COST OF VENTILATION. It is stated by Professor Woodbridge that the fuel cost of ventilation has been found to be 1.44 pounds of coal per day for each of 750 scholars in the Lynn High School, making the per capita cost about 2.5 mills per day. The supply per scholar is nearly 3,900 cubic feet per hour. The proportion of CO found in the air varies from 5.2 to 5.7 parts in 10,000. The above represents the difference in expense between perfect ventilation and no ventilation; but as the latter is an inconceivable case, and as a large amount of heat would be wasted by open windows, even if no systematic appliances were used, it is fair to set the cost decidedly lower. To offset this, however, there is some expense for increased plant (boilers and engine). The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has two large buildings of nearly equal size, used for similar purposes; the one ventilated in an old-fashioned way, the other provided with an average supply of 8,000 cubic feet per hour for each occupant-or four times the amount desired for schools. The coal-expense per occupant is estimated by Woodbridge at something in excess of one dollar a year per occupant (or one-fifth of a ton of coal). The two computations coincide very closely, giving a probable annual cost of twenty-five cents per pupil if 2,000 cubic feet of air were the allowance. The steam fan is used in both cases. DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION. SECRETARY'S MINUTES. Motto.-"The life of man in every part has need of harmony and rhythm." FIRST SESSION.-DENVER, COLO., July 9, 1895. THE CREATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION. A meeting was called in the interest of Physical Education, at the close of the morning session of the National Educational Association, July 9th. Mr. Edward F. Hermanns of Denver was chosen temporary Chairman, and Miss R. Anna Morris of Cleveland, Ohio, Secretary. The object of the meeting, as stated by Miss Morris, was to arrange for a petition, to be presented to the Board of Directors, asking for the creation of a Department of Physical Education. Upon motion, the following named persons were appointed a Committee on Permanent Organization, viz., Mr. Barringer, New Jersey; Miss Morris, Cleveland, Ohio; Mr. Wilkinson, Emporia, Kan., and were also requested to present to the Board of Directors of the National Educational Association the petition circulated by Miss Morris and signed by twenty-five leading educators of the country. The following is the petition: We respectfully petition the Board of Directors of the National Educational Associa tion to create as a branch of that body's work a Department of Physical Education. L. H. JONES, Superintendent, Cleveland, Ohio. L. W. HUGHES, Principal Normal School, Cleveland, Ohio. L. J. KOCH, Director Physical Education, Normal School, Chicago, Ill. W. P. BOWEN, Director Physical Education, Normal School, Ypsilanti, Mich. FRANCES C. BURTON, Assistant Physical Education, Normal School, Ypsilanti, Mick R. G. BOONE, Principal State Normal School, Ypsilanti, Mich. EVA D. KELLOGG, Editor "Primary Education," Boston, Mass. A. B. POLAND, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Trenton, N. J. J. M. GREEN, President State Normal School, Trenton, N. J. W. C. WARFIELD, Superintendent of Schools, Covington, Ky. H. R. BLAISDELL, Principal High School, Covington, Ky. W. A. BELL, State Director National Educational Association, Indianapolis, Ind. SECOND SESSION.-WEDNESDAY, JULY 10тH. A meeting for the purpose of permanently organizing the Department of Physical Education was held in the basement lecture room, in the Central Presbyterian Church, immediately after the close of the general session, Wednesday, July 10th. Mr. Edward F. Hermanns, Principal of Denver High School, acted as Chairman, and Miss R. Anna Morris of Cleveland, Ohio, as Secretary. The report of the previous informal meeting was read and approved. The Secretary, Miss Morris, was called upon to state the object and aim of the new department just created. The President stated that the object of the meeting was the election of permanent officers. Upon motion, a nominating committee was appointed, consisting of Col. F. W. Parker, Chicago; Mr. W. M. Barringer, Newark, N. J.; Miss McMurray of Iowa; Miss Kimberlin of Detroit; Mr. A. W. Clancy of Chicago. The committee reported the following named for officers for 1895-96: For President-Miss R. Anna Morris, Supervisor Physical Training, Public Schools, Cleveland, Ohio. For Vice President-Mr. Ed. F. Hermanns, Principal Denver High Schools, District No. 2. For Secretary-Miss N. D. Kimberlin, Supervisor Physical Training, Public Schools, Detroit, Mich. Upon motion, the above-named officers were elected by acclamation. The department adjourned to meet at 8:30 o'clock Thursday morning, July 11th, in the parlors of the Brown Palace Hotel, at which time the officers elected and others, including Colonel Parker of Chicago and J. N. Wilkinson of Emporia, Kan., were invited to speak on the subject of "Physical Education." Meeting adjourned. THIRD SESSION.-THURSDAY, JULY 11TH. The Department of Physical Education held its first regular meeting in the parlors of the Brown Palace Hotel at 8:30 o'clock. The President, Miss Morris, called the meeting to order. The minutes of the previous meeting were read by Secretary Miss Kimberlin and approved. The following program was presented: 1. "Object of Physical Training Department." Miss R. Anna Morris, Cleveland, Ohio. 2. "Practical Physical Training in Public Schools." Miss N. D. Kimberlin, Detroit, Mich. 3. "The New Department." Colonel Parker, Chicago, Ill. 4. "Voice and Body." Mrs. Boyd, Newton, Kan. 5. "Physical Training in Brooklyn Public Schools." Superintendent Maxwell, Brooklyn, N. Y. Discussions followed by Professor Lynch of Missouri; Professor Freidburg of New York City; Major Clancy of Chicago; Miss Pike of Denver; Mr. Barringer of New Jersey. Upon motion, the President and Secretary were requested to arrange a program for the meeting of the department to be held in connection with the next meeting of the National Educational Association. PAPERS AND DISCUSSIONS. THE OBJECT OF THE NEW DEPARTMENT. BY