Southwest High School - Roundup Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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gymnastic lessons the students are given special exercises, with and without the apparatus. The work on the appara- tus, such as the parallel bars, the horse, and the rings, gives physical coordina- tion to the body. Exercises teach bal- ance, and help make the parts of the body work together. Calisthenics in- volves exercises for stretching the mus- cles, developing the posture, and making the body more limber. During the classes in health the purpose of the work in the gymnasium is explained. These talks create a wholesome attitude toward x the subject. 4 , 1 portant part in developing the strong . body of a student by providing some sort of healthful exercise. There are bowling, golf, skating, volley ball, soc- , cer, hiking. gym, archery, and pep clubs, The athletic clubs also play an im- is . . . . E and the many individual sports, includ- Q ing table tennis, badminton, nik nok, shuffleboard, and aerial darts. Some of these provide a milder sort of exercise than others, but the main object is exercising the muscles and organs of the body, and getting out into the fresh air. Some SpOrtS, like golf and archery, also help to develop the judgment of distances and coordination between the hand and the eye. But the main goal to be reached in all the sports and athletics at school is to gain a physically eflicient body. School athletics provides another group of sports which develop a student's body. Under this group come football, baseball, basketball, track. tennis, swimming, and golf. lt is possible to take the stand that particular sports develop particular muscles in the body, for they do to a certain extent. However, it is diflicult to narrow any one sport down to the development of any one set of muscles. Really, when a boy takes part in any athletic event, he not only develops the muscles in his whole body, but also his internal organs: his heart, lungs, liver. kidneys, and his di- gestive organs. An athlete also develops a certain coordination of the mind and the muscles. In a sport like basketball, for instance, where in- stantaneous decisions must often be made, the mind must be alert at all times, and training aids in this development. It might be mentioned once more that a boy participating in ath- v. . -c anna wi Fifteen - X b 9 P l f 9 xx

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WE DEVELOP OUI2 BODIES By RICHARD COHEN As a student goes through his four years at Southwest, his education comprises many different divisions. A main part of this training would natu- rally be the knowledge he obtains. There are, however, other parts to con- sider: his social contacts, his habits formed while attending school, the culti- vation of his mind, his participation in school activities, and, the part to be discussed here, his development of a strong and healthy body. All of these are important in the education of a student at Southwest. Yet someone might ask, Why is the development of a strong body important in a student's education? The answer to this question is indicated in the well known saying A sound mind in a sound body. People once accepted and believed in the equally familiar statement A strong back and a weak mind -that is, that athletes who did develop strong and healthy bodies were not as educated or as intelligent as others: or, on the other hand, that highly intellectual persons were necessarily Weak and frail. That this is a dangerous half truth is a well-known fact. We know now that the mind functions more eficiently in a healthy body than in a sick or weak one. Except in unusual cases, an unhealthy body has a direct effect upon the brain, decreasing its effectiveness and often distorting the individual's outlook on life. Although to develop a healthy body for the sake of a healthy mind is worth while in itself, there are other good reasons for watching one's health. A person who has completed his education with a strong body is fully prepared physically for life later on. One who is hampered by a weak or sickly body is under a distinct handicap all his life, and cannot be as prepared to support himself and others, or to make a success of his work. Even in securing a position, other qualiiications being equal, the applicant who is strong and healthy will have a marked advantage over the unhealthy one: no matter what the work is, he could not do his job as efficiently as his healthy competitor. The pleasure of being the owner of a strong, healthy body cannot be overlooked. It is generally true that healthy people are much happier, and enjoy themselves wherever they are much more than people handicapped by ailing bodies. A strong body makes working pleasant and playing more fun. How do we develop strong bodies at high school? The methods are both numerous and effective. One of the most important ways, since it is required of every student, is the work of the gymna- siumclasses. Generally, gymnasium is divided intotwo categories: the games and the gym- nastic lessons. The games not only exer- cise the muscles and organs of the body and keep the pupil out in the fresh air, but they also involve citizen- ship, the give and take aspect which teaches the pupils to live in harmony with other students. In the Fourteen b o P 9

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leltics learns a great deal about good sportsmanship. Thus these sports develop his character and social instincts in addition to his body. It is of no use, however, to develop a strong body unless one learns to protect it. Safety should not be overlooked in the education of a student, for he will need and use that knowledge all through his life. The number one safety precaution stressed at Southwest is that of fire prevention. Directions for leaving the building are written on the black- board in every room, and t at certain periods through- out each semester fire ,f drills are rehearsed to pre- pare the students for quick action in case a real fire should break out. There is, in addition, a certain week set aside every year called Fire Pre- vention Week. During this time, the rules. the do's and don't's of fire prevention. are espe- cially emphasized to impress them on the minds of the students. A fireman representing the fire department of St. Louis then visits our school and gives us an interesting and educational talk about fire prevention. From all these activities the pupils learn about fire and its hazards, and they should retain this knowledge all their lives. X, The drivers training course taught at Southwest is another important source of education about safety. This subject meets a real need for statistics prove that the death rate from automobile accidents is higher among high school and college students, between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four, than at any other age. Drivers training teaches safe driv- ing practices, traflic rules and regulations, and develops the proper attitude toward traffic conditions. The Board of Education provides a woman doctor for the girls and a male doctor for the boys, and a nurse for both. They are at the school to give first aid to anyone injured while attending or coming to school. The doctors and nurse instruct individual cases, and may give advice to the people they treat. All can- didates for any athletics are examined by the doctor to see that they are physically fit. In general, we are all cautioned to avoid contagious diseases, to take protec- tion against possibilities of rabies or teta- nus Clockjawj, and to be vaccinated against smallpox and diphtheria. Thus we are trained at Southwest to care for our bodies for their own sake and because our health has a direct affect on our minds. Sixteen .. if. Hg .jj is .31 5