have to work under the annoyances of unequal cross lights, and with the added difficulty that they can practically face no part of the room without exposing their eyes to the direct rays of light from a window. If one happens to sit near the windows placed on his right side, and he writes with his right hand, he of course must constantly suffer the annoyance and ill effects of having to work in the shadow of his hand. Furthermore, where windows are found on two sides of a schoolroom, they are usually placed so far apart as to introduce wedges of shadow from the walls between the windows, and these are often troublesome to those sitting near an outer wall. Then, too, with windows on both sides, the most of the available blackboard space will have been used up, and the spaces left between the windows will probably be utilized for blackboards. This will be most disastrous, for the eyes looking from a distance toward a blackboard so placed cannot see the work without painful and fatiguing adjustments. Lighting of Schoolhouses 59 General Ignorance concerning the Laws of Vision. — It is almost appalling to know how much ignorance is still abroad in our land touching the simplest laws of vision. I had a physician, an average country doctor, complain to me about unilateral lighting for schools, on the basis, as he claimed, that unilateral lighting compelled the children to use but one eye ! He thought, as a great many otherwise intelhgent people think, that in order for the child to see an object, the light from a window must fall directly into his eye and, as it were, reflect from his eye to his book. Such people, and the teach- ing profession is not free from them, do not adequately realize that the only light needed, and used for vision, is that which is reflected from the object to which our eyes are directed. Placing the Windows. — When unilateral lighting is used, and this in my opinion is the only kind of lighting that should be used, the windows ought to be placed as far to the rear of the room as possible, and the mullions between the windows made as narrow as safety of construction will permit. Thick, heavy mullions not only obstruct a great amount of light that would otherwise enter the schoolroom, but they use up the space in the wall so that in order to get a sufficient amount of window space, the windows must be carried too far to the front. If we consider a wall thirty-two feet long and thirteen and one half feet high (one foot higher than a standard room), where the windows are not to extend below the four-foot line from the floor, we must economize space in order not to carry the windows so far to the front of the room. If this is not done, many children who happen to sit toward the rear corner on the side away from the windows will be exposed to a glar- ing Kght every time they lift their eyes from their work, or attend to the directions of the teacher from the front of the room. Suppose, therefore, we enter into a calculation with a view of locating the required amount of glass surface as far to the rear as the conditions that we have set for ourselves will per- 6o School Hygiene mit. The floor space of the room that we have under considera- tion, M\i\ that which, all Ihiiij^s considered, is most satisfactory, for granunar schools and larger high school classes, amounts to seven hundred and sixty-eight square feet. If, therefore, conditions demand one fourth as much glass surface as floor surface, our windows nuist, inside the frames and sash, show a surface of one hundred and ninety-two square feet. By plac- ing the glass four feet from the floor, and extending it to within six inches of the ceiling, we have nine feet as the length of the windows. Dividing one hundred and ninety-two by nine, we fmd that there must be twenty-one and one third feet of the thirty-two feet of wall space used for windows. Allowing the rear window to approach within eighteen inches of the rear wall of the room, allowing twelve inches for the thickness of a nudlion, frame, and sash, and making each window three and one half feet wide, we lind that six windows, each with glass three and one half feet wide, will extend to within four and one half feet of the front end of the room, thus practically using ui) the whole of the available wall surface. It will be noticed that, in this calculation, we have taken a room thirteen and one half feet high ; while this is higher than it ought to be, it is necessary for unilateral lighting, where light conditions demand a ratio of one to four between win- dow and floor surface. Under no other ordinary conditions can the requisite glass surface be properly placed. Even this brings the windows nearer the front end of the room than is desirable. If the rooms under consideration are on the flrst floor and are designed for the primary grades, the windows may be lowered six inches, and the ceiling lowered an equal distance, giving the same placing as the windows in the room above, designed for the upper grades or high schools. I have purposely chosen to make the first calculation on the basis of one to four; but. as I have remarked elsewhere, it is only in badly located school grounds, and especially in the Lighting of Schoolhouses 6i northern cities, that this ratio ought to prevail. In the south and southwest if there are no mountains or other obstructions in the way, a ratio of one to six will prove entirely satisfactory, if other conditions justify. Let us therefore make a calcula- tion based on this ratio. If, as before, we have seven hundred and sixty-eight square feet of floor surface, we must set one hundred and twenty-eight square feet of glass. This time, making the room twelve and one half feet high, placing the lower glass four feet from the floor, we have a window eight ^'^^^^mmmA ^^w^^^bmJ Lt^mmmmmm^im^ Immw^^mmS ' T X Fig. 6. — Proper location of windows for conditions named : lower part of the windows, four feet above the floor ; distance from floor