Window Glass

1. Clear glass in all windows, or

2. Glass blocks directing light toward ceiling in panes above head level, clear in lower panes Daylight Controls (Needed to improve quality of illumination by diffusing and directing light rays and by providing protection irom glare and excessive brightness)

1. Available for all windows exposed to direct sunlight or glare from sky

2. If provided by shades:

(a) Two shades for each window, one to pull up, the other down-mounted on rollers placed at or near center of windows with shield between to prevent streaks of light

(b) One shade at middle and one at bottom of window, both operating upward (c) Neutral, light color

(d) Translucent, unfilled, durable material that will not crack

(e) Wide enough to prevent streaks of light at sides

3. May be provided by other means such as:

(a) Vertical louvers, located at window panes above eye level and so placed as to shield field of vision from sun or sky brightness by directing light toward front of room

(b) Diffusing glass screen, placed at upper portion of window and at 45° angle to it, to direct light toward ceiling and thence into the interior of the room

(c) Other devices—e. g., venetian blinds-provided they improve diffusion and distribution of light without introducing undesirable features such as glare or marked decrease in quantity of light

(NOTE: Where light from upper panes is controlled by means other than shades, shades are needed for bottom panes only.)

ARTIFICIAL ILLUMINATION

The choice between incandescent and fluorescent systems is usually one. of economics rather than of quality. Both systems, when properly installed and utilized, will meet accepted standards if they have the characteristics listed below:

1. Artificial light available wherever light may fall below minimum requirements at any time during period room is in use

2. Fixtures

(a) Indirect type (directing all light toward ceiling) with luminous or light-colored opaque bowls to reduce brightness contrast with ceiling, or

(b) Semi-indirect type (directing more light toward ceiling than downward)

3. All bare lamps concealed from view by:

(a) Diffusing glass or plastic covering, or

(b) Baffles, or louvers, which cut off view of lamps (i. e., no lamps visible to least

favorably seated child within 45° angle from horizontal line of vision)

4. All units placed against very light background, to reduce brightness differences between luminaries and their immediate surroundings

5. Size, spacing, and suspension of units such that there are:

(a) No noticeable spots of light and shadow on the ceiling, and

(b) No marked variations in quantity of light on work places in various parts of room, and

(c) No strong shadows cast on work by hand or work equipment to interfere with

clear vision

6. Wiring and switch arrangements which permit separate turning on and off of lights on the darker portions of the room

QUANTITY OF ILLUMINATION

1. Minimum lighting levels at work areas (desks, tables, chalkboards, etc.) which meet standards recommended for the type of visual work performed in the room or area. 2. Levels of illumination as recommended actually maintained at all times room is in use, through:

(a) Artificial illumination available when needed to supplement and equalize illumination within room

(b) Maintenance adequate to keep light levels up to standard

Day-School Classes for Blind Children

Special day school classes for blind children in public schools are practical only in the large cities. For blind children in smaller communities, other arrangements such as boarding homes, placement in residential schools, or under some circumstances through adjustment in regular classes. Chicago, which was the first city in the United States to provide Braille day-school classes now has 70 children enrolled. Other school systems that have numbers of children in Braille classes are New York, Cleveland, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

The classroom.-The Braille classroom in a day school is a homeroom for blind children usually in a regular school building. Even though the enrollment is small in such classes, the room should be at least of standard size or larger. Large classroom space is needed for several reasons. One of these is for the psychological value to children. The blind child has to learn to move about. He will be encouraged to do so without fear if the room affords unobstructed space. Space in the classroom is also needed for special equipment, such as typewriters, ediphones, Braille books, talking books, 3-dimensional models, or other teaching or communication aids. Where there are blind children, all of this equipment must be out of the path of movement of the child. It must also be kept systematically on shelves and in cabinets, labeled in Braille so the children can select equipment without the assistance of the teacher. There should be corners in the room for reading and for using the talking book. Electrical wall outlets should be arranged so that the equipment can be connected without leaving electric extension cords which might endanger the safety of the children.

Blind children usually can succeed in regular classes only if they have acquired Braille and if they are under specialized supervision.

Courtesy, New York Institute for the Education of the Blind

A blind child must learn to move about freely and without fear. Spacious classrooms help to make this possible.

ADJUSTMENTS FOR

CHILDREN WITH IMPAIRED HEARING

In this section, the term impaired hearing (a term which covers the range of hearing losses) is used without attempting to define categories, such as the deaf and the severely hard-of-hearing. Deaf children, and in some cases children classified as severely hard-of-hearing, are educated in special classes. Hard-of-hearing children with less serious handicaps are usually educated in regular classes, but most of them need the special services of lip-reading and speech-correction teachers. More will be said

on page 23 concerning the special services and school-building needs of these hard-of-hearing children.

The child with seriously impaired hearing has much to overcome, and he should be in school surroundings which make it as easy as possible for him to learn. He may have some residual hearing or he may be so handicapped as to have no usable hearing. In either instance, he must have, particularly in his early life, a specialized educational program. He needs the help of trained personnel who can give him technical assistance in learning lip reading and in developing speech. He needs also the best in mechanical hearing aids and acoustic conditions. The principal of one school for the deaf says "All we want for the child with

The talking book is an example of special equipment needed by children with visual handicaps for which classroom and storage space should be available.

impaired hearing is the same opportunity as for the normal child. If he is to have a fair chance-an even chance with other children-the schools must provide extra and special services for him."

Children who are deaf or severely hard-of-hearing may well begin their schooling in nursery schools or kindergartens. Increasingly, the larger school systems are providing classes for the education of deaf children. under the age of 6. The years under 6 are those of greatest language readiness and should be capitalized upon. The progress of children who have been in special nursery school and kindergarten classes is encouraging, both as to academic learning and to social adjustment. The nursery school and kindergarten programs for deaf and severely hard-of

In this school, there is a sound-treated room where a technician measures a child's hearing loss.

hearing children promise to contribute dramatically to the later adjustment in youth and in adult life.

Types of School Organization

Public-school systems that provide for deaf and severely hard-of-hearing children in the United States usually do so, except in large population. centers, by establishing units or centers in regular schools. Quite often these consist of one or two classes only. Some large cities like New York, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Detroit have special schools for these children. A few public high schools set aside one or more rooms for special services to handicapped high-school students in need of personal help and special equipment.

Public Junior High School No. 47 in New York City is the largest day school for the deaf in the world. It includes a range of classes beginning with a nursery school group for 2-year-olds through the junior high school. The school has 55 classes. Some of the special housing features in addition to special classrooms are a clinic space, an acoustically treated testing room, a lunchroom, a large court enclosed play space for recreation, and rest facilities. A similar service is rendered in Los Angeles by the Bennett School which enrolls deaf children from age 3 through the elementary grades.

Most city school systems, such as Erie, Pa., Columbus, Ohio, and Compton, Calif., maintain special classes for acoustically handicapped children in regular school buildings. For some deaf or severely hard-of-hearing children, guidance and special help is given in the senior high schools. In Textile High School, New York City, for example, a speech teacher