Dr. Gulick Says Work and Play Should Come in Turn 1905
Dr. Gulick Favors Frequent Periods of Rest.
Dancing as an Educator
Value of Rhythm Is Emphasized by Speakers at Convention of Physical Culturists.

If the physical culture experts, now in convention at Teachers College, Columbia University, are correct, the art of dancing is about as important a feature of physical education as any other.

“Rhythm and Education” was the subject of the opening address of Luther Halsey Gulick, President of the American Physical Education Association. Dr. Dudley Allen Sargent of Harvard spoke on “Useful Dancing from the Physical Training Standpoint.” “Does Training in Dancing Contribute to General Grace of Carriage and Posture” was answered in the affirmative by Elizabeth Burchenql of the Teachers College.

Tonight Charles Farnsworth of Teachers College will talk on “Bodily Rhythm and the Joy of Living.” There are rumors that the talk will be illustrated by dancers. Then there is going to be the “weaving dance,” performed in Sweden at harvesting time, and a quadrille from the Island of Gothland, Sweden. These two dances will be given by the seniors of the New York Normal School of Physical Education. Admission will be by ticket only.

In his talk yesterday morning Dr. Gulick insisted on alternate periods of rest and activity in life. Continuous work fatigues the brain cells, said he, and periods of rest should be followed by periods of intense activity. Teachers of dancing should proceed from simple folk-dancing to the modern variety, based on a single movement.

Later in the day Dr. Gulick described his scheme of what he calls “applied hygiene.” This means compelling dirty school children to wear clean collars and clean shirts and making them take baths occasionally. This “applied hygiene” is already playing a big part in the public school curriculum, says Dr. Gulick. Manuel Haugh elaborated on the departure:

“We are getting along in this ‘applied hygiene,’” said he. “And we’re beginning to make the children on the east side see it’s a good thing to keep themselves clean. The conditions in New York are different from those anywhere else. The majority of the boys on the lower east side come to school—well, very dirty.

“Lots of the children are taught that anything is good enough to go to school in. They don’t care what they wear to school or how dirty they are. Since we’ve had this department of ‘applied hygiene’ there’s been a change. We give them marks according to how clean they keep themselves, making it just as important to be clean as to do well in other directions.”

Prof. Frank Boaz of Columbia University spoke on “The Significance of Epochs in Growth and Development.” He made a chart on the blackboard representing the results of many years’ investigations. The chart showed at what age the average persons reached certain stages of development.

Forty-four and a half years was put down as the point at which the first approach of .senility is noticed, though Prof. Boaz is not meaning to exploit any Osler theory. The age varies greatly with different persons.

In his talk on dancing Dr. Dudley Allen Sargent, Director of the Hemenway Gymnasium at Harvard, urged, as did Dr. Gulick, the immense importance of rhythm.

“It relieves the strain of work,” he said, “by making movement automatic, and does away with weariness.”

As men preferred to take most of their exercise in the form of social dancing, he said, many of the gymnasiums had introduced dancing to attract students.

“Dancing is based on the pantomime arts,” said Miss Elizabeth Burchenal, “and should properly take in a flowing movement of the entire body and all the limbs. Grace is ease, an idea not very different from beauty. It is associated with greyhounds, not hippopotami.”

Miss Caroline Crawford spoke on “Physical Education and the Arts of Movement.” and Miss Mary E. Conner on “Theory of Education and Physical Education.” The afternoon session of the convention was largely given up to the consideration of giving marks for proficiency in physical education. Dr. Paul C. Phillips of Amherst, who was one of the prime movers in this direction, gave the results of his work and told how it was managed at Amherst.

“A man’s digestion has a good deal to do with how he does at college,” he said, “but you don’t want to give a man marks for the food he eats.”