University of Southern Mississippi - Southerner Yearbook (Hattiesburg, MS)

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. llgrnprr Nnuriahmrni fur Svrhnnl i Glhilhrrn KATE FULLER FORREST COUNTY NE of the foremost questions which confront the parents and teachers of school children is that of proper nourishment. It is a serious mistake to send a child to school whose body is not properly nourished. Education from the physical standpoint should be considered bofore the intellectual side is even thought of. The child should be in the best physical condition possible in order to receive any intellectual instruction given him. A poorly nourished child is stupid and irritable. As a result of such a condition the child either has to remain in school from two to four years longer than he should or else he falls by the wayside and takes his place with those who never finish. ' It is often the case that the child is given enough to satisfy his appetite or perhaps he is given too much to eat, but the food he gets may not be what the grow- ing body demands. The body needs food to build muscles and tissues and give heat and energy. In order to perform these functions, the meal should be balanced-it should contain the right percentage of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Proteins, or tissue-building foods, are such as meat, fish, milk, eggs, butter, cheese, etc. Carbohydrates, which give heat and energy, are starches and sugars. Fats, which also give heat and energy, are animal fats, and vegetable fats, as olive oil and cotton seed oil. From this one may readily see that the growing body needs all three constituents. If the child gets only carbohydrates and fats how are the muscles to be developed? If he gets only proteins how will the tissues be built up? In the struggle for existence it is the same with the human family as the animal-only the fittest survive. In the present generation, the demand is greater than ever before that the child have a fair start in life. Parents and teachers, this responsibility lies in our hands-it is wholly within our power to see that the young growing body has the proper nourishment so that the child will be physically able to compete and win the battles of life. Below is given a suggestive balanced diet that it will be well for us to study. It is not intended that this diet should be followed strictly, but something like it will afford a splendid nourishment for school children. And all of these things can be grown at home on the farm and in the garden. BREAKFAST DINNER Fruit lfigs or peachesl Cream Cream of Tomato Soup Eggs or Meat Peas or Beans Rice Mashed Potatoes Biscuit Grits and Gravy Toast Bread Butter Milk Milk Turnips, Cabbage or Spinach SUPPER Soft Eggs Bread or Toast Grits Butter Milk KATE FULLER

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iixvrrinr ani! llvrrwiinn in this ' Glnuntg Svrhnnl BLISS FAIRLEY FORREST COUNTY I I HE country affords the natural playground for the child. There is plenty of room, air and freedom. But play, like other school work, needs to be learned. Rural children do not know how to play and they should be directed and guid- ed by the teacher. ' The use of play and exercise in the rural schools is vastly more important than the majority of the people realize. This phase of training is often-times neg- lected, because we assume that the desired exercise and play is taken without being planned and provided for on the school-grounds. This supposition is a great mistake, since the town and city children as a general rule take more exercise than the rural children, during the scholastic months. The former children are taught how to play, and playing apparatus is provided for them. They are also required to take a certain amount of exercise every day. Urge the students to design and make articles that can be used in the home, and you will find that once you get them started, it will serve a threefold purpose namelyg recreation, exercise, and service. The fact that hand work of students can be of some service, is a great incentive in favor of this form of training. Simple pieces of furniture, rugs, baskets, embroidery, etc., are some of the many articles that rural teachers can have made. These afford an effective means of exercise and recreation, since they are a diversion from the regular routine of work. Lectures, concerts, and libraries can also be used for their recreative value. The apparatus is a thing that should be taken into consideration. The swing is a common piece of apparatus for the play of younger children. If carefully managed, it will be of little danger. Although the see-saw does not secure much physical exercise for the child it will give him great pleasure and should not be con- demned. The horizontal bars should have a place in the equipment. Even the grown boys have a desire to show their muscular strength. A base-ball diamond should be permanently laid out on the school-ground. Basket-ball is a favorite game with both girls and boys, and the basket-ball court may well form a part of the equip- ment of the school-ground. Volley ball is another game that should have a place on the play-ground. It demands constant activity and accuracy of judgment. There are many other games that could be used in the rural schools. Such as: Have You Seen my Sheep? Drop the Handkerchief, Hide and Seek, Hawk and Chickens, gSheperdess and Wolf, Tag, Stealing Sticks, Dare Base, and Rolling the oop. Let us URGE you to investigate the matter of exercise and recreation at once, and be prepared to supervise some form of exercise, which is so essential to the welfare of the students that have been intrusted to your care. BLISS FAIRLEY.

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- El1nprnurn1ent nf Uhr Glnnntrg Bums NINA HARDESTY FORREST COUNTY A N Y different factors are at Work for the betterment of the rural school and the church, but the rural home seems to some extent to have been neglect- ed. Movements for the improvement of rural conditions must start with the home. It is the center of influenceg the basic unit of all government. The for- mative period of the child's existence is in the home, hence its importance in shaping his ideals for life. As a healthy body is necessory to a healthy mind, the child's environment must be such as to insure this result. The home should be hygienic, sanitary and attractive. The house is not the home until it is clean and beautiful, it is simply a shelter. How many of our so called homes are mere shelters? unattractive, dirty, unsanitary places when a little time and labor would change all. The sanitary home Will not permit the entrance of flies and mosquitos. The house must be screened, and the farmer in a little time can do his own screening at a very small expense. Another necessity is a good system of Water-Works and sewer- age, vvhich will solve many questions of sanitation. These may be had in every rural home at moderate expense, and Will mean a saving in loss of time due to sickness. If a farmer can afford money for farm machinery and like improvements, he certainly ought to be Willing to provide these things to keep his family and himself in good health. Hookworm, typhoid, malaria, and like diseases, which keep people from regular Work for months, would hardly be heard of, if all the farms had perfect sani- tary conditions. Added to these should be a conveniently arranged interior equipped with labor-saving devices for the elimination of drudgery of the farm Woman, thereby leaving her leisure time for increasing the attractiveness of the home. Now, if We place in this home a Woman educated for home-making with training in household management, care and feeding of children, a knowledge of food values and scientific preparation, and an appreciation of the beautiful, we have in- deed advanced the humble farmhouse from a mere shelter to the dignity of a home. NINA HARDESTY.