CONDITIONS OF HEALTH ESSENTIAL FOR CARRYING ON INSTRUCTION. 437 



6leve de six is twenty hours per week of six days — that is, about three 

 hours and a half of leisure during the day ; while the ^leve de rMiorique 

 has only about twelve hours per week, or two hours a day. 



In French elementary schools the leisure of the child amounts to 

 seventy-five minutes during the school-time of the week. That is, 

 fifteen minutes a day, in two breaks, besides the dinner hour, during the 

 school day of seven and a half hours, for five days in the week. Dr. Mathieu 

 says that, besides having tasks to do at home, the children are also some- 

 times obliged to work two or three hours outside the school. Their leisure, 

 therefore, mighl; amount to a whole holiday on Thursday, and on each 

 school-day two breaks amounting to fifteen minutes, besides a possible 

 hour or two in the evening. This is always supposing such leisure is 

 not encroached upon by the adult. 



From England it is found that in boys' public schools games (more 

 or less compulsory) and leisure occupy from twenty-six to twenty-eight 

 hours per week of six days, being equal to four and a half hours a 

 day. 



In girls' public schools thirty-five hours per week of six days, or 

 about six hours a day, seems a fair average of the time allotted to games 

 and leisure. But the extremes vary widely ; for instance, one foundation 

 school appears to have forty -two hours a week, or seven hours a day, while 

 one of the college schools has only twenty-seven hours a week, or four 

 and a half' hours a day. 



It should be noted that the newly opened St. Paul's School for girls 

 gives an interval of five minutes between each pair of lessons, except 

 where the luncheon interval of fifteen to twenty minutes occurs. Pupils 

 under fifteen have no home work. 



Also, that the King Alfred Schools Society's mixed public school gives 

 an interval of five minutes after each lesson, and has no home work at all 

 (unless specially desired by the parents). 



In elementary schools in England the leisure of the child during the 

 school hours of the week amounts to an hour and forty minutes — that is, 

 two breaks of ten minutes each a day during the five and a half hours' 

 daily school work. 



In preparing the correlated time-tables the Committee has found it 

 impossible to take into consideration the teaching and practice of instru- 

 mental music. In almost all cases where music is studied, the time so 

 spent will be deducted from that allotted to leisure, making it less than 

 it appears in the report. 



It appears that in matters political and social it is the tendency to 

 shorten the hours of work, because by so doing it is found possible to put 

 more concentrated effort into what is being done and more effective results 

 are obtained. 



The same is true of school education ; but in order to obtain this con- 

 centrated effort from children it is absolutely essential that they should 

 have frequent pauses between lessons, as well as a large amount of leisure 

 during each day. 



It is satisfactory to find that the new St. Paul's School for girls is 

 adopting these more hygienic methods, and that the King Alfred Schools 

 Society's demonstration school in Hampstead has had them in practice for 

 several years. The results appear to be in every way satisfactory, and 

 your Committee, after considering the information they have before them 



