USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of the officers of the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts for the year ending 1915 > Part 16
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In closing I wish to thank the School Committee and you for the hearty support you have given me at all times, and to express my appreciation for the untiring efforts of my associates for the continued success of the school.
Respectfully submitted,
WILLIAM C. WHITING, Principal.
REVISED COURSE OF STUDY
GENERAL COURSE
First Year English I.
Second Year
Third Year
4
English II.
4
English III.
4
English IV.
4
U. S. Hist. and Civics
4
Electives
Latin I. French I.
5
French I. or II.
5 French II. or III.
German I. 5 German I. or II. 5 German II. or III. 5
El. Science
4
El. Physics
5
Chemistry
5
4 Geometry
4
English Hist.
3
Mod. European Hist. 3
Industrial Hist.
3
3 Business Practice 4
Bookkeeping I.
2 Bookkeeping II.
3
Bookkeeping III.
Stenography I. 5 Stenography II. 4
4 Typewriting III.
1
Com. Arith. 3
Cooking I.
2 Cooking II.
2
Sewing I.
2 Sewing II.
2
F. H. Drawing
1 F. H. Drawing
1
F. H. Drawing
M. Drawing III. 1 or 2
M. Drawing I.
1 or 2
M. Drawing II. Music
1 or 2
Music
M. Drawing IV. 1 or 2 Music
Music
5 Latin II.
5 Latin III.
5 Latin IV. 5
5 French II. or III. 5
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Community Civics 4 Com. Geog. 3
5
Algebra Greek and Rom. Hist.
Electives
Electives
Electives
.
Typewriting I. 2
Typewriting II.
Fourth Year
1 F. H. Drawing 1
COLLEGE PREPARATORY COURSE
First Year
Second Year
Third Year
Fourth Year
English I. 4
English II.
4
English III.
4
English IV.
4
Greek and Roman Hist. 4
Geometry
5
*Rev. Algebra Rev. Geometry
4
*Rev. Algebra
4
Electives
Electives
Electives
Electives
Latin I.
5
Latin II. French I.
5
Latin III.
5
Latin IV.
5
French I. or II.
5 French II. or III. 5
German I.
5 German I. or II.
5 German II. or III.
5
Elementary Science
4 El. Physics Eng. Hist.
5 Chemistry
5 Col. Physics
5
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F. H. Drawing M. Drawing Music
1 or 2
1 F. H. Drawing M. Drawing Music
1 F. H. Drawing
1
F. H. Drawing
1
. or 2 M. Drawing 1 or 2 M. Drawing
Music
U. S. History and Civics 4
3 Mod. European Hist *Col. Hist.
3
2 *Col. Hist. Solid Geom.
2
3
Trigonometry
2
1 or 2
*To be taken either third or fourth year.
Algebra 4
3
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PLYMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL Class of 1915. Annual Graduation Exercises. Old Colony Theatre. Evening of June Twenty-Eighth, Nineteen Hundred Fifteen, at Eight o'clock.
PROGRAMME.
Invocation, Rev. C. P. Marshall. "Be Not Afraid," from "Elijah," School Chorus
Mendelssohn
Salutatory and Essay, Gladys K. McCosh
Essay,
John Anderson "My Heart at Thy Dear Voice," from "Samson and Delilah," Saint-Saens
School Chorus
Essay,
F. Roger Paty
Piano Solo, Svanen, Palmgren
Paderewski
Cracovienne Fantastique,
Dorothy Dorr
Essay,
Roy H. Burgess
Essay with Valedictory,
Esther T. Johnson
"Venetian Summer Night,"
School Chorus
Moszkowski
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Presentation of Diplomas, W. M. Douglass, Chairman of the School Committee "Hail Noble Hall," from Tannhauser, Wagner School Chorus
Singing of Class Song, Class of 1915
CLASS SONG OF 1915
For four short years as class-mates, we Have gathered here each day,
But now the time has come to part For each must go his way, In future paths of labor As yet to some unseen ; And may success e'er follow The class of 1915.
