464 REPORT— 1903. 



upon health, the proper care of sight and hearing and of the muscular 

 sense and powers, the regulating of sanitary conditions in warming, light- 

 ing, ventilation, and cleanliness both of rooms and of persons, attention to 

 clothing, safeguarding against fatigue — all these are duties for which 

 authorities should encourage the teacher to acquire knowledge and train- 

 ing to undertake them adequately. Suitable instruction in the principles 

 and practice of modern hygiene can alone equip the teacher to perform 

 such duties intelligently. Modern hygiene utilises the sciences of 

 chemistry, physics, and physiology, and from these it welds together an 

 applied knowledge devoted ad hoc to the regulation of the conditions 

 promoting health of body and determining to a large extent that of 

 mind also. It is not the whole of the wide study of hygiene that is 

 required for the purposes of the school teacher. It is a knowledge of 

 hygiene devoted ad hoc to the conditions of school life. This sliould be 

 regarded as a conditio sine qua non for those wlio have the care of 

 children and the working management of school life. This requirement 

 has been forgotten by the framers of the Education Acts. It is not for 

 one moment to be thought that it is tlie acquirement of any medical 

 knowledge that wo are urging as necessary for the professional equipment 

 of school teachers and inspectors. The study of chemistry, physics, and 

 physiology is, it is true, at the basis of medicine as well as of liygiene ; 

 but the daily routine of the teacher's supervision of maintenance of health 

 conditions in the school would not take the place of a skilled expert's 

 advice and the opinion of the medical man required at stated intervals or 

 as occasion arose. The former would, however, most usefully and import- 

 antly co-operate with the latter. Teachers well and practically instructed 

 in hygiene would provide an organisation able to co-operate intelligently 

 with medical advisers. Dr. Kerr in his recent Report as Medical Officer 

 of the London School Board writes : ' The definite requirement of 

 hygienic knowledge as part of the equipment of every teacher is a neces- 

 sity if a great part of the work of this department is not to be useless in 

 result. Praiseworthy as are the efforts of head teachers to comply with 

 all requirements and instructions, zeal cannot replace knowledge ; and 

 until this knowledge becomes a necessity for qualification as a teacher it 

 would be well if special importance were attached to its possession in any 

 future appointments to the headship of departments.' 



The Committee in this belief desire to urge tlie Association to 

 memorialise the Education Department (1) to adopt or recognise some 

 more thorough and practical test of a teacher's knowledge and experience 

 of the application of health conditions in school life ; (2) to protect 

 health in school life by making practical knowledge of hygiene as applied 

 to school life an essential qualification for those to whom it intrusts its 

 school inspection. 



The Committee desire to be reappointed, and ask to be allowed to 

 use the unexpended portion of this year's grant. 



