Spiritual_Wellness_Holistic_Health_and_the_Practic

Historical Development of School Health Programs 121
and other school personnel came in daily contact with the students, any abnormal
health condition that they might have would be detrimental to the health of the pupils.
Many school systems therefore took steps to protect the health of students by giving
all new teachers and other employees pre - employment examinations, yearly tuberculosis
checkups, and in some instances, yearly physical examinations.
Wholesome teacher - pupil and staff relationships were also stressed at this time. It
became increasingly recognized that the mental health of students as well as school
employees was greatly affected by the human relationships that existed within the
schools. The results of the Lewin experiments with autocratic, laissez - faire, and
democratic groups, and the Hawthorne industrial studies convinced educators that the
mental health of students and school personnel could best be maintained when a democratic
atmosphere and democratic leadership were provided. (For an excellent review
of these experiments, read James A. Brown, The Social Psychology of Industry:
Human Relations in the Factory [Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1954], 69 – 96,
219 – 244.)
Educators also recognized that the mental and physical health of children were
greatly affected by the educational program to which they were exposed. Providing
educational programs that did not meet the needs of children, were too burdensome,
or were no challenge to the abilities of children was considered to be detrimental to
the health of all pupils. School authorities therefore tried to provide educational
programs that were conducive to good health. Many schools began to revise their curriculums
and teaching loads so that they would not be detrimental to the health of the
pupils as well as the teachers. Several schools began to develop modified programs in
order to meet the needs of handicapped children, mentally retarded children, and
exceptionally brilliant children (the term used to designate this program is now known
as Special Education). All of these new developments led to the introduction of a new
term to describe this phase of the school health program. The term “ healthful school
living, ” being broader in scope than the term “ school hygiene, ” is now used to describe
this phase of the program.
HEALTH EDUCATION
The health education phase of the school health program, which consists primarily of
health and safety instruction, had its conception during the second half of the nineteenth
century. Horace Mann indicated the need for health instruction in the public
schools in the year 1842 (Turner, 1939, p. 9). Physicians were also active in advocating
the teaching of physiology in the public schools at this time. Elementary facts of
physiology were combined to form textbooks which were used to teach the subject in
many of the public schools throughout the country (Rice & Hutchison, 1952, p. 247).
“ Hygiene ” was the name that was given to this new subject. Between 1850 and 1880
physiology was the main topic that was discussed in hygiene courses. It wasn ’ t until
after 1880 that the interest in teaching health in the public schools really began to