Oh cherished memories of the past, Strengthen our pathway on,
Put truth and reverence in our hearts And courage ever strong, That we may face life's stormy sea, Tho' rough at times it seem ; And may the best e'er follow The class of 1915.
Our parting song we sing to-night We close our sojourn here, "By labor and by honor," this Our motto, we hold dear; To the dear old school we love so well, To the teachers we esteem ;
Farewell dear comrades; fare-thee-well, The class of 1915.
-Words by Laura C. Morton -Music by Dorothy Dorr
Plymouth twenty-two
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CLASS OF 1915 "Labore et Honore"
John Anderson*
Andrew Bartlett Holmes
Richard Diman Barnes
Thelma Stevens Bartlett
Horace Ward Holmes Carl William Johnson
Roy Ellsworth Beaman*
Dumas Alexander Johnson
Frederic Arthur Bliss
Esther Theresa Johnson*
Lillian May Bodell
Gladys Kathryn McCosh*
Ruth Hunting Bradford
Earl Wallace Morton Laura Cobb Morton
Roy Hall Burgess*
Gertrude Cohen
Alice Mary Murphy
Alton Paine Cole
Kate Reynolds Murray
Carl Lester Covell
Frederick Roger Paty*
Joseph Henry Denehy
Florence Hazel Raymond
Francis Story Devereux
Walter Russel Roberts
Dorothy Dorr
Mary Grace Rogan
Jerusha Holmes Doten
Eugene Perry Rowell, Jr.
Lucy May Doten
Louis Sadow
Ellen May Downey
Isabel Ellis Sherman
Margaret Frances Downey
Elizabeth Snell
David Arthur Edgar
Helen Frances Stegmaier
Helen Fowler
Minnie Steinberg
Ruth Joseph Gerety
Ernest Francis Tillson
Dorothea Elizabeth Gove
Gertrude Louise Weston
Marion Leslie Hathaway
*Represented the class at graduation.
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REPORT OF ATTENDANCE OFFICER
To Mr. Charles A. Harris, Supt. of Schools :-
I respectfully submit the following report from Jan. 1, 1915, to Jan. 1, 1916.
-
Cases of
Truancy
Cases of
Sickness
Other Cases
Investigated
9 Totals
Allerton Street School,
0
1
1
Burton School,
11
11
25
47
Cedarville School,
0
0
2
2
Cold Spring School,
1
0
0
1
1
Cornish School,
15
20
53
88
Cornish Evening School,
0
1
2
3
Chiltonville Grammar School,
0
1
6
Chiltonville Primary School,
0
0
3
3
Hedge School,
9
12
37
58
High School,
0
0
4
4
Individual School,
0
4
13
17
Knapp School,
15
5
47
67
Lincoln Street School,
0
1
1
2
Mount Pleasant School,
6
14
15
35
Nath. Morton School,
5
10
24
39
Oak Street School,
3
1
0
4
Spooner Street School,
1
2
18
21
South Street School,
0
0
2
2
Number of homes visited,
424
Number of employment certificates investigated,
19
Total number of investigations,
443
2 0 wo of Absence
Alden Street School,
3
1
9
17
Cliff. Street School,
.
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Found on street and taken to school, 3
Number of visits to schools, 31
Number of habitual absentee cases brought to court, 4
Number of truancy cases brought to court, 3
I wish to thank the Superintendent and teachers for the kind assistance which they have given me during the past year.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN ARMSTRONG,
Attendance Officer.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL PHYSICIAN
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1915.
Medical inspection logically involves a study of the conditions under which children live and work, and demands a constant effort to improve those conditions which tend to produce diseases and defects. It also requires as definite and exhaustive infor- mation about the physical condition of each pupil as can possibly be acquired in order that existing defects may be recognized and either removed or their harmful effects minimized by re- medial measures, or the modification of teaching conditions, to meet the requirements of the defective child. As a practical aid in acquiring as complete a knowledge of the physical condi- tion of each child as possible, a card index has been in use for some time, but with the new year a change has been inaugurated in the keeping of the records, which will make them much more useful.
