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Processes in Oral Reading.—An analysis of the processes in oral reading will readily show the teacher that they can be summed up under four heads. It is obvious that the first must be visual images of the words in the text. Just as soon as these are formed they call up automatically the second, auditory images of these same words. The mind hears the sounds of the words. These auditory images, in their turn, prompt the third, vocal motor images. The organs used in sound production seem to be set in motion by an imperative command and the sounds are produced. But words have meaning, hence we find, in the fourth place, ideas and imagery arising from a central thought process. In the discussion of the physiology of reading we must begin with the first of these problems, viz., the formation of visual images. The others will be treated in the following chapter, “The Psychology of Reading.”

Eye Movement in Reading.—We must first note carefully that the eye, contrary to the layman’s impression, does not move across the line at a uniform rate, but rather in jerks or short sweeps, pausing at regular intervals at points on the line. The movement of the eye in reading may be graphically represented thus:

Chart A.—Diagrammatic representation of eye-sweeps (1) and pauses (2) of four people reading a line of about three inches.

It is also important to note when the actual reading takes place, whether during the movement or during the pause. Through careful experimentation we find that reading takes place during the pauses, not during the sweeps or glances.

Chart B.—Actual eye-sweeps (1) and pauses (2) of same four people reading same line.

Practical Importance of Eye Movement in Reading.—This physiological fact is important, because it helps us to realize what a fatiguing process reading really is for the child. The average person reads an ordinary page in two or three minutes. To do this about 150 of these eye movements are necessary. Let us try to move a finger or a hand 150 times in so short a given time and then note carefully the fatigue that is experienced. This gives us an idea of the severe strain to which the eye is subjected continuously. It shows us that the eye is an organ designed primarily for the sight that must be achieved in rudimentary society, yet doing twentieth-century work. As the book is brought nearer the eye the number of sweeps over each line decreases, and more is caught at a glance, but as the page recedes from the eye the number of sweeps increases. The page, kept at a proper distance from the eye, therefore makes a greater drain upon the energy of the eye, and the child, instinctively seeking relief, brings the page nearer and nearer, until myopia, “shortsightedness,” sets in. The teacher must realize how much care must constantly be exercised if children are to be kept free from eye ailments that follow in the wake of reading and study.

Regularity of Eye Movement Determines Ease in Reading.—A second important matter in this connection is the fact that ease in reading is produced by motor habits of breaking the lines into a given number of regular pauses and moves, each line showing the same number of stops and sweeps. Lines on a page should therefore be uniform in length and rather short. But a cursory examination of the average popular primer shows that this rule is honored more in the breach than in the observance. Irregular and broken lines seem to be the general law on pages enlivened by pictures. What is the invariable result? The eye is fatigued by the necessity of readjusting itself to a new set of moves and pauses with each varying set of lines. The sooner one acquires a rhythmical movement the surer is he to read with ease, speed, and minimum fatigue. Hence, the ideal page has lines of uniform length—one and one-third times that of the average newspaper line, or 75 to 80 mm.

Limited Length of Eye Sweeps.—Since this rhythm of movement and periodical pauses causes such eye fatigue, we naturally ask, “Why not increase the sweep until it includes the whole line?” This is impossible, for the field of vision is naturally very limited. For those who are not aware of how limited it is, a surprise is in store. Let them select any letter or small word on the page and fix the eye upon it, then try to name the surrounding letters or words. In nonsense syllables four letters are usually caught in one sweep, while seven is an exceptional number. When the letters form words sixteen to twenty can be caught at once. In reading ordinary prose four to six words are included in one sweep. The obvious generalization is therefore: the greater the rational association the more we seem to acquire in a limited time, and the fewer are the eye-sweeps per line. It is therefore necessary to differentiate between what the eye actually sees and what the mind contributes in all reading. This difference will receive more careful consideration in the next chapter, “The Psychology of Reading.”

Importance of the Problem of Optic Fatigue.—The teacher must be familiar with these physiological phenomena of eye movement in reading, because any practice which operates counter to the natural movements of the eye causes reading fatigue, and brings with it dangers that are severe and far-reaching. It is a common experience of the nerve specialist to find that optic fatigue most surely becomes general nerve fatigue. Optic fatigue brings in its wake sick headache, dizziness, digestive disturbances, general debility, and irritability. Serious nervous disorders may have their origin in optic fatigue. “Eye strain is in closest relation to nerve strain ... we seldom or never have the former without the latter.” When one is physically tired he cannot read. He can listen to music, follow a discussion, and even argue a point, but he turns instinctively from a book. Long reading makes one physically tired, because of the constant nervous drain that is involved in this complex of physiological activities and adjustments.

