SWEDISH BRILL FOR

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1969, 28 January 1914, Page 3

SWEDISH BRILL FOR

:: SUSS LARSEN'S W)RK...^- : TEACHING THE LADY TEACHERS. '' Ah enthusiast in jW work is Miss Larson, wiio is at present iiistriicting ;i class of lady tcachors in .Swedish estvcises, ni. accordanco with the sylliiims laid doivu b.v'the I'h.vsical ■ Education Uopartmont. The class was opiMiud nil Saturday work last, at l'eton'c, but later moved in to tho South WoHin«ton school. Somo LH lady teael'.<irs i'rom nolliugtuii and Wellington district schools aro attending, and have received . practical and theoretical instruction. .Iho class breaks up to-day, and tho teachers who havo bnen in attendance will be. qualified to pass on the instruction to somo 1300 girls attending tho , scuools. Speaking to a reporter .yesterday. Miss Larson stated that tho ladies had dono very welt, and had taken n great interest in tho work. They liked" tho system of instruction, and wero apparently enjoying tho opportunity of attending tho class. In response to a question, Miss Larsen stated that naturally the. school f;irls in New Zealand wero. not as proficient in physical drill as wore the girls in Sweden,'wlioro the instruction had 'hcwi carried on. for .years. Sliss Larson herself comes from Denmark, wliew) she (jnalihod as a teacher of tho Swedish drill, and she is able to speak with authority on tho subject. Undoubted benefits, eho/says, Imvo re- . suited in tho national physique by systematic instruction in these exereiaes. This was particularly noticeable with, regard to certain complaints with which children in other countries suffered. In Denmark there was hardly a case of spinal curvature in children) while udenoids were almost unknown. The. exercises which- it uas intended to teach tho Now Zealand girls featured correct breathing, and this made the child far less liable to suffer from adonoida. Tho instruction was the same for girls as for boys, for it was recognised that, tho girls had been too lon£ neglected. Both the- girls and the teachers had proved quick scholars, continued Miss Lavacn, and rapid strides had boon made in Auckland during the periocl of instruction in that city. In Wellington, during the short timo which had been devoted to lessons, great progress had. also been made, and the experiences of tho teachers at the classes would be beneficial in influencing larger attendances at iuttiro camps. In response to an invitation from Miss Larsen, tho reporter was introduced to tho class of teachers, who wc-re for the moment resting from the exercises. Tho instruction, is being Riven in the largo hall at South AVollington School—a building which affords ample, room for the work. Tho teachers have all adopted tho serviceable costumo laid flown hy the Department as being, necessary for instructional purposes, and, in no case, has there been, any objection to it. All the teachers spoken to emphatically praised tho system. '■.