Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Household Science in Rural Schools Part 31

Write the material to be copied, in hectograph ink, on a sheet of the same size as that on which the copy is to be made. Write clearly and s.p.a.ce carefully. Wipe the hectograph with a damp cloth. Lay a sheet of unglazed paper on the hectograph, rub it carefully, and take off at once. This removes any drops of water, but leaves the surface moist. Lay the written side of the sheet on the hectograph and rub it carefully over its whole surface with a soft cloth, so that every particle of the writing comes in contact with the surface of the hectograph. Leave it there for four or five minutes. Lift one corner and peel off carefully.

Lay a plain sheet on the hectograph and rub as before. Take off as before. If the copy is not clear, leave the next sheet on a little longer. When sufficient copies have been made, wash the hectograph with a wet cloth before putting it away. Keep in a cool, dry place.

THE RURAL SCHOOL LUNCH

The best method of approach to Household Science in the rural school is through the medium of the hot noon-day lunch or the preparation of one or two hot dishes to supplement the lunch brought from home. Owing to the fact that many pupils live far from the school, it is impossible for them to go home for the mid-day meal, and they are thus dependent upon lunches which they bring with them. Very frequently the pupils are allowed to eat their lunches where and how they please, and the method chosen is conducive neither to comfort nor to health. In fine weather they do not wish to lose any time from their games, and so they eat their food while playing, or they bolt it, in order that they may get to their play more quickly. In severe weather they crowd round the steps or the stove and do not hesitate to scatter crumbs and crusts. In one case even a teacher has been seen holding a sandwich in one hand and writing on the black-board with the other.

In many cases the lunch does not attract the pupil. It is often carried, without proper wrapping, in a tin pail, and it then absorbs the taste of the tin; again, it is often wrapped in a newspaper and is flavoured with printer's ink; occasionally, it is wrapped in cloth not too clean.

Conditions such as these are not fair to the pupils. They come a long way to school, often over poor roads; and it is necessary, for both their physical and their mental development, that they should receive adequate nourishment served as attractively as possible. Many of the defects found among school children can be traced, to a greater or less extent, to lack of nutrition. The United States military draft shows that the number of those physically defective is from seven to twenty per cent. higher in rural districts than in towns and cities, and this difference is not peculiar to that country. May we not reasonably suppose that many of these defects are caused by mal-nutrition, and that this mal-nutrition is in part due to the poor noon-day lunch? As these defects hinder mental as well as physical development, the question of proper nutrition through the medium of the school lunch becomes an educational one.

THE BOX LUNCH

With proper care in the selection of food, the packing of the lunch box, and rational methods of consumption, there is no reason why the box lunch should not be nourishing, attractive, and possess an educational value.

It may be laid down as an axiom that every school lunch should be supervised by the teacher and hap-hazard methods of eating the lunch should be prohibited. Those schools that are fortunate enough to possess a large table can approximate somewhat to the best home conditions, and have the table set in the proper manner, as shown in Lesson VI, page 18.

The pupils should sit round the table, at the head of which is the teacher, and the lunch may be made to partake of the nature of a family party. If rightly managed, the meal, even under the unusual difficulties presented in the rural school, may offer the most favourable opportunities to inculcate habits of cleanliness and neatness and to cultivate good manners. The pupils will learn something about the proper selection of food and the importance of thorough mastication. Clean hands and faces and tidy hair should be insisted upon, and individual drinking cups should be encouraged. As a manual training exercise, each pupil may be taught to make his own drinking cup from heavy waxed paper.

Grace may be said by the older pupils in turn.

The table should be made to look as attractive as possible. The pupils, in turn, might undertake to have the table-cloth washed at home or, in place of a linen cloth, a covering of white oil-cloth may be used. In some cases the school garden will be able to supply flowers or a growing plant for a centrepiece. Three or four of the larger pupils, either boys or girls, may set the table in ten minutes, while the others are washing their hands and faces and tidying their hair. Some such plan as this will add palatability and cheer to the monotony of the everyday cold and often unattractive lunch and will create a spirit of true and healthy sociability among the pupils.