to ceiling, twelve and one half feet ; top of windows, twelve feet above the floor ; windows, three and one half feet wide ; muUions (supports between windows), one foot wide ; distance of rear window from rear wall, eighteen inches; distance from front end of room to first window, nine feet. The cross marks the center of the schoolroom population. feet high. Dividing one hundred and twenty-eight by eight, we find that we must use sixteen feet of the wall for actual glass surface. Again, setting the rear window within one and one half feet of the rear wall, making mulHons, frames, and sash twelve inches thick from glass to glass, and five windows three and one half feet wide, glass measurement, we find that we have more than met the one to six requirement and still have nine feet of dead wall space in front. The accompanying figure will make this clear at a glance. Dead Wall Space in Front of Windows. — Some objections may be urged against a soHd or bhnd wall of nine feet in front 62 School Hygiene of the windows, and no serious complaint could be made against reducing this space a foot or so by making the windows narrower and adding one more, or even by lowering the top of the windows a couple of inches ; but schoolhouse architects and builders, as well as school boards, should be led to see, and see clearly, that the only light that is effective in a school- room is that which is reflected from the work upon which the pupils may be engaged. Hence light from the left is the light that is needed. The front row of pupils, when they are properly seated in a schoolroom, rarely, if ever, is nearer the teacher's end of the room than eight feet. In fact, the front row of seats is often placed at least ten feet from the front of the room. Thus with a blank wall of even ten feet in front of windows, no pupil in the front of the room is badly situated with reference to the light ; and those in the rear of the room, especially those nearest the inner wall, will be greatly relieved from the glare of windows every time their eyes are directed toward the front of the room. This position of the windows concentrates the light and delivers it upon the desks of the pupils, and directly opposite the center of population in the room. Width of Mullions. — Doubtless one of the first objections that builders will urge against this arrangement of windows will be that the mullions are too narrrow for adequate support, especially if the building is to be two stories high, and this figure represents a room on the ground floor. The objection is worthy of serious consideration, and if simply brick or stone construction is considered, mullions of this width would not give safe and adequate support. But years ago Mr. Briggs devised a metal muUion which solves this problem and at the same time makes it possible to take greater advantage of the amount of window space indicated. He says : — "It is hardly possible, even in the smaller brick buildings, to construct with safety the brick piers or mulHons between windows less than twelve Lighting of Schoolhouses 63 inches in width ; in larger structures they need to be sixteen, twenty, twenty-four, twenty-eight inches, and sometimes piers of from three to four feet are required to obtain sufificient strength. To obviate the heavy shadows that these piers must cast, and to obtain the maximtmi strength with the minimum construction, I have recently introduced into my buildings, with marked success, iron muUions cast with heavy flanges or webs. The window frames are bolted directly to these muUions, the outer portions of which are made wedge-shaped, running nearly to a sharp edge. It will be readily seen that by this simple device very little more space is occupied by the supporting muUion or pier than that ac- tually required by the frames and weight boxes ; in fact, the saving is so great that six windows can be introduced in the same space which would be occupied by five, having the ordinary sixteen-inch brick pier between them, the expenses in both cases being practically the same." He adds : — "The strength of the muUions can be regulated by the thickness of the shell and web, so that, with little or no change of outside dimensions, they can be used to support almost any weight. In small frame buildings a similar muUion can be made of hard wood that will be strong enough for ordinary purposes."^ Since this form of muUion has been adapted to many con- ditions by Mr. Briggs, and he has declared each adaptation successful, there seems to be no excuse for architects to resist further the efforts of schoolmen to group the windows closely together. Furthermore, in buildings where walls are not of necessity thick and heavy, the same result may be obtained by supporting part of the weight from above by using a steel beam as a lintel, and thus with the aid of narrow mullions, getting adequate and safe support. Others have used the arch form of lintel in order to transform the main strain of the weight above the windows into a side thrust, and have thus trans- ferred the strain more or less to the main walls in front of and behind the windows. This, it seems to me, is not advisable, especially on account of the necessity of having to encroach upon the window surface on both sides due to the curve of the ^ See Modern American School Buildings, Warren Richard Briggs, pp. 122 f. 64 School Hygiene Lighting of Schoolhouses 65 arched form. Mr. Snyder, the distinguished architect who has had charge for many years of the school buildings of New York City, has used the steel Kntel in many of his largest and most successful buildings. By reference to Fig. 8, p. 66, it may be seen very readily that in this building he has relied almost wholly on the strength of a long steel Hntel to support the weight of the walls directly above the windows. This, of course, is a very much easier thing to do with a steel-framed building than where the main strength must He in brick or stone piers. But