In the first place a new form of record card has been devised which includes much valuable information which the old card did not include, such as the address of the child, which is of constant use to the School Nurse. It also shows whether the child has had one or more of the contagious diseases. On the reverse of the card is a tabular view of the physical condition of the child for each year of school life, including the test of vision and hearing, and the measurements required for the proper ad- justment of the desk and chair.
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Address
Hes Pupil bad Diphtherla ?
Scarlet Fover ?
Mensles?
Chicken Pox?
Whooping Cough ?
DATE
CURRENT RECORD OF PHYSICAL CONDITION
DISPOSAL
-
Face of Card
PHYSICAL RECORD
YEAR
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
GRADE
DATE
SEAT HEIGHT
1. PEDICULI
RIGHT
HEARING
LEFT
RIGHT
VISION
LEFT
2: ENL TONSILS
3. DEF. TEETH
4. ADENOIDS
CATARRE
5. NOSE
OBSTR.
LID
6. EYE DIS.
BALL
7. EAR DIS.
8. GLANDS
T B.
9. PULM. D.
ORG.
10. CARDIAC
FODC
11. SKIN DIS.
12. SPINAL DEF.
13. Uncleanliness
14. NERVOUS
15. MALNUTRITION
REMARKS
Reverse of Card
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The new form is not however of as great importance as the fact that the cards are to be placed in a number of the larger schools requiring regular supervision.
Heretofore all cards have been on file at a central office. Un- der the new system each time a child is seen by the nurse or doc- tor, the physical record of the child will be before them, and the cards will also be available for reference by the teachers at any time. The advantages of this arrangement are as obvious as were the disadvantages of the old way, for what did it profit Johnnie Jones if he were examined and found to have adenoids, and the information was then carefully filed away in an office never to be seen again perhaps, except for the compilation of statistics ? Eventually all cards will be filed at the schools where they be- long.
Dental Clinic.
The work of the dental clinic has been going on regularly dur- ing the past year. We now have five dentists who serve two months a year without compensation, the clinic being held on Saturday mornings from 8.00 to 10.00 at the committee rooms, Town Square.
From January, 1915, until school closed in June, there were 23 clinics held, 22 of them being on Saturday mornings, and one on a Wednesday afternoon. The first clinic of the year 1915, was held on January 2, and they were held thereafter until the close of school as follows:
January 2, 9, 16, 23. February 6, 13, 20, 27. March 6, 13, 20, 27. April 10, 17, 24. May 8, 15, 19 (Wednesday), 29. June 5, 12, 16 (Wednesday), 26.
From September, 1915, until January, 1916, there were 15 clinics held, 13 of them being on Saturday mornings, one on a Wednesday afternoon and one on a Tuesday morning. The first clinic of the new term was held on September 11, and thereafter to January, 1916, as follows:
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September 11, 18, 25. October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30. November 6, 10 (Wednesday), 20, 23 (Tuesday). December 4, 11, 18.
The dentists who are working with us are deeply interested in the problem of caring for the mouths of school children, and a meeting was held Friday afternoon, November 19th, at the school committee rooms to talk over the situation. It was the opinion of those present that the best chance the dental clinic has of making progress toward the solution of this problem lies in preventive measures, both operative and educational. In other vords, that in view of the large number of children involved, it was hopeless to attempt to do much in the way of filling, but that time could be spent to advantage in cleaning mouths and in- structing children how to keep them clean.
The following chart made from statistics taken from the records of the School Physician, the result of an examination of all the public school children, is interesting in this connection. Each column represents a grade, and the height of the column shows the number of children in the grade as indicated by the numbers at the left. The black portion of the column shows the proportion of children in each grade whom the School Physi- cian's record showed had defective teeth, and this means obvious defects which any one could see by looking into the mouth with- out the use of special instruments. Examination by dentists would show a much larger proportion, for instance of the 410 children examined in the same year, 1914, by the dental clinic, over 88 per cent. showed dental defects.