Causes of Eye Strain and Optic Fatigue.—What is there about the process of reading which brings about this severe nervous drain and its resulting optic fatigue? The conditions are many—so many that a child’s inattention during a reading lesson whose context is not very interesting should not be regarded as an unpardonable offense. Chief among the factors which produce optic fatigue we may name the following:

1. In reading much nervous energy is necessary to adjust the eye for near accommodations. The natural tendency is for the eye to adjust itself to distant vision, and give itself over to the round of varied presentations within its range.

2. In order to get each succeeding phrase of any sentence into the brightest part of the field of vision, the eye moves over the lines by means of the succession of sweeps and pauses that were considered. This is the greatest single factor in nervous strain caused by reading.

3. During reading the eye muscles are not in motion nine-tenths of the time. But, while they are motionless, they are strained, trying to hold the eye in focus, so that each visual grasp of the line will fall on the most sensitive area of the retina. This strained rest is far more fatiguing than ordinary movement.

4. In the reading position the muscles of the neck are strained to hold the head in proper position. This adjustment, when continued for a protracted period, causes an obvious nervous strain. Brain energy is thus reduced and mental vitality is lowered.

5. The forward bend of the head produces a blood congestion which aggravates the symptoms just noted in preceding causes.

6. Prolonged reading periods in ill-lighted rooms, and in seats and at desks that are poorly adapted to the children, cause myopia, which is a constant drain upon neural energy. Myopia is not only an eye deformity but it is also a progressive disease.

In the light of the seriousness of eye strain and the prevalence of its causes, we see the need of books that meet hygienic requirements in print and in arrangement. To continue putting the prevailing books into the hands of children is to court optic fatigue, general nervousness, and myopia. We must, therefore, decide on the hygienic requirements of a book before we consider its pedagogical merits.

Hygienic Requirements of Properly Printed Books.—1. The Size of the Type is the Most Important Single Factor.—There is an unmistakable and an unvarying law for size of type, viz., as the type decreases in size optic fatigue increases. The effects of insufficient illumination are less marked than those of undersized type. Legibility of type is determined by a number of considerations which must be observed by the makers of textbooks: (a) the thickness of the vertical stroke, (b) proper spacing between vertical strokes, (c) proper spacing between the lines, (d) clearness of the tops of letters, (e) proper size. The standard for the size of type which has met the approval of most specialists in the hygiene of reading is clearly formulated by Shaw, in his “School Hygiene” (p. 178). Its requirements and illustrations follow:

“For the first year the size of the type should be at least 2.6 mm., and the width of leading 4.5 mm., as shown in this example:

Little drop of dew,

Like a gem you are;

I believe that you

Must have been a star.

“For the second and the third year, the letters should not be smaller than 2 mm., with a leading of 4 mm. Some of the more carefully made books for the second and the third years are printed in letters of this size, as shown in the following example:

Children of eight and nine should not

read type smaller than this.

“For the fourth year, the letters should be at least 1.8 mm., with leading of 3.6 mm., as follows:

Children in the fourth school year should read

type of this size and appearance.

“For some grades succeeding this, the type should be kept well above the minimal requirements for adult readers.”

2. The Length of the Line is the Factor Next in Importance.—Short and uniform lines, measuring between seventy-five and ninety millimeters, are demanded by most expert investigators. Ninety millimeters is most favored. A full line in this book measures about 90 millimeters. The short line saves a number of eye movements, for the eye begins each line at a point indented, and it stops at a point some distance from the end of the line. Experiments show that we have a greater visual grasp when the lines are short than when they are long. Another cardinal requirement here is absolute uniformity in the length of the lines.

3. Books should be small enough to be held in the hand.—Books that are large and heavy are usually placed on the desk. The angle of vision is now changed, and the letters, becoming foreshortened, are thus practically reduced in size.

4. The Character of the Paper is Also Very Important.—The most legible print is produced by making the strongest contrast between the color of the print and that of the paper. Since black on a white background forms this contrast in color, only good white paper should be used in the manufacture of school books. Unusual care should be taken to keep out of the school, books printed on glossed paper. The cheap paper with a sheen, that makes up so many of our school textbooks, gives a play of light that is most aggravating to the eye. An equally important requirement insists that the paper have a minimum thickness of .075 mm., so that the print on one side will not show on the other.

Boards of Education to Standardize Books.—In the light of these hygienic demands, how many of the class textbooks are up to standard? An examination with the aid of a millimeter measure and a magnifying glass will show to principals and teachers an amazingly low percentage. But books properly printed need not cost appreciably more. Only when Boards of Education have adopted a standard will publishing concerns refrain from continuing the publication of books that rob eyesight and cause an inexcusable nervous drain. Indifference to matters so vital to health and efficiency is unpardonable.