a combination of metal mulUons, such as described by Mr. Briggs, and the metal lintel just referred to is entirely feasible, and any architect with a modicum of originaHty can easily design sufficient and safe supports so that windows may be grouped together as we have indicated. Naturally the form and finish of the framing material used about the windows will be adjusted to the general form of finish used in the building as a whole. Added strength might be obtained if there seemed need for it by filHng the cavity of the Briggs mullions, after they have been put in place and before the upper cap has been put on, with a good quahty of cement m^ortar. This, however, appears to be unnecessary; at least it has not been mentioned by Mr. Briggs. Especial attention ought to be directed to the wedge shape of the iron mullion designed by Mr. Briggs. This edge is for the outside, and by reason of its beveled form it permits a wider gathering in of Hght and eliminates much of the shadow otherwise cast by the mullion. The Danger of Facing Windows. — There is no excuse at all in this day and age for any one to construct a school building with windows facing the children, though this was not un- common a few years ago. - If any teacher is called on to teach in one of these old buildings, of course the thing to do is to cover the window permanently with opaque curtains so fas- tened to the sash that no beams of Hght can find their way into the room. 66 School Hygiene "Breeze Windows." — Neither should there be any win- dows built in the rear of a room for purposes of light. But in the south and in the hot valleys of the west, where during the warm days of spring and fall it is most acceptable to have a breeze sweep through the room, two or more windows should be built into the rear wall, where it can be done, for the sake of such a breeze. The bottoms of these windows should be at least eight feet from the floor, and the tops of them should be on a level with the windows set for light. The size and propor- tion of these windows ought to be made to harmonize with the room. The best way to set these windows is to hinge them on the lower side and fasten them above with a spring catch. The only difficulty that this arrangement introduces, is the one of making the windows fit the frames in such a way as to prevent beating rains from driving in. This may be done by the method used in old French casement windows. The advantages of hinging these windows on the lower side are several. Hinging permits the placing of a permanent opaque shade over the glass, for at no time do we want light from these windows to enter the schoolroom, unless it is reflected to the ceiling. In the next place, when the window is opened from above, it can be adjusted to regulate the amount of draft that may come in. Then, too, by proper cords the window may be easily opened or closed from the floor. It is advisable to shut out all the light from entering the room through these win- dows, else the teacher would be seriously troubled with light shining directly in her face. The number and size of these windows may be regulated to suit the outside appearance, as well as the demands of the climate. In buildings showing wooden or beamed construction on the interior, stained glass of good quality and harmonious coloring set in these small rear windows would add to the artistic atmosphere of the room ; but stained glass should never be used unless of high grade and harmoniously blended. There is nothing more tiresome and displeasing than make-believe art. Lighting of Schoolhouses 67 In general, if any attempt be made at decoration in these windows, a pleasing design of leaded glass will be found most successful. We must not forget, however, that the main purpose of introducing these windows is for the sake of ventila- tion in hot weather, and hence they must all be designed to open and close easily, and be so set as to prevent rains from driving in about them. Orientation. — In the latitude of our country, it is essential, if we hope to light the schoolrooms properly, to open as many as possible of the windows toward the east or west. The east Hght is usually best, the south is most trying and trouble- some, the west is good, and the north to be used only for those rooms designed for art work in its various forms. East Light. — Windows opening toward the east permit the early sun to warm and purify the room before school hours, and by ten o'clock or an hour after school work has be- gun, the direct rays of the sun have almost disappeared from the room ; especially is this true during a large part of the school year, when the sun's path is south of the equator. Therefore, during the rest of the day the window shades may be rolled up, and the clear white light of the eastern sky may be allowed to flood the room without producing a glare. The only disadvantage I can think of in rooms so lighted is this: it will necessitate the pupils facing the south in order to get the light from the left side, and this orientation puts them to a disadvantage in map work. To many this may not seem of very great importance, and it is not at all a fatal objection ; still, as far as possible, it is wise to use a room where the pupils can face the north when maps are being used.