The Making of a Trade School Part 9

The statistics below show the condition of 278 girls when they registered at the school. The charts are divided according to the departments entered. From them can be seen the need of special care for the health of the working girl.

|Dressmaking.

| |Art.

| | |Millinery.

| | | |Novelty.

| | | | |Operating.

| | | | | |Total.

--------------------+-------------------+-----+---+----+----+----+------ | | | | | | | Nutrition | Good | 101 | 7 | 15 | 26 | 35 | 184 | Fair | 39 | | 2 | 6 | 18 | 65 | Poor | 7 | | 4 | 10 | 8 | 29 | | | | | | | Mentality | Good | 122 | 7 | 19 | 33 | 40 | 221 | Fair | 21 | | 2 | 6 | 17 | 46 | Poor | 4 | | | 3 | 4 | 11 | | | | | | | Nerve signs | Present | 39 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 16 | 77 | Absent | 108 | 4 | 15 | 29 | 45 | 201 | | | | | | | Asymmetry, slight | Present | 53 | 4 | 12 | 23 | 29 | 121 curvatures, high | Absent | 94 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 32 | 157 hips or shoulders, | | | | | | | etc. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Posture | Good | 93 | 4 | 8 | 29 | 31 | 165 | Fair | 54 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 30 | 113 | | | | | | | Skin | Good condition | 95 | 5 | 13 | 32 | 44 | 189 | Acne, comedones, | 52 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 89 | etc. | | | | | | | | | | | | | Glands | Good condition | 66 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 20 | 118 | Enlarged | 81 | 4 | 11 | 23 | 41 | 160 | | | | | | | Vision | Need gla.s.ses | 44 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 19 | 86 | Good condition | 103 | 4 | 13 | 30 | 42 | 192 | | | | | | | Hearing | Defective | 6 | 1 | | 4 | 1 | 12 | Good | 141 | 6 | 21 | 38 | 60 | 266 | | | | | | | Speech | Good | 170 | 7 | 20 | 37 | 56 | 260 | Defective | 7 | | 1 | 5 | 5 | 8 | | | | | | | Nasal breathing | Good | 32 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 60 | Fair | 58 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 28 | 114 | Poor | 57 | 2 | 6 | 19 | 20 | 104 | | | | | | | Tonsils | Good | 44 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 79 | Slightly enlarged | 75 | 2 | 11 | 25 | 24 | 137 | Much enlarged | 28 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 62 | | | | | | | Teeth | Good | 103 | 5 | 16 | 30 | 40 | 194 | Poor | 44 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 21 | 84 | Need attention | 108 | 4 | 12 | 31 | 40 | 195 | | | | | | | Hearts | Good | 122 | 4 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 214 | Weak, irritable, | 24 | 2 | | 17 | 13 | 56 | or with anaemic | | | | | | | murmurs | | | | | | | Organic trouble | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 4 | 8 | | | | | | | Lungs | Good | 138 | 5 | 20 | 36 | 58 | 257 | Tuberculosis | 3 | | | 2 | | 5 | Suspected | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 16 | tuberculosis | | | | | | | | | | | | | Feet | Good | 125 | 7 | 16 | 38 | 53 | 239 | Weak arches | 10 | | 1 | | 4 | 15 | Broken arches or | 12 | | 4 | 4 | 4 | 24 | flatfoot | | | | | | | | | | | | | Enlarged thyroid | | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 23 glands | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Exophthalmic goiter | | 2 | | | | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | Ch.o.r.ea | | 2 | | | 2 | 1 | 5 | | | | | | | Needing corrective | | 5 | | 3 | 4 | 7 | 19 exercises | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------+-------------------+-----+---+----+----+----+-------

A second examination of the same girls six months later shows gain in weight, height, and general health; 125 had their teeth put in order; six were treated for defective hearing; twenty had attended the Skin Clinic; all had their eyes examined; eighty-six were fitted with gla.s.ses. In twenty-five cases where the adenoids and tonsils were removed the result was increase in weight, better breathing and heart action, alertness of mind, and a noticeable improvement in trade work.

Where the obstructions of nose and throat still remain there is loss in weight and diminished chest expansion and a generally weakened condition. The extraction of decayed teeth and the providing of well-fitting gla.s.ses have diminished nervous irritability and the frequency of headaches. Three cases of tuberculosis were sent to camps.

Seven cases of organic heart trouble were treated by specialists; nineteen girls were given corrective exercises at Teachers College; two were fitted with shoes and braces; two were put into plaster jackets, one for lateral rotary curvature and one for neuritis; and one advanced case of ch.o.r.ea has been placed in the hospital. Of the girls whose records are given in the list it can be said that, with the exception of the cripples and a few others needing simple operations, a year's care shows that very few of them are in any way handicapped by the effects of disease.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION COURSE

I. Gymnastics:

1. Elementary: 3 thirty-minute periods a week. (1) Swedish floor work for general posture; (2) Work in control of breathing; (3) Marching tactics for form and accuracy; (4) Light apparatus work: (_a_) Wands, (_b_) Dumb-bells, (_c_) Indian clubs; (5) Heavy apparatus for coordination; (6) Simple dances and rhythm work for grace and poise; (7) Simple plays and games.

2. Advanced: 2 forty-five-minute periods a week. (1) Gymnastic dances containing more than three figures; (2) Swedish and Danish weaving dances in correlation with study of textiles (Academic Department); (3) Folk dances of Sweden and Russia for form; (4) Modern athletic dances for grace and poise; (5) Athletic Compet.i.tion: (_a_) Running and jumping, (_b_) Relay and obstacle races, (_c_) Hockey and basket ball.

3. Special corrective work for spinal trouble or poor position: (1) General floor work for mobility; (2) Free-hand work: (_a_) Single a.s.sistive and resistive exercises, (_b_) Hanging exercises with and without a.s.sistance, (_c_) Work with iron dumb-bells.

II. Hygiene: Talks on hygiene are a regular part of the work, and aim to give each girl a knowledge of her body and of its functions that will enable her to care for her health in an intelligent manner and to establish in her mind ideals of correct living which can be made practical in her surroundings.

1. _Personal Hygiene_: (1) Brief survey of the body as a whole; (2) The use of the mouth, nose, larynx, trachea, and lungs in breathing; (3) Care of nose and throat: (_a_) The nose as a source of infection, (_b_) Dangers of enlarged tonsils and adenoids, (_c_) Treatment of colds; (4) Structure and care of the teeth. (5) The Digestive System: (_a_) Organs directly concerned, and (_b_) Their care, (_c_) Disorders of the Digestive System; (6) The Nervous System, Brain, and Spinal Cord; (7) The Skin, (_a_) Structure and Use, (_b_) Hygiene of Skin; (8) Heart and Blood Vessels; (9) The Hair; (10) The Ears; (11) The Eyes; (12) The Feet; (13) The Hygiene of Clothes.

2. _Domestic Hygiene_: Construction and furnis.h.i.+ng of Home: (_a_) Internal arrangement, walls, and coverings, (_b_) Ventilation, (_c_) Heating, (_d_) Lighting, (_e_) Water Supply, (_f_) Plumbing and Drainage, (_g_) Toilet rooms, (_h_) Disposal of Garbage and Ashes, (_i_) House Cleaning, sweeping, dusting, cleaning, and use of disinfectants.

3. _Foods_: (1) Nutritive value of foods; (2) Purity of food materials; (3) Cooking--Cooking utensils; (4) Planning of meals.

4. _Diseases_: (1) Causes and Transmission; (2) Contagious diseases, care, prevention; (3) Hygiene of sick room; (4) Insects and vermin; (5) Infectious diseases.