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350
325
300
275
250
225
200
PUPILS
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
I
V VI VI. VI IX. P.H.S.
GRADE.
Chart showing proportion of Children with obviously defective teeth, as shown by the records of the School Physician for 1914.
The small proportion of those in the High School having de- fective teeth is not as might at first be supposed, wholly on ac- count of the better care these pupils give them, although they do give them better care than the grade pupils. If the im- provement in the High School were due wholly to the fact that pupils paid more attention to the hygienic conditions of their mouths as they get older and approached maturity, the eighth and ninth grades should show a very marked improvement over the grades below them, but this is not noticeable until we come to the first three grades, where the proportion having defects is greatly increased by the disintegration of the milk teeth. It seems then, that the better conditions in the High School must be due to the fact that the personnel of that school is largely made up of those pupils who have taken better care of their teeth all through their school life.
Plymouth twenty-three
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The following data have been taken from the records of the clinic for the past year.
For the most part, the work at the clinic for 1915 was devoted to the pupils at the Knapp School. In April, May and June, the pupils of the Burton Individual or Special School were treated, and two were sent in from the Hedge School. Only nineteen examinations were made, as the work of 1915 was done on pupils examined in 1914.
Knapp School.
Number of pupils who were treated,
74
Number of fillings,
97
Number of cleanings,
29
Number of extractions, 12
Number treated for toothache,
3
Total number of fillings, cleanings, etc., 141
Burton Special School.
Number of pupils who were treated,
17
Number of fillings,
6
Number of cleanings,
15
Number of extractions,
5
Total number of fillings, cleanings, etc., 26
Hedge School.
Number of pupils who were treated,
2
Number of fillings,
2
Number of extractions, 1
Total number of fillings and extractions, 3
From the foregoing tables, we make the following totals :
Total number treated, 93
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Total number of fillings,
105
Total number of cleanings, 44
Total number of extractions,
18
Total number treated for toothache,
3
Total number of treatments,
170
Thus the total number of treatments for the year 1915 was 170, which is 57 more than the figures of last year show. Some 250 tooth brushes have been distributed during 1915, for the most part by the School Nurse.
Contagious Disease.
The only epidemic which has approached serious proportions has been the one of measles which is still smouldering. So far it has been confined almost entirely to the north part of the town, and if it fails to develop and dies out without affecting practically all children who have not previously had the diseases, as has invariably been the case with all previous epidemics, we may fairly attribute it to the pains-taking efforts which have been made to check its spread in the schools.
The new rules governing school attendance with relation to contagious disease have been vigorously enforced, and the school nurse has done splendid service in this connection, looking up suspected cases in the homes where often no doctor is called, ex- cluding suspected cases from school and seeing that children were not admitted who might be a source of contagion. As a further safeguard, all cases of contagious disease are reported to the School Physician by the Board of Health, and are at once .elephoned to the schools in the locality in which they exist, thus enabling the teacher to be on the watch for members of the family who might appear.
The following contagious diseases among school children have been reported by the Board of Health :
Diphtheria, ?; Scarlet fever, 4; Measles, 22; Mumps, 3; Tu- berculosis, 1; Trachoma, 4.
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During the Christmas vacation all desks and chairs in the Cornish, Burton, Knapp and Hedge schools were scrubbed with disinfectant and all school rooms thoroughly aired. In this connection it is interesting to note a recent change in the pro- cedure in New York City in case of contagious disease. Form- erly disinfection was by fumigation, now fumigation is omitted and cleaning is considered vastly more effective.