^ But, this objection aside, in selecting a lot, planning a building, and ^ Personally I have had a sort of mental twist for geography ever since child- hood, because I first used an atlas while I sat facing the south. The distinct feeling of unreality and mix up which I had to combat when the top of my map pointed to the south, and yet I must call it north, I shall never forget. Even to-day I must perform a sort of mental "bucking" process every time I take a map, in order to make things seem real. 68 School Hygiene locating it on the lot, the matter of good lighting must play a very important part. South Light for Classrooms Bad. — I have already said that the south light is the most trying and troublesome that we can introduce into our classrooms, and this, to many, may seem directly opposed to the demand for plenty of Hght, since the south light is the strongest during most of the school day. The difficulty with the southern exposure is that it is almost impossible to keep out the direct sunshine and at the same time get sufficient indirect and diffused light into the schoolrooms. If the windows in a classroom open toward the south, despite all that can be done with ordinary shades or blinds, bright rays of the sun will find their way into the room and will inevitably dazzle and disturb the eyes of the children, as well as those of the teacher. A streak of sunshine across a page or a desk at which one is at work is really a serious dis- turbance, physically, mentally, and sometimes morally, for tired eyes often induce fussy moods. Such rays of light cause a strain on the muscles of accommodation, and distract the attention. It will generally prove a mistake to say that the teacher can regulate the shades so as to prevent all such troubles. Even if the schoolroom were equipped with shades that would make it possible to filter through sufficient diffused light and yet keep back the glare of the direct sunlight, it is unsafe to rely upon teachers to regulate them properly. Teachers are very busy people, with their chief thought centered on lessons and behavior, and it is unfair to expect them to keep a constant watch during the whole school day upon the shifting rays of the sun, so that the room may be furnished with the best and most equitably distributed light. It is far more economical and almost invariably safer to pre- vent these difficulties by making them impossible. South windows are troublesome, especially in the southern states, in hot weather ; for on sunny days, in order to keep out the heat, teachers very often err by making the rooms too dark. Lighting of Schoolhouses 69 Children may not object and the teacher may feel that she has chosen the lesser evil ; still, tired eyes and frequent head- aches will result. Window Shades Troublesome in Ventilation. — I desire at this point to call attention to another practical difficulty that often enters here. In those buildings depending upon win- dows for ventilation, it is frequently very T^;^^!^":! difficult, with shades ^— " ■*^-»-"-',. drawn, to effect sat- isfactory ventilation, especially where we have windows on but one side of the room. What can you do to cut out the direct sunshine and at the same time to permit the air to enter un- hindered ? Venetian blinds and sliding shutters have been rec- ommended, and these have been introduced into many school build- ings. They will often prove very satisfactory in homes, but they do not prove permanently satisfactory for schools. Venetian bhnds are noisy when the breeze enters, they cut out the best Hght when they are gathered together at the top of the window, they often permit pen- cils of light through chinks, and are rarely adjusted to meet Fig. 9. — The Draper window shade. This simple shade may be easily adjusted to any part of the window. 70 School Hygiene exact demands and conditions. They are almost invariably fastened to the top of the window, so that in order to shut out sunshine at the bottom of the window they must be pulled down over the whole window surface. They get out of order easily, and any furniture or apparatus that gets out of order quickly balks a woman teacher, for it is a rare woman who knows how to fix such things, or even has sufficient faith to try. But if the so-called folding Venetian blinds will not suffice to regu- late properly the fight in windows opening toward the south, it will be much more difficult to keep sliding shutters at the right place. They either stick, or get loose and slide down by rea- son of their own weight ; they impede ventilation more than any other form of blind used, and are altogether beyond the teacher's control. These objections are not theoretical ones, but practical difficulties. Years of experience in teaching and in supervising teachers where such conditions existed enable me to state these objections unreservedly. I have never seen a single classroom in our country properly lighted throughout a sunny day, when it depended on light from south windows. Professor Foster of Breslau once said : — "No curtains have yet been invented which will keep back the direct rays of the sun and at the same time let the diffused Hght of the clear sky pass through. Ground glass has been recommended, but this is too daz- zling and blinding in the direct rays of the sun, and during cloudy days it intercepts too much light." Rowe says : — "Much better results may be obtained by use of the Venetian blinds than with any other screen for the sun " ; but he thinks " their expensive- ness, together with a tendency to collect dust and get out of order, will preclude the general use they might otherwise have. I know of no successful inside blinds adapted to school uses." ^ This digression on shades and blinds is necessary in order to present clearly the difficulties incident to a dependence on 1 See The Lighting of Schoolrooms, Stuart H. Rowe. Longmans, 1904. p. 51. Lighting of Schoolhouses 71 south light for schoolrooms. Returning, then, to windows with a south exposure, there is still another difficulty, though this may be easily overcome. In school buildings warmed from a central heating plant either by steam or hot air, when rooms lighted by south windows are warm and comfortable, the same steam pressure and radiating surface will not suffice to keep the rooms on the north or the west at the same tem- perature. Unless, therefore, automatic regulators are in- stalled, the teacher in the south room will be complaining of the heat, while the one in a corresponding room to the north or west will be grumbUng because of the cold. West Light. — Schoolrooms receiving hght from the west are often more satisfactory in hot