With a collection of nearly 500 school books, I'm bound to have some interesting subjects! School health books of the 1940s and '50s were certainly different from today's health studies.. I love the illustration of the little boy on the scale below, holding an ice cream cone! I'm sure that ice cream would definitely be considered a forbidden food for today's school food police. (Don't get me started!)
Healthy living back then consisted of lessons on getting plenty of sleep, eating lots of fruits and veggies (all good advice), and how to blow your nose correctly. Also lessons on obeying the crossing guards and traffic policemen, and brushing your teeth. The illustrations are so charming and wholesome! It just makes you want to grab and apple and a glass of milk and put on your clean socks and maryjanes!
Corporations and utility companies often got into the health act... insurance companies and others often printed little booklets that were distributed through the schools, that covered subjects such as first aid, safety, and other health related subjects.
Having a dad as a health teacher and then I taught health in high school for about 5 years, this collection is great, and you are right, the illustrations are so charming.
ReplyDeleteYou have the neatest collections! I love the pictures in those old health books.
ReplyDelete