The Positive Effects of Teacher Health

In creating patterns that will influence the pupil's health in a positive way, the teacher and the administration should each assume some responsibilities. The health which a teacher possesses at any one time, like that of the youngsters and adult citizens in the community, is the result of many interacting forces, some of which are beyond his control.

The teacher should make sure that he is as free as possible from unhealthy conditions. The best way to do this is to have periodic and thorough health examinations. He owes to himself as well as to his students the responsibility of maintaining his best physical condition. The presence of correctable conditions all of which are readily observed by pupils suggests the teacher's lack of responsibility.

The teacher should obtain proper health supervision to avoid possible transmission of communicable diseases to the pupils. Protecting others from communicable diseases is not only a health obligation but a civic duty.

Personal Responsibilities for Physical Health

Sound physical health is the teacher's most desired characteristic. Without it, all other qualifications are so affected that successful teaching is difficult, of not impossible. Apart from strictly professional considerations, good physical health aides the teacher in making the many personal and social adjustments so essential for professional achievement.

The Teacher's Personal Responsibility for Healthful Living

The activities in which the teacher participates each day determine the way he lives and to a degree, influence his personal health. Work, recreation, eating habits, rest and sleep and all other activities exert a positive or negative effect on health. Health improvement depends on selection of activities, balance of work, recreation, rest and other factors.

The teacher is responsible for setting a desirable example. Since children and youth learn as much by what they see as by what they are told, the teacher's exemplary health practices are a vital part of good teaching. The fact that pupils acquire much of their health behavior pattern by observations, emphasizes the teacher's duty to set a good example in his own daily acitivities.