cHmates for the primary grades than those receiving light from the east, because of the fact that the day's session for these classes ends before the sun is sufficiently low in the horizon to cause any serious dis- turbance from direct sunlight streaming into the room. This practically ehminates the problem of shades in these rooms ; for after school hours it is altogether advisable to allow the sun to beat in and purify the room. Sunlight is the most effective disinfectant known to science. Then, too, this will enable those who begin geography to adjust the points of the compass to the demands of maps, for the pupils in rooms with west light will sit facing the north. But rooms with a west ex- posure are not on the whole so satisfactory for the upper grades as those on the east. Especially is this true in the hotter parts of our country ; for during warm afternoons these rooms are quite uncomfortable from two o'clock until school is dis- missed. North Light. — The light entering windows from the north is well diffused, but for a given amount of glass surface is much weaker than that from the other cardinal points of the compass. When, therefore, a school building is planned, as few rooms should receive north light as possible. For high schools, rooms designed especially for art work may well 72 School Hygiene receive the north light. Manual training rooms, and chemical laboratories also, may, with no serious disatl vantage other than lack of warmth and the purifying influence of sunlight, be constructed to receive the north light. But it is a safe rule, in planning school buildings, to get as many classrooms facing the east or west as possil)le ; utilize the space on the south for libraries, offices, physical laboratories, and biological labora- tories, and that on the north for drawing, manual training, and domestic science laboratories. The reader who has gone through these details of lighting will now understand that the way to avoid many difficulties is to forestall them before a schoolhouse is planned, or at least before the lot is selected or purchased. Many times I have been called into consultation with scliool l)oards to help with plans for buildings, where it was impossible to be of any service, notwithstanding the fact that the proposed plans were almost totally wrong. I'vlaborate plans, it may be, had been made to construct a building to occupy a lot barely wide enough to receive it, and where the light for the majority of the rooms must of necessity come from the north and south. Take, for example, this situation within the author's experience. A lot ninety feet wide by one hundred and sixty feet deep is situ- ated in the middle of a block. It is of great practical impor- tance whether this lot opens toward the east or west or whether it opens to the north or south. As there is but one street front- age, the main entrance must be placed there. Now suppose this opening is toward the east, then, of necessity, some of the best classroom space in the building must be sacrificed, and generally the architect will either be led to depend on north and south light for a majority of the rooms, or else he will crowd the frontage to its very Umits. If the latter plan is chosen, he may get, in a two-story building, four rooms with- cast light and four rooms with west light ; but all other rooms must have north or south light, and will receive this from the nar- row side of the room, or else the middle rooms will be too big Lighting of Schoolhouses 73 for ordinary use. Without going into further detailed dis- cussion, it will be readily seen by those who have undertaken to make plans for a modern school building that if this lot opened to the north or south, it would be a great deal easier to get proper lighting, to narrow the building to suit the lot, to economize in construction, and in almost every way to get better plans. Such problems as these ought never to arise, for it is almost criminal to forget the needs of child life so far as even to think of locating a large school building of sixteen class- rooms on a lot where absolutely no room can be spared for play, where the outlook from classroom windows would per- chance be on chicken coops, tangled clotheslines, and back- yard landscapes in general. Far better locate the school building a mile out, if need be, where there will be plenty of room. Light from Other Directions. — Up to this point nothing has been said with reference to the advisability of facing a school building at an angle of forty-five degrees with a line running north and south. If the windows face toward the northeast and southwest, practically every room in the building would receive a sunning each clear day, and no room would be neces- sarily deprived of a due amount of light. But there are many disadvantages in such an orientation, and it will be well to consider them briefly. First and foremost, it would usually place a building in an awkward position on the lot ; for, except in special locations, land is surveyed, plotted, and sold with reference to the cardinal points of the compass. For the same reason a school building so placed would not, other things being equal, present a satis- factory appearance from the street or roadway. True, this last objection could be practically overcome by intelligent landscape gardening ; but every one knows that it is likely to be a long time before opportunities for much of this delight- ful work will be offered to school boards. But suppose the rooms were made to face southeast and 74 School Hygiene northwest, what then? Those rooms facing toward the southeast would be greatly troubled by the long-continued exposure to the direct rays of the sun. It would be necessary to intercept this direct sunhght during most of the school day, and we have already seen how difficult this is, if we allow for the entrance of sufficient light to satisfy the hygienic demands of vision. Where the main axis of the building is from south- east