Volume 2

Health lectures for the people.

Date:
1883-1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Health lectures for the people. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    92/600 (page 80)
    appreciate the wisdom of the Mosaic injunctions in the Cere- monial Law relating to washing and bathing, all the more important seeing they w^ere written for the inhabitants of a warm climate. The opportunity to wash and be clean should be placed within the reach of all. Probably many are too old to learn, but we may adopt the plan so strongly recommended by the founder of our ragged schools, and by teaching the children the next gene- ration wdll be benefited. Children are usually fond of the water, especially if they think that they ought not to go near it. Education ought to be not only a training in language or science, but also in cleanliness, self-control, and politeness. These branches can usually be better undertaken by the parents, but when parents are incapable of giving this training the schools should initiate and in any case endeavour to carry it on. If in some of the public schools in England too much time is bestowed upon the muscularity of the pupils, in Scotland too little attention is paid to that soundness of body, upon which in some measure the healthy thinking faculty depends. Our School Board seems recently to have become convinced of this, seeing that they have arranged to provide baths and a gymnasium at the Eoyal High School. Baths are, however, really more required in connection with schools for the poorer classes, who have fewer facilities for bathing at home. To supply this want would involve the erection of baths in connection with each Board School, for which, of course, the ratepayers would be taxed. It is deserving of careful consideration whether it would not be less costly to erect public baths, under the care of the municipal authorities, w^hich would be available for all the public, and to which Board School children could be admitted at a very small sum. To induce them to use the baths there might be prizes for competi- tion among the members of each school as well as inter-scholastic competitions. In a paper read at the Social Science Congress, 1883, Dr JS'or- man Porritt stated that at Bradford boys use the Corporation i3aths at ^. reduced charge. In all the new schools at Liverpool