MISS R. ANNA MORRIS, SUPERVISOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CLEVELAND, OHIO. The National Educational Association, the greatest educational body in the world, by the establishment of a Department of Physical Education has paid the subject the highest compliment ever given to it in this country. It has raised the "new idea" from the orphanage of "fadism" to the dignity of a child of education. The aim of the department is not only to establish a closer relation between those who are actively engaged in physical training, but to give dignity and scope to the work by enlisting the interest of prominent educators and by bringing it more effectively to the attention of the regular teachers with whom the hope of the future training lies. It is believed that our department meetings will prove stimulating, and that they will afford an opportunity for an interchange of experiences and ideas by the practical presentation of physical training in schools of all classes. PHYSICAL TRAINING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. BY MISS N. D. KIMBERLIN, SUPERVISOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, DETROIT, MICH. While I intend briefly to give my idea of the place and aim of physical training in public schools, the subject is ideal in that it represents what seems to me the best standard, but practical in that the benefits claimed are such as I have already observed in my own experience. The subject divides itself naturally into two sections. First, that which deals with the pupil; and, second, that dealing with the public school teacher as the instrument in executing the physical director's instructions. In the case of the pupil, let us examine the conditions we have to meet. The average child of healthy parents probably leads a more nearly natural existence between birth and five or six years of age than at any other period of his life. He eats heartily and regularly, sleeps soundly and plays vigorously. Growth and change of tissue are active, and the mental faculties, while developing, have not yet reached the point when they can entirely overrule the physical, as they so often do in later years. As a result, most children come to us healthy and vigorous, with fairly well-shaped bodies. With school life, new conditions arise. Mental training is begun, and the work and confinement together make up a life further from that of nature than the one hitherto led. Unfavorable modifications, more or less marked, must occur, and I think our main effort should be to counteract these; that is to say, our work is preservative rather than formative, as our object is not to develop athletes or strong men, but simply to continue healthy conditions for the child, so that his body shall grow strong and fit for the work of life and so trained as to be the ready servant of his will under all circumstances and emergencies. The particular exercises that will best do this can scarcely be specified here; they must, however, be such as can be performed under present conditions of school-life, and should aim primarily to develop sound heart and lungs, the essentials of physical vigor, and secondarily, secure bodily self-control. Quite as important as the exercises, is instruction in physiology and the hygienic care of the body. In my own work a course of physiology is studied by all grades during the school year. The subject is presented in as practical a form as can be done in the schoolroom. Charts are used, and in many cases the actual tissue. The pupils not only have an intelligent appreciation of the subject, but in many cases the teaching has produced practical results outside of the school by changes in dress, food, and mode of life. This part of the work, aiming, as it does, to develop the body into a sound and perfect instrument, is the first and most important duty in physical training. We by no means fulfill our whole duty when we have given the child sound heart and lungs and vigorous limbs. These things are good and worth striving for, but they form only a part, and we can never hope for all the good of physical training until we at all times apply to this branch of instruction the same methods of research and the same patient, thorough study as has been given of late years to language studies and the mental development of child-life. The most marked mental result is probably the increased power of doing good work which we get by putting the body into a vigorous and healthy state; a good instrument will naturally do more and better work than a poor one. There are also certain specific benefits traceable to special sections and methods of the work. Among these I would place, first, the alertness, precision, and prompt execution of voluntary movements we obtain through military execution of the drills. The exactness and rapidity of this form of movement have a special value in developing concentrated attention, which, becoming a habit, must prove of use in the parallel development of the mental life. In Detroit we have insisted upon a brief period of light exercises every twenty minutes for all primary grades, and it has resulted in a brightness and power of attention that fully prove its value. Certain moral effects, too, follow systematic physical training. The first seen is the better discipline, prompter obedience, and, consequently, the greater ease with which the teacher obtains perfect mass-control of large bodies of children. Going from the class to the individual, we soon find a self-reliance and self-control which comes from a knowledge of his bodily powers and the assurance that he can use them at will. I think, too, that, in connection with the physical training, the teacher may rightly give instruction in some of the elementary forms of courtesy, by showing the signification and use of the military salutes, and insisting upon their performance both collectively and individually. There is a concreteness in these forms which seems to make them especially serviceable to this end, and I have seen the plan work well. A correct position for a few minutes during drill will do little to correct a slouchy posture, tolerated till it becomes habitual. Correct sitting and standing |