to northwest, those rooms whose windows would face to the southwest would receive the direct rays of the sun during practically the whole of the afternoon session. Here the same difficulty with reference to direct sunlight would be met as before, and the added disturbance due to the greater intensity of the afternoon temperature. Furthermore orienta- tion along either of these axes would be likely to introduce a greater inequality of light in the various rooms than would come from building along a north and south line. Aside from conditions due to irregular-shaped lots, crooked streets, local obstructions, etc., the general rule for orientation in our country is to build a schoolhouse with its main axis running from north to south, in order that the classrooms, as far as possible, may be suppUed with light from the east or west. Ribbed or Prism Glass. — The problem of hghting rooms too wide for the height of windows, or those situated where suf- ficient window surface cannot be obtained, or those too close to tall buildings or neighboring trees, has been greatly simpHfied in recent years by the use of ribbed or prismatic glass. It has been used most extensively in business houses, such as stores, where deep rooms must get all their Kght from restricted front- age. This glass is not very expensive, and when set high up in a window, increases and diffuses the hght in a very helpful way. It is not generally advisable to set such glass in the lower part of the windows of schoolrooms, on account of the glare produced. But for basements, dark hallways, toilet rooms, and closets such glass is especially valuable. For Lighting of Schoolhouses 75 regular classrooms, as I have suggested, it is most satisfactory when placed in the upper half of the windows. There are now many dark and gloomy schoolrooms in daily use which could be easily transformed into well-Hghted, cheerful rooms, if those who manage such schools knew of the benefit of ribbed glass, and were shown that it would be comparatively inex- pensive to substitute it for the ordinary glass. Let those who doubt and those who are anxious to serve the children visit some store in the nearest city that makes use of this glass and see for themselves. Artificial Lighting. — Because of the situation of our country with reference to latitude, comparatively few of our pubHc schools have heretofore needed artificial lighting during the day session. This, therefore, has not been a serious problem with us. But as evening schools multiply, and as school buildings come to be used more and more after school hours for social and educational undertakings, it is rapidly becoming necessary to give this phase of school equipment more con- sideration. It is highly advisable, therefore, that all plans for high schools, manual training schools, and all other school buildings likely to need either power or light should make provision for electric wiring and for such fixtures as are neces- sary for immediate use. It is not only difl&cult to wire a build- ing safely and acceptably after it has been built, but it is also more expensive. For the same reasons gas pipes ought to be installed, for progress is rapid nowadays, and good school- houses ought to last a hundred years or more. Electric Light and Gas Light Contrasted. — Electric light- ing is much to be preferred to gas, even though the new methods of handhng gas flames insure good Hght. Electric lights give out but little heat, and release no bad odor or noxious gases. They reduce the danger from fires, are far more easily and quickly hghted, require less attention, and offer no dangers from leakage or contamination of any sort. This cannot be said of gas Ughts under the most favorable conditions yet 76 School Hygiene devised. Clay gives the following table,^ prepared by Profes- sor Lewes, which shows the comparative hygienic effect of illumination per unit of light. Carbonic Acid Evolved Moisture Evolved Oxygen removed from Air Heat Produced Acetylene Coal gas, flat flame .... Coal gas, mantle Petroleum, large lamp . . . lOO 480 45 995 ICO 1470 230 700 100 520 62 498 100 796 87 246 But electric lights are hard on the eyes, particularly when the filaments are visible. It is necessary, therefore, to shield the eyes from these by ground-glass bulbs, or by some form of refractive and dispersing globes surrounding the bulbs. The chief objection to the ground-glass bulb arises from the fact that it permits only about 50 per cent of the hght to pass through. As the result of some extended experiments by Mr. B. B. Hatch, Electrical Engineer for the Schoolhouse Commission of Boston, it was found that for direct lighting — "the most satisfactory results were obtained from nine thirty-six candle-power, forty-watt Tungsten lamps, each equipped with the diffus- ing prismatic reflector shown in the accompanying cut. These shades are constructed of prismatic glass coated on the outer or inner surface with a white enamel." He arranged these lights in three rows running parallel to the rows of the desks, and had three lights in each row. He found also that by locating these lamps ten feet six inches above the floor, and in such positions as to throw the center of light distribution "shghtly to the left of the middle of the room when facing the teacher's desk," he got an illumination of " 2.5 candle feet at every desk." He adds that "the diffusing quality of these shades is so great that the candle- foot illumination on the desk directly below one of the lamps was appreciably no greater than the illumination on the desk on any one corner." ^ Set Modern School Buildings, Ye\\x C\3.y, London, 1902, p. 118. Lighting of Schoolhouses 77 Through the courtesy of the School Committee, I have per- mission to reproduce the illustration of this lamp shade and fixture, and also a plan of the schoolroom, showing the exact location of these lamps. Various forms of holophanes have been used, and the best of these give good light