Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/june/07/yehey/opinion/20090607opi1.html
Hygiene and music
In our younger days, primary-school pupils were required to sing a nursery rhyme that went:
?I have two hands, the left and the right.
?Hold them up high, so clean and bright.
?Clap them softly, one, two, three,
?Clean little hands are good to see.?
The song went with appropriate gestures and body language, the sound of clapping loud enough to wake up the sleepy class.
On the last note, every child extended his hands for the teacher?s inspection. Dirty hands received a rebuke. Dirty fingernails earned demerits. But hand examination was only a beginning. The teacher also inspected the child?s ears, neck and nape for grime. Hygiene was an eminent legacy of the American school system.
On top of class inspection, a sanidad (health inspector) roamed schools and neighborhoods to check on public health and give first-aid, if necessary. A second school cop, the truant officer, checked on children loitering outside school premises. No one could play ?gimik? in those days. Malling on school hours would have been impossible.
?I Have Two Hands? eventually vanished and so did the daily hand-and-ear scrutiny. Malaca?ang and the Department of Health, however, have revived hygiene in schools amid the Influenza A(H1N1) scare. Thirty-three cases have been reported and safeguards are being strengthened to minimize the threat. Correct hygiene, particularly regular handwashing, is a considered a good prevention. But lathering the hands with soap is not enough, said Health Secretary Francisco Duque. The ritual needs music.
Duque is not thinking of reviving the ?Two Hands? song. Better is the ?Happy Birthday? melody, to be sung twice by the kids while keeping their hands clean. Two ?Happy Birthday? songs is the correct length of time for a thorough wash. Once is too short; three is a waste of water. President Gloria Arroyo visited a public school to show the students how it?s done. She washed her hands-on fingers and palm as she greeted the class a happy birthday.
Schools are livelier these days from spirited singing. But how to sing ?Happy Birthday?? Soulful like a Barbara Streisand?s ?Happy Days Are Here Again? or energetic like Martin Nievera?s ?Lupang Hinirang?? Expect cacophony because the pupils do enter the toilet as one and sing en masse, but at their own time and pace, one starting the song as others delivers their version. Handwashing was never this fun.
Hygiene and music
In our younger days, primary-school pupils were required to sing a nursery rhyme that went:
?I have two hands, the left and the right.
?Hold them up high, so clean and bright.
?Clap them softly, one, two, three,
?Clean little hands are good to see.?
The song went with appropriate gestures and body language, the sound of clapping loud enough to wake up the sleepy class.
On the last note, every child extended his hands for the teacher?s inspection. Dirty hands received a rebuke. Dirty fingernails earned demerits. But hand examination was only a beginning. The teacher also inspected the child?s ears, neck and nape for grime. Hygiene was an eminent legacy of the American school system.
On top of class inspection, a sanidad (health inspector) roamed schools and neighborhoods to check on public health and give first-aid, if necessary. A second school cop, the truant officer, checked on children loitering outside school premises. No one could play ?gimik? in those days. Malling on school hours would have been impossible.
?I Have Two Hands? eventually vanished and so did the daily hand-and-ear scrutiny. Malaca?ang and the Department of Health, however, have revived hygiene in schools amid the Influenza A(H1N1) scare. Thirty-three cases have been reported and safeguards are being strengthened to minimize the threat. Correct hygiene, particularly regular handwashing, is a considered a good prevention. But lathering the hands with soap is not enough, said Health Secretary Francisco Duque. The ritual needs music.
Duque is not thinking of reviving the ?Two Hands? song. Better is the ?Happy Birthday? melody, to be sung twice by the kids while keeping their hands clean. Two ?Happy Birthday? songs is the correct length of time for a thorough wash. Once is too short; three is a waste of water. President Gloria Arroyo visited a public school to show the students how it?s done. She washed her hands-on fingers and palm as she greeted the class a happy birthday.
Schools are livelier these days from spirited singing. But how to sing ?Happy Birthday?? Soulful like a Barbara Streisand?s ?Happy Days Are Here Again? or energetic like Martin Nievera?s ?Lupang Hinirang?? Expect cacophony because the pupils do enter the toilet as one and sing en masse, but at their own time and pace, one starting the song as others delivers their version. Handwashing was never this fun.