164 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



CLOTHING. 



One word at least must be said on this important subject. 

 Children grow so rapidh' it is almost impossible to keep them in clothea 

 which are sufficiently roomy to prevent friction; certain delicate parts 

 of the child's body should never be subjected to irritation of any kind, 

 aiid whatever else a mother leaves undone she is inexcusable if she once 

 puts on her child a pair of tight or starched or rough seamed drawers (^r 

 trousers. 



Will the time ever come when the mothers of ^Michigan will refuse 

 to have their little daughters subjected to the temptation to build up 

 • wrong ideals of dress through the example of dear teachers with cor- 

 seted waists, high heeled shoes, and uncomfortable neckwear? Cer- 

 tainly not unless they as a class have higher ideals of dress themselves. 



THE CARE OF THE EYES. 



The large number of spectacled adults seen everywhere at the present 

 time indicates that some common and far reaching cause is at work to 

 produce defective vision. It is not needful to go beyond the home and 

 the school to find this cause; insufficient nourishment during the years 

 of growth and development, bad air in sleeping room and schoolroom,, 

 the use of the ej-es with the light directly in front of them in study at 

 home; hanging the head over the books and thus producing more or 

 less passive congestion of the eye region; over-use in near work, and 

 failure to rest the eyes by often fixing them upon objects far distant; 

 bad posture in school — all these and many more conditions which affect 

 children unfavorably during school life, appear to be predisposing 

 causes of eye defects. All these could be changed if parents and 

 teachers and those who build and equip schools would work together 

 with this object in view. The eyes of school children should be 

 tested from time to time to ascertain their condition and needs. 



HABITS OF POSTURE. 



The influence of unhygienic posture of body upon school children 

 is more far-reaching than is commonly believed to be the case. 



At this time the body is almost like clay in its tendency to become 

 moulded into the shape it most often assumes. 



The school desks and seats in common use encourage bad postures 

 in children; indeed, it would be impossible for a child to sit in them 

 in a hygienic position, and write or read, many minutes. 



The desk is too high to place the elbows on, and too low to support 

 the book at the right focal distance from the eyes. The seat does not 

 balance the body comfortably, nor does it give good support to the 

 back. Opportunities to occupy good positions at home in study are not 

 alwa^'s what they should be, and many teachers do not sufficiently un- 

 derstand the mechanics of the body to properly train children in hygie- 

 nic standing and sitting. Moreover, the long hours in school fatigue the 

 child and make it tiresome to sit in any position. Better shaped seats 

 and desks are needed in schools. Shorter hours of confinement indoors, 

 and more careful physical training and exercise, to prevent the harm 

 constantly being done to school children under the present regime. 