dispersion and at the same time shield the eyes from the glare of the globes. The chief thing, however, for consideration in preparing plans for wiring schoolrooms, assembly halls, and other rooms used for like purposes is to see that the wires are properly placed and that switches are con- veniently arranged both for power and Hghts. Acetylene for Country and Village Schools. — In villages and country districts not yet suppHed with an electric lighting system, acetylene lighting has proved very helpful. This gas, which is made by bringing calcium carbide into contact with water, gives when Hghted a brilliant white light and burns quite regularly. It is not expensive to install such plants, and where a comparatively cheap and a very effective gas illuminant is needed, this form is to be recommended. It has, however, the disadvantages and most of the dangers of such luminants. Conclusion from Experiments in Boston. — The experiments of Mr. Hatch referred to above appear in the report made by a special committee appointed to consider the matter of artifical illumination of schoolrooms, and their color scheme. This committee was composed of three ocuhsts and two electricians, and their report is a model worthy of imitation. They give as a part of their conclusions touching the general subject of artificial illumination the following points : — Fig. io. — Tungsten lamp, shade, and supporting fixture. A good light for night schools. From Boston School Document No. 14, 1907. By permission of the School Board. 78 School Hygiene Plan of Standard School-room, Showing Location of Lights. Fig. II. — From Boston School Document No. 14, 1907. By permission of the School Board. Lighting oj Schoolhouses 79 "The committee is of the opinion that for schoolroom lighting there are certain serious disadvantages inseparable from systems in which in- direct light preponderates. -J.'ii) Indirect light produces the unfortunate psychological effect of insufficient illumination. "(2) Recently published experiments in the Illuminating Engineer of October, 1907, point to the fact that with indirect illumination the amoxmt of light for comfort in reading must be 65 per cent greater than with direct. ,^"(3) Indirect light is an abnormal form of lighting, seldom or never to be found in nature, to which the eye is imaccustomed. »^ " (4) With it we lose the shadows by which we judge distance and relief. -— " (5) The illumination of surrounding objects and that of the work on the desk are the same, while experience has shown that, whereas it is unmse to light the work greatly in excess of surrounding objects, a small amount of superior illumination makes for comfort. " (6) It is conceivable that light reflected from the ceiling and coloured surfaces may undergo some change interfering with its efficiency. "It will be seen that £he problems presented are many and difficult, but the general requirements^ schoolroom illumination may be summed up as follows : — " (i) The Hght should be producN^ith as little contamination of the air as possible. "\ " (2) The heat production should be low. " (3) The light should not be rich in the rays of the spectrum which are irritating to the eye. " (4) A steady light is indispensable and the lamps shoidd not be subject to rapid deterioration. " (5) The light should be well diffused so as to secure uniform illumi- nation throughout the room. "(6) It should be properly shaded so as to prevent points of great brilliancy from coming within the field of vision, and to avoid annoying and disturbing shadows from falling on the work. For this latter purpose the proper location of the fixtures is of the greatest importance. " (7) The amount of light necessary varies according to the purpose for which it is required. More is necessary for fine work than for the ordi- nary class exercises. " (8) The cost of installation and maintenance should be moderate. " (9) The fixtiires should be of durable construction and easy to clean and repair. " (10) In considering the color of the walls, the daylight illumination 8o School llyglcm' must Im" takru into iiccoiinl. I'oi IIk- Iniglit, sumiy robins a very liRlit gHTii i« proImMy (lio lu'sl sluulr. I''i>r Ihr tlarkcr rooms a li^lil biilT. " ( 1 1) TIk* t filiiin should lie white «>r slij^litly tinted. "(i.') llic windows should he provided willi shades lor exc luthii^; tho (lireil niys «>! tlie sun and ditT\isin^ the lif^ht throu^liout tin- room. "(i,<) The woodwork sliouM he ol a li^lit (•oh)r sneli as tliat of natural wood I'nder no t irt umstauits are dark walls and woo(lwt>rk permis- sible." ' Color of s( <()lor scheines to use in selioolrooiiis lo eonstMve li}!;lit ami lo j^'^ive a phMsiiif^ olTect. Tiu' essenliais ol this report aic here given : " A li}!;hl hulT lint lor lh(> walls has proved (o he the most salisfaetory to the eyes ol' lea* hiMS and pui)ils. The (jiiaiitity of Hght in a. room is j;reatl>' modilied hy the eolor o{ [\\v walls. 'V\\v red end of till' spei hunt should neviM' he ehosen in the i)aintinj; or dee- oralinj^ ol sehoohooius, as nuu h lij;ht is K)st hy the employ- nuiil ol I lu'se colors. The lij;hhMand most delicate shades of yellow or j';ra>' should he i hosiM\. The larji;e ptMientage of wall space olten oicupii>d hy hiaikhoartis causi's much Kvss o{ lijj;hl l'\>r this reason lij;;ht i'oK>red wtnxls shouKI he selected for the Sihool furniture aiul for thi> wtuxlwork used in the construction o{ surhase. doiMS, aiul windows. It lias seemeil t(» your Comntittee that thi" woixlwork in the schoolroiims shouhl ha\'e a natural linish with a dull surface, in order to rciluce tlu> rellection of lij^ht to a minimum, ami tiierefort^ it should imt hi" \arnishiul. Hut I he supiMintendent of school huildin^s. Mr. Snyder, in a letter to the chairman of your Conunittee, has called attention to the fait that the BoiU\l t>f Ihwlth ohjects to wotnl surfaces which wxc not treated in sinh a manner as {o he cajiahli^ o{ a thorough cleansing with a * Ktpott of Ike Hikooi Commitlfc Boston, 1007. pp. 5-7. Lighting of Schoolhouses 8i damp cloth. This objection is vahd, and would be difficult to overcome in a non varnished surface." ^ TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION 1. Measure accurately the gain in light in a school where windows reach to the ceiling, over one where windows are a foot lower, other conditions being equal. 