PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE
Teaching in matters pertaining to health is given but a meagre amount of time in
the elementary schools. While the school program shows one 15-minute period
each week in the first four grades, and one 30-minute period each week in the
four upper grades, it appears that in actual practice the subject receives even less
time than this. In the attempt to observe the class work in physiology and
hygiene, a member of the Survey staff went on one day to four different
classrooms at the hour scheduled on the program. In two cases the time was
given over to grammar, in one to arithmetic, and in one to music. This represents
practice that is not unusual. The subject gets pushed off the program by one of
the so-called "essentials." It is difficult to see why health-training is not an
essential. In a letter to the School Board, February 8, 1915, Superintendent
Frederick wrote:
"The teaching of physiology and hygiene should become a matter of serious
moment in our course of study. At present it is not systematically presented in
the elementary schools: and in the high schools it is an elective study only in the
senior year. My judgment is that it should become a definite part of the program,
as a required study in the seventh and eighth grades."
The small nominal amount of time as compared with the time usually expended
is partially shown in Table 12. Professor Holmes' figures for the 50 cities include
elementary science along with the physiology and hygiene.
TABLE 12.—TIME GIVEN TO SCIENCE, PHYSIOLOGY, HYGIENE
======+=======================+========================
| Hours per year | Per cent of grade time
Grade +—————-+—————-+—————-+——————
| Cleveland | 50 cities | Cleveland | 50 cities