1»HYSICAL EDUCATION AND EXERCISE. 761 



received considerable attention at the late International 

 Hygienic Congress in London, and a very able and interesting- 

 paper on this subject was contributed by Mr. George White, 

 Chairman of the Committee on Physical Education foi- the 

 School Board of London. 



I think it will be ]*eadily admitted that in this important 

 part of the education of our children we are very much 

 behind England and the Continent, where for many years 

 gymnasia have been attached to most of the schools and 

 colleges. 



In England the Education Department recognises the 

 utility of apportioning some ]3ortion of the school-time to 

 instruction in some form of physical exercise by allowing 

 instruction in physical exercises and military drill to be 

 included in the ordinary time-table of the school. 



Here, on the contrary, few of our schools have done more 

 for the physical culture of the pupils than to allow an hour 

 once or twice a week after school hours for drill, calisthenics, 

 or some other form of exercise, and it is left much to the 

 individual taste of each child as to whether it shall take part 

 in such exercise or not. Indeed a very strong prejudice exists 

 in the minds of parents and teachei's against gymnastics, 

 especially for girls, from the mistaken idea that they conduce 

 only to make athletes or acrobats. This idea arises from a 

 misconception of the real aim and object of physical 

 education. 



Mr. George White says: — "The term physical education, 

 used as denoting a subject for school instruction, has not such 

 a wide meaning as when used generally. Its object in the 

 former sense being ))artly to secure the best conditions for 

 mental effort by promoting the best jjhysical conditions, it 

 includes such instruction as leads to uniform and harmonious 

 development of the whole body of the individual child with 

 due regard to his physical idiosyncrasies or any accidental or 

 abnormal characteristics which may differentiate him fi'om an 

 ordinary generic child living under normal conditions. 



The use of light dumb-bells in such exercises as shall bring- 

 all the muscles into action would seem to be very beneffcial, 

 supplying slight resistance without undue effort and consec(uent 

 strain, such as frequently results from the use of heavy dumb- 

 bells used for the special development of any one set of 

 muscles. [A number of children here gave an illustrative 

 example of light dumb-bell exercises]. 



It will be seen then that the object of physical exercises in 