The Editor of the Journal of the American Medical Associa- tion (Jan. 15, 1916), says in answer to a query about the ef- ficiency of fumigation, "The value of routine fumigation of rooms as a means for preventing the spread of infectious diseases has been seriously questioned of late years. The experience of the health authorities at Providence, R. I., extending over many years, indicates that the abandonment of room disinfection is not followed by any noticeable increase in the number of secondary cases. In New York City, terminal disinfection has been omit- ted since 1913 in cases of scarlet fever and several other diseases. Milwaukee, Boston and other cities have followed the example set by the authorities of Providence and New York, and in no case has there been evidence of the increase of diseases like diphtheria, measles and scarlet fever in consequence of the dis- continuance of room fumigation."
Postural Defects.
Twenty-four cases of spinal-curvature are reported this year, and these are only a very small proportion of what a more search- ing examination would show. Dr. Champion, State District Health Officer, says that it has been found that 30 to 40 of all children above the fifth grade have spinal curvature. The cases reported here are the obvious ones, and they are all of the so-called postural kind which might be prevented. This defect makes children appear one sided, with one shoulder higher than the other, or they are stoop, or "round" shouldered with protrud- ing shoulder blades, flat chest and chin thrust forward.
1
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Stoop shoulders, a condition which can be corrected if taken in time.
Postural curvature of the spine, also can be corrected.
The cause of these abnormal attitudes is sometimes to be found in a poorly nourished body which does not have sufficient vitality to hold itself in a proper position. Unfortunately school life has a well recognized tendency to produce defects of this sort, as noted by many authorities, so that every means at our disposal should be employed to obviate so far as possible the ill effects. The type of desk in use encourages stooping because the top is too flat, and it is too far in front of the pupil, but it is the only one available at present. Careful adjustment of desks and chairs to the requirements of each child, good light, fresh air and frequent breaks in the desk work do much to minimize the harm.
A simple strap put on back of the neck, carried forward over the shoulders, back under the arms and strapped across the back, is recommended by Dr. Lucien Howe of Chicago, as beneficial in the correction of stoop shoulders, and will be tried in suitable cases.
A class has been formed at one of the larger schools under the direction of the School Physician for the correction of defects of this sort, and although it is too early to say much about results, appearances are certainly encouraging. The children are inter- ested and take pride in their improved appearance, for a certain
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amount of improvement is immediate when their faults are ex- plained to them and they are shown how to correct them.
The corrective exercises used are arranged in two groups as follows :
GROUP 1.
Position !
Hands on hips. Move !
Head, Bend-backward
Move ! Place !
Head, Bend-forward
Move !
Place !
Head, Bend-right
Move ! Place !
Head, Bend-left
Move ! Place !
Head, Turn-right
Move !
Place !
Head, Turn-left
Move !
Place !
Head, Circle-right
Move !
Head, Circle-left
Move !
Position !
Hands on hips. Move !
Body, Bend-backwards
Move ! Place !
Body, Bend-forward
Move !
Place !
Body, Bend-right
Move ! Place !
Body, Bend-left
Move ! Place !
Body, Twist- right
Move !
Place !
Body, Twist-left
Move !
Place !
Body, Circle-right
Move !
Body, Circle-left
Move !
Position !
Arms circle, body bend-Move !
Rest !
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GROUP 2
Position !
Arms
1
Forward Move !
Arms 2 Backward
Move !
Arms 3 Upward
Move !
Arms 4 Position !
(Repeat numerically 5 times)
Hands on back,
Move !
(Thumbs should
touch at back)
Elbows, backward
Move! Place !
(Repeat numerically 10 times )
Position !
Breathe. Arms upward,
Move ! Place !
(Repeat 5 times)
It is the design of the first group to loosen up the spinal col- umn by bending and twisting exercises, and of the second group to give a permanent proper position by suitable setting up exer- cises.
SCHOOL NURSE.
Report for the year 1915.
