On a Living and Mental Condition of Evening-Session Students of Upper Secondary Schools

Abstract

Our daily eyes have found that many evening-session students of upper secondary schools are less energetic and listless than all-time day-courses students of the same age. The physical feature as well as bodily strength of the former have been said to be inferior to those of the latter. It seems to me, however, that a synthetic study hasnot been completed yet on this problem. In this study my purpose is to describe their living and body and mind conditions. In order to grasp the facts of their lives and their surroundings, their way of living, contents of their labour, physical conditions, and use of medicines are investigated. Physical strength, sports ability, girth of upperarms, and thickness of subcutaneous fat are measured to obtain their body structure and function, nutritial conditions, and a rise and fall of nutrition. Following results are obtained ; Many night-session students find their job immidiately after they graduate from lower secondary schools. More than half the number come from other prefectures and live in a domitory or master's house. Many of them, who are engaged in the secondary grade job, lack in harmony and unity in their daily lives, lead an instinctive life and live in the present. Their way of life itself shows an extreme inclination. This is why lots of them appeals to a mental stress unbalance. Nevertheless, medicines, which are an index of a health conterplan, are not used more enough for the night students than for day-time students. This requires further examination. On the body structure and function and the netritional state, there appears a big difference in a growth and a development between day-time students and night students. Physical feature of the latter shows a tendency to resemble each other. A peculiar characteristics of the night students lack in body flexibility, lower uniformity of the body structure and the function and to wear and tear the subcutaneous fat while they are excellent in their muscular strength. This is a feature of working students who take their job when they are quite young. In conclusion, the environment and health condition and the situation of night students are not satisfied. We have not considered any counterplan for them. I believe that the above is the deep root of a mental unhealthy condition noticed in a daily observation. (Guidanced by Dr. Kunizo Fukuda, president of Yamanashi University)