EYE-STRAIN IN SCHOOLS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1789, 14 February 1918, Page 2

EYE-STRAIN IN SCHOOLS.

DEFECTIVE SIGHT OF CHILDREN.

Auckland, Feb. 13,

The question of the defective sight of children attending the primary schools was the subject of a report submitted to the Board of Education by Dr. Elizabeth MacDonald. Dr MacDonald said: —

“There appears to be no doubt that defects in eyesight are increasing amongst children attending the primary schools, and it appears from the somewhat, scanty investigations already made by the medical inspectors in New Zealand that these defects increase as the children proceed from Standard I. upwards to Standard VI. It is therefore natural to conclude that, the conditions under which children use their eyes during these years have some direct bearing on the production of defects of eyesight. School conditions must bear part of the blame. The increasing attendances at picture shows probably is another important factor, especially where children under ten, whose eyes are very immature, attend such shows frequently.” Dr MacDonald expressed the opinion that working so much on glazed white paper is probably not a factor in the production of defects, unless the paper used is so highly glazed as to be dazzling in some degree. Many class-rooms are wrongly and ineliiciently lit, and this fact, in her opinion, was the greatest single factor in the production of sight defects. Dr MacDonald recommended that children in Standard I. be taught to write midway between heavy guiding lines, thus making it a matter of muscular and nervous co-ordina-tion rather than purely depending on eyesight for accuracy. The report also suggested that children in the lower standards might profitably be taught knitting and not sewing, as it, trained the hands to fine movements without eye strain.