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THE HOUSE I LIVE IN John F. Ohles, Ed.D. John 1;: Ohles, EdD., Pmfmor of Secondary Education, Kent State University, Kent, Ohia Two books bearing the title, The House I Live In, were published in the 18008 to educate children in the human body and personal health. Both presentations sought to bring a complex subject to a child’s level of comprehension and each supported textual material with illustrations. But the two books were greater in their differences than in their similarities, for William A. Alcott’s edition of 1834 contained 264 pages of detailed instruction while Eli F. Brown published a simplified discussion of 106 pages in 1888. William Andrus Alcott (1798-1859), a cousin of Bronson Alcott, was a physician who took an active leadership role as a pioneer in the field of physical education. Among his writings were guides to young husbands, wives, and mothers, and a two-volume The Mom1 Reformer, which discussed health and moral aspects of physical education. In The House I Live In, Alcott continued through 12 chapters the analogy of the body as a house. Foot, leg and thigh bones are pillars of the house; hip bones are sills; ribs, spine, shoulders, and arms provide the framework of the body of the house; the skull is the cupola, and the hip joints are hinges of the house. Muscles cover the house; skin becomes boards and shingles; eyes are windows; and ears, nose, and mouth are doors. Internal cavities are apartments, and organs and nervous system are furniture. There are 30 engravings illustrating Alcott’s “house” including skeletons walking and kneeling in prayer and a comparison of two sets of chest bones: one normal and the other distorted through tight lacing of corsets. Health suggestions are interspersed in the text recommending proper rinsing of the teeth after eating and daily washing of the skin. Proper ventilation is discussed and tight lacing of every kind is to be avoided. The engraving of the praying skeleton fits in well with frequent references throughout the book to “the great Creator.” Alcott’s writing and examples are simply stated and easily read but he does include in the content technical names and terms, each carefully explained. Many engravings serve to illustrate THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH
substance of the content and are important aids to understanding facts about the body. Eli F. Brown’s The House I Live In was one of a series of three books published by the American Book Company. The rest of the series were more advanced books: The Youth’s Temperance Manual for intermediate grades and The Eclectic Physiology for secondary schools. Despite his writings, Brown has remained an obscure figure excluded from standard biographical references. Brown does not hold as closely to the house analogy as does Alcott. His presentation is less comprehensive, does not use technical terms, and includes many simple examples. The eight chapters discuss food and drink, skeletal structure, muscles, skin, blood, breathing, and the brain and nerves. The book includes a number of illustrations as well as plates depicting basic physiological systems. The illustrations vary from a crying child on a mother’s lap to the practice of tying the feet of women in China. Credit was given to Mrs. Mary H. Hunt of the National Women’s Christian Temperance Union for assistance in preparation of the book. Her aid is particularly evident in a chapter on alcohol and alcoholic drinks as well as frequent mention of the harmful effects of alcohol in the text. Review questions and answers are provided a t the end of each chapter; 27 notes at the end of the book provide instructional suggestions for teachers. The two books with the same title exemplify important developments in the instruction of health and physiology. In the 1830~1, William A Alcott was pioneering in exbnding instruction in personal hygiene to the masses a t an early age. Alcott looked “forward to the period as not very distant, when a knowledge of the physical nature of man will be as generally taught to every individual of the whole race, as arithmetic and geography are now, and will be universally found in our schools.” Fifty years later the place of health and personal hygiene was established in the schools and different levels of knowledge had been provided for in a series of graded texts. The second The House I Live In was sketchy in content and simplified in presentation. In his preface Brown stated, “In these lessons for small children, simple words are used, 35
and only such facts about the structure of the body and the functions of the organs presented, as are necessary for the proper understanding of the effects of alcoholic drinks and other narcotics and the general laws of health.” Brown relied on instruction in the two more advanced books in the series for indepth instruction. He was responding to the growing role of the school in attacking social problems through teaching about the dangers of alcohol. Most importantly, the growing influence of the child study movement was reflected in Brown’s concern that learning should be an interesting experience to children as he resorted to use of stories in the text
and to both instructive and decorative pictures and illustrations. Instruction in health and physiology today has come a long way since William Alcott dared to write a physiology text for children and Eli Brown crusaded against alcohol. Surely, they would not be prepared for present concerns about placement and content of sex or drug education but, as certainly, they would recognize their roles in the evolutionary process. The author is John li: Ohles, EdD., Professor of Secondary Education, College of Education, Education Build& Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242.
