Evening star., 1901-12-25
REGARDING INSPECTIONS
EXAMINATION OF PUPILS OF SCHOOLS
RECOMMENDED.
Letter From Committee of the Medical
Society to Board of
Education.

cation at the Franklin building last night
| was shorter than usual. The designations
| of Mr. r. E. Terrell as principal of the
| Colored High School and of Mr. E. NJ
| Gregory, teacher in the same school, were
accepted Mr.. Terrell has been appointed
a justice of the peace in the District.
| communication was received from a
! committee of the Medical Society of the
| District in regard to the medical inspection
| of the public schools. 1t was signed by
Drs j. B. Gregg Custis, T. L. Macdonald,
q. B. Babbitt, William R. King, 8. S.
Stearns, L. B. Swormstedt Charles A.
| Davis and F. A. Gardner. The committee
addressed the board as follows:
I'VE will not take your time with argu-
ments as to the need of school inspection,
because your recommendations to the Com
missioners show that you have made your
selves converSant with the advantages of
such supervision. Our confrereS in medi-
cine, if not in school, have furnished you
with the details of inspection as practiced
in other parts of our own country, as well
as in Europe, so that in addition we have
only to assure you of our entire sympathy
with the board in it's efforts to further the
progress of Washington toward it's natural
| position as the model city of the country,
not only as regards general education and
| health but in the common effort to develop
| from the youth of our land the most useful
| citizen, recognizing as you do that a
| healthy body.
Board Should Have Control.
Believing as we do that this board, hav-
! ing but one object in view and being most
| conscious of the responsibilities devolving
upon it, is best fitted to accomplish such
! purposes we think it should have control
of such medical inspectors when appointed;
] also of the appointments and of the SUPER
| vision of the rules under which the in
| spectors shall act first for the reason
| given above, and next, because of the fact
| that in spite of the experience recorded In
other communities, no one excepting the
| board of education can tell just what we
need in Washington certainly not until the
| test has been made We will not deny that
we all know what the duties of the office
| of inspector should be, but we fear that
! after years experiment We would modify
our opinions
Though five years is the minimum age
! which we recommend for the medical
diploma of the inspector, that is not suffi-
| clent to place him beyond the need Of
discipline and irfraction of the same
should be reported to those most affected,
| and not to another branch ef the District
service. Personal advice and direction
| should come from the superintendents of
! the several divisions to which the inspec-
| tors may be assigned. We admit that in
| the majority of cities the health officer Is
consulted as to the appointments and re-
| ceives reports. We believe that he should
receive reports as to contagious diseases,
but we think his control of the medical in
srectors is due to the fact that the service
is young, and the school boards have nat
urally turned to the one recognized medical
authority in the various corporations.
Object to Competition.
I'VE object to competitive examination
for the position, if held under the super
vision of the health officer, because if it
is necessary, which We doubt, the ma
chinery for such examination is already
in existence in the boards of medical ex-
amners