Thursday, April 16, 2009

Are classrooms bright enough?

I REFER to Monday's article, 'Poor eyesight affecting students' schoolwork'. I am shocked to learn that more than a quarter of students in Northlight School cannot see clearly. While the article provided several reasons for the high incidence of myopia in that school, I suggest the level of illumination in classrooms nationwide be given a thorough study.

Many schools use PowerPoint as a teaching aid. In order to project a sufficiently clear image, the lights in the classroom are usually dimmed. In some cases, all the lights in the classroom are turned off. If students have to take notes, they would be writing in the dark. Needless to say, reading and writing in a dimly lit environment are bad for the eyes.

Projectors used in schools should have sufficient lumen so not too many lights in the classroom need to be turned off when they are in use.

Peck Thian Guan

[Probably a projector salesman. More to the point. Dim lighting may make one eyes tired, but it won't spoil one's eyesight. You wanna go blind, which method will work - sit in the dark for 24 hrs or stare at the sun for 24 minutes?]

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