HISTORICAL NOTES* During the last half century enormous progress has been made in the School Health Program. In fact, during that fifty years it has grown from almost nothing. School health workers and school health administrators are to be congratulated in this great advancement in the field of health for children. Lest we become too puffed up with our success and too complacent, the following is reprinted as a part of this editorial from the record and writing of Dr.William Andrus Alcott, born 1789, died 1859. Teacher, physician, writer, lecturer, publisher, Apostle of Health in, and through, schools: Author: In 1831 wrote prize essay on “Construction of School Houses.” Other publications: “The House I Live In.” 1834; “Health in Common Schools.” 1840; “Laws of Health.” 1858. Below is a quotation from “Health in Common Schools,” published in 1840. It foresees and hopes for a program that we are still hoping for, although much of it has become a definite part of our purpose, and some of it has been attained. ‘This editorial appeared in the October 1952 h u e (Vol. XXII, No. 8) of THE J O U R W OF SCHOOL HEALTH - ed
36
JANUARY 1976 VOLUME XLVl NO. 1
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THE HOUSE I LIVE IN John F. Ohles, Ed.D. John 1;: Ohles, EdD., Pmfmor of Secondary Education, Kent State University, Kent, Ohia Two books bearing the title, The House I Live In, were published in the 18008 to educate children in the human body and personal health. Both presentations sought to bring a complex subject to a child’s level of comprehension and each supported textual material with illustrations. But the two books were greater in their differences than in their similarities, for William A. Alcott’s edition of 1834 contained 264 pages of detailed instruction while Eli F. Brown published a simplified discussion of 106 pages in 1888. William Andrus Alcott (1798-1859), a cousin of Bronson Alcott, was a physician who took an active leadership role as a pioneer in the field of physical education. Among his writings were guides to young husbands, wives, and mothers, and a two-volume The Mom1 Reformer, which discussed health and moral aspects of physical education. In The House I Live In, Alcott continued through 12 chapters the analogy of the body as a house. Foot, leg and thigh bones are pillars of the house; hip bones are sills; ribs, spine, shoulders, and arms provide the framework of the body of the house; the skull is the cupola, and the hip joints are hinges of the house. Muscles cover the house; skin becomes boards and shingles; eyes are windows; and ears, nose, and mouth are doors. Internal cavities are apartments, and organs and nervous system are furniture. There are 30 engravings illustrating Alcott’s “house” including skeletons walking and kneeling in prayer and a comparison of two sets of chest bones: one normal and the other distorted through tight lacing of corsets. Health suggestions are interspersed in the text recommending proper rinsing of the teeth after eating and daily washing of the skin. Proper ventilation is discussed and tight lacing of every kind is to be avoided. The engraving of the praying skeleton fits in well with frequent references throughout the book to “the great Creator.” Alcott’s writing and examples are simply stated and easily read but he does include in the content technical names and terms, each carefully explained. Many engravings serve to illustrate THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH
substance of the content and are important aids to understanding facts about the body. Eli F. Brown’s The House I Live In was one of a series of three books published by the American Book Company. The rest of the series were more advanced books: The Youth’s Temperance Manual for intermediate grades and The Eclectic Physiology for secondary schools. Despite his writings, Brown has remained an obscure figure excluded from standard biographical references. Brown does not hold as closely to the house analogy as does Alcott. His presentation is less comprehensive, does not use technical terms, and includes many simple examples. The eight chapters discuss food and drink, skeletal structure, muscles, skin, blood, breathing, and the brain and nerves. The book includes a number of illustrations as well as plates depicting basic physiological systems. The illustrations vary from a crying child on a mother’s lap to the practice of tying the feet of women in China. Credit was given to Mrs. Mary H. Hunt of the National Women’s Christian Temperance Union for assistance in preparation of the book. Her aid is particularly evident in a chapter on alcohol and alcoholic drinks as well as frequent mention of the harmful effects of alcohol in the text. Review questions and answers are provided a t the end of each chapter; 27 notes at the end of the book provide instructional suggestions for teachers. The two books with the same title exemplify important developments in the instruction of health and physiology. In the 1830~1, William A Alcott was pioneering in exbnding instruction in personal hygiene to the masses a t an early age. Alcott looked “forward to the period as not very distant, when a knowledge of the physical nature of man will be as generally taught to every individual of the whole race, as arithmetic and geography are now, and will be universally found in our schools.” Fifty years later the place of health and personal hygiene was established in the schools and different levels of knowledge had been provided for in a series of graded texts. The second The House I Live In was sketchy in content and simplified in presentation. In his preface Brown stated, “In these lessons for small children, simple words are used, 35
and only such facts about the structure of the body and the functions of the organs presented, as are necessary for the proper understanding of the effects of alcoholic drinks and other narcotics and the general laws of health.” Brown relied on instruction in the two more advanced books in the series for indepth instruction. He was responding to the growing role of the school in attacking social problems through teaching about the dangers of alcohol. Most importantly, the growing influence of the child study movement was reflected in Brown’s concern that learning should be an interesting experience to children as he resorted to use of stories in the text
and to both instructive and decorative pictures and illustrations. Instruction in health and physiology today has come a long way since William Alcott dared to write a physiology text for children and Eli Brown crusaded against alcohol. Surely, they would not be prepared for present concerns about placement and content of sex or drug education but, as certainly, they would recognize their roles in the evolutionary process. The author is John li: Ohles, EdD., Professor of Secondary Education, College of Education, Education Build& Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242.
HISTORICAL NOTES* During the last half century enormous progress has been made in the School Health Program. In fact, during that fifty years it has grown from almost nothing. School health workers and school health administrators are to be congratulated in this great advancement in the field of health for children. Lest we become too puffed up with our success and too complacent, the following is reprinted as a part of this editorial from the record and writing of Dr.William Andrus Alcott, born 1789, died 1859. Teacher, physician, writer, lecturer, publisher, Apostle of Health in, and through, schools: Author: In 1831 wrote prize essay on “Construction of School Houses.” Other publications: “The House I Live In.” 1834; “Health in Common Schools.” 1840; “Laws of Health.” 1858. Below is a quotation from “Health in Common Schools,” published in 1840. It foresees and hopes for a program that we are still hoping for, although much of it has become a definite part of our purpose, and some of it has been attained. ‘This editorial appeared in the October 1952 h u e (Vol. XXII, No. 8) of THE J O U R W OF SCHOOL HEALTH - ed
36
JANUARY 1976 VOLUME XLVl NO. 1