2. Determine by careful observation and experiment whether the state- ments made concerning the disadvantages of south light for school- rooms are juslifuible. 3. Determine by careful experiment the best color for schoolroom furniture, from the point of view of the hygiene of vision. 4. Devise a simple method of covering up blackl)()ar(ls when not used, so as to determine whether they are really "menaces to the eyes of chil- dren," through their power to absorb much light. 5. Would it be well to introduce into our schoolhouse construction greater use of glass in the roofs? Determine the relative cost of such glazing, the advantages and disadvantages to the children. 6. How may we overcome the persistent refusal of many architects to locate the windows in our schoolrooms properly ? 7. Determine by experiment the value of prism glass for hallways, basement rooms, and other parts of buildings, frequently poorly lighted. 8. Determine the comparative effects of illuminating a schoolroom for night classes, by the use of the different kinds of illuminants, such as gas and electricity, with the various sorts of burners and globes in use. SELECTED REFERENCES BuRNHAM, W. H. Outlines of School Hygiene. Pedagogical Seminary, v. 2, pp. 9-71. Marshall and Rolpii. Artificial Lighting of Schoolrooms. Illuminating Engineer, v. 3, pp. 258-264. RowE, S. H. The Lighting of Schoolrooms. New York, 1904. 94 pp. Standish, Myles. Artificial Illumination of Schoolrooms. School Hygiene, v. i, pp. 74-78. * Educational Review, Vol, 15, pp. 98-99. CTTAPTER V SCHOOL DESKS TiiF.RK liMS \)vcu SO miuli written on [he hygienic rcquirc- nuMitst*! school di'sks th;il oneirics loalh to ;itl;uk this ques- lioii, cspt'iially when \\c scrs that, while imuli process has \)vru made, some ruiulanu'utal ri'ijiiiremiMits luivi' siariely been tonelu'd. The Chief Defect of School Desks. It seems an in(iisi)ut- ahle l;u I that the eiii(>l",or at least the most S(Mious, defect of the Jivera|j;c> school desk is that il subjects the pupil to a posture that fosters spina.! curvature, cramped chest, and defective vision. It is projier, therefore, to go at one c> to llu> majcu" detc-c t and, if possible, determine what it is and how to remedy it. Desks nre too Flat. I believe the chief defect in the desks now on the maikel is that the desk top is loo Hat. 1 know very well that this thesis must \)v up- held by i::,ooi.\ reasons, or it will fail of acc-eplancc\ May 1 ask the readcM- to perform a. simple ("xiHMiment at this point, so that he may have at hand some per sonal (Experience upon which to base his tinal conclusion. ImiuI a. comfortable chair, one in which you may sit erect but not um\aturally so. and then hold a book before you in such a position and at such a dislaiice that you may read the lines most clearly a>ul easily. After tinding the position of the* book as you prefer it, note the distance that the page is from the" eyes (1 am assun\ing that the experimenter 8a k sliown ill School Desks 83 has normal vision) and the angle that the page makes with the line of vision, that is, the straight line drawn from the eye to the book. After conscientiously recording this distance and this angle for yourself, try llie same experiment with all the pujiils of your class. Have them sit in a natural and com- fortably erect position at their (li>sks. Then ask them to hold their books in such a ])osition lh:it they can read most readily and easily, and then, while they are so situaicd, note, again, the two points above mentioned. This may be quickly done by moving down a side aisle and noting the regularity of the demands made on the position of the book. Note es|)ecially the re hit i ve slants of the books and the desk tops. Assuming that the experiment has been carried out as directed, the result may now be defmitely stated : the books will practically be at a right angle to the line of vision, and at an angle of slightly more than forty-live degrees to a line i)arallel with the floor, and approximately fifteen inches from the eyes of all who have normal vision. And now you ask, what do these facts mean, and what have they to do with the hygiene of school desks? Unless desk tops are set at the i)roper angle, children will not, and cannot, sit erect to do their work. Theoretically, one I'lC. 13. 7^:' Adjustable iliair ami (k'slc. t)nc of tlic best Amc'ricaii desks. H.l S( //(>(>/ llyvinir iiii)',lil ;.:i\' lli.il il llicsc ;ir<' llic iiotiniil (Iciii.i lids for vision, (liildicn should Ix- l.iiijdil lo hold llicir hook;, so. Miit sup- pose yoii I ry il loi ten iiiiimlcs or .1 li.dl hour. ( )i t (tuisc yt)U will now sec vvhcic I he dilli(idl\ lies (hildicu's .iiins }j;r()W \V(;ii V ;iud Ihty ( .innol hold Ihcii hooks :;o ;is lo )',('l I he piopcr .•iu)',lr ol vision lor more Ihan ;i, very shorl lime. So I he hooks ;iic pul on I he desk, ;ind I he (children's hacks arc hcnl , in order lo hiih)', ihc line ol \ i .ion in Ilic same rclalivc position as il was when lh(\ sal creel and held ihcii' hooks in I he I )osil ion demanded. \ On nia\ (ouniiand Iheni lo sil ei('( I as ollen as you Ihink ol il, hnl Ihey will «»i)ey, and (an ohe\', onl\ nionienlariU'. The ( hil- dien will hend o\( i Iheir woik (la\' alter day, unless we de\ise a piailitahle desk lop thai will luu (■ssitiilc eic(l, normal pttsture lor all their woik. In other woids, il we e\pe( t lo lea( h (un < hiMren to hahilnate IheniseKcs lo the piitper poslmc in :.( hool, we nnisl adjust Iheii desk top:, oi some ot hei mean, ol holdiufi; I h(>ir hooks, at anani'le ol appio\ima tel\ lorl \ li\ c