Number of visits to homes 533
Number of visits to schools 605
Contagious diseases found in schools 73
Contagious diseases found in homes
Cases treated in schools 1148
Referred to physicians 44
Number of inspections of children 6730
Operated for enlarged tonsils and adenoids 14
Eight of these cases were treated at the Boston Homeopathic Hospital, and six at the Jordan Hospital at a minimum cost,
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physicians having given their services in each case. Other physicians have also kindly given their services in eye, ear, and other diseases.
Signed, SUSIE MACDONALD, R. N.
It will be noted that Miss Macdonald reports 14 children op- erated for enlarged tonsils and adenoids. This does not mean that there were no more needy cases that required attention, for there are a great many such cases desperately in need of relief, but the lack of funds makes it impossible to do more toward removing the terrible handicap against which so many children are struggling.
The following chart will give some idea of the number of chil- dren in the public schools who have enlarged tonsils.
350
325
300
279
250
225
200
PUPILS.
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
I
T I
IT
TX
P.H.S.
GRADE.
Chart showing the number of children in the public schools of Plymouth in 1915, having enlarged tonsils.
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The columns represent the number of children in the various grades during the past year and the dark portion of the column shows the proportion of children in those grades who have en- larged tonsils. One hundred and fifteen children have enor- mously enlarged tonsils, in some cases nearly touching each other so that one wonders how the child can swallow solid food. Diphtheria is more likely to be fatal to children affected in this way. They are constant sufferers from colds, catarrh and sore throat, and are subject to earaches which result in more or less permanent impairment of hearing, and frequently a foul dis- charge from the ears.
Of what use is it to discover these conditions if we cannot help them ? Any individual or organization wishing to con- tribute toward the relief of children whose parents are unable to provide suitable treatment for them, will communicate with. the School Nurse or School Physician, and every effort will be made to see that any money contributed for this purpose is ju- dicially expended. There is a vast amount of work connected with getting these children cared for. After they have been discovered, the parents must be seen and tactfully brought to ap- preciate the seriousness of the defect. This alone is seldom easy and often impossible, even after months of patient pleading. Then an effort is made to get the mother's consent to let the child go to the hospital. If successful, arrangements must be made
with the hospital to receive the patient. It often happens that when the hospital is ready, the mother has changed her mind, and the whole process must be gone over again. Finally the child must be taken to the hospital and left there, and when sufficiently recovered, brought back to the anxiously awaiting mother. All this work will be cheerfully done if transportation and hospital charges can be met in some way.
Many children with diseases and defects of the eye and ear, whose parents are unable to pay for treatment, are referred to the School Physician by the School Nurse and his office is open on Saturday mornings at 9.00 o'clock for them. During the
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past year 138 such treatments have been given. There is urgent need of a place where needy children can receive general medical treatment in the same way.
Fresh Air Room.
In 1904 an open air school for backward children was opened in Charlottenburg, near Berlin. This school was able to dem- onstrate a marked improvement in the children attending it, both mental and physical, and the idea has been spreading until at present such schools are not unusual in this country, and are becoming more popular every day.
The atmosphere in an ordinary schoolroom in winter has about the same percentage of humidity as desert air, and the drier the air the warmer we are told it must be to be comfortable, which quite naturally leads to over-heating. Now dry over heated air has a most disastrous effect on the child. Such air is starving for moisture and finds it in the delicate mucous membrane of the child's nose and throat, leaving it in a dry and unnatural condition. When the child goes out of doors from one of these rooms, the nose and throat, robbed of their protecting secretion, are entirely unprepared for the shock of the cold out- side air, and a congestion follows which in time becomes chronic, resulting in catarrhal processes with all their attendant evils.
"It is a serious matter," says Kingsley, "when a school into which a child is forced actually contributes to his decline. The dull and backward pupil who cannot get his lessons is often kept after school. He has sat for hours at a rigid desk in an unnatural position, in an over-heated room, the over-dry, thirsty air sapping his already wilted system, the windows of the school room never opened because the janitor, the ventilating engineer, and perhaps the teacher, who likes to have the room at 75 or higher, says 'No.'"
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