In schools that do not possess tables large enough to be used as suggested above, each pupil should be required to set one place at his own desk, as shown in the ill.u.s.tration on page 20. A paper napkin may be used for a table-cloth, if a small piece of white oil-cloth is not procurable. Each pupil retains his place until all have finished; he should then dispose of the crumbs and leave his desk tidy. From twenty minutes to half an hour is generally found sufficient for the meal.

There should be cheerful conversation and restrained laughter throughout the meal, and acts of courtesy and generosity should be encouraged. At seasons when there are no flies, and on days when the weather is favourable, it is a pleasant change to serve lunch out-of-doors.

The lunch is provided by the home, but the teacher may give some useful lessons in Household Science by talks on the contents of the lunch box and the proper methods of packing the same, so that the food will keep in good condition until the time for its consumption arrives. It is the duty of the school authorities to provide a suitable storage place for the lunch boxes. These boxes should be kept free from dust or flies and in a place where the food will not freeze in winter. Open shelves, so often seen, are not suitable and a properly ventilated cupboard in the school-room should be provided.

CONTENTS OF THE LUNCH BOX

The whole question of the box lunch presents a serious problem, when we consider the large number of children who must depend upon it for their noon-day meal. This meal should be so const.i.tuted as to make it a real meal and not a makeshift. The same principles which govern the preparation of the meal should govern the preparation of the lunch box.

It is said that the school lunch should consist of "something starchy and something meaty, something fat and something fibrous, something sweet and something savoury".

With so many varieties of breads, meats, cheese, jams, etc., innumerable kinds of sandwiches may be made. For example, there are brown, graham, rye, raisin, nut, and date breads, and equally many kinds of meat. Such variety makes it quite unnecessary to have an egg sandwich or hard-boiled eggs in the lunch box each day. While eggs are very valuable in the diet, a lunch with hard-boiled eggs five times each week becomes monotonous, and the appet.i.te of the consumer flags. With skill and thought one can make little sc.r.a.ps of meat or other "left-overs" into attractive sandwiches. Ends of meat, ground and mixed with salad dressing or cream, make delicious sandwich fillings.

SANDWICH MAKING

The bread should be cut evenly.

The thickness of the slice should vary with the appet.i.te of the consumer.

The crust should not be removed.

The b.u.t.ter should be creamed for spreading.

Both slices should be b.u.t.tered, in order to prevent the absorption of the filling.

The filling should be carefully placed between the slices.

The sandwiches should be wrapped in waxed paper, to prevent drying.

SUGGESTIONS FOR SANDWICH FILLING

1. Egg and ham:

Three eggs hard boiled and chopped fine or ground An equal amount of chopped or boiled ham Salad dressing Mix and spread.

2. Raisin filling:

One cup of raisins ground or chopped One half-cup of water One half-cup of sugar One tablespoonful of flour into the same quant.i.ty of vinegar Juice and grated rind of one lemon Cook in a double boiler until thick.

3. Fig filling:

Remove the stems and chop the figs fine.

Add a small quant.i.ty of water.

Cook in a double boiler until a paste is formed.

Add a few drops of lemon juice.

Chopped peanuts may be added.

4. Egg:

Chop a hard-cooked egg.

Mix with salad dressing or melted b.u.t.ter, to a spreading consistency.

5. Equal parts of finely-cut nuts and grated cheese, with salad dressing

6. Equal parts of grated cheese and chopped olives

7. Sardines with lemon juice or a little dressing

8. Chopped dates with a little cream. Nuts may be added.

9. Thinly sliced tomatoes (seasonal)

10. Sliced cuc.u.mbers

11. Marmalade. Chopped nuts may be added.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PLANNING

In selecting the food the following suggestions may prove helpful:

_Protein_--Sandwiches of fish, meat, egg, cheese, nuts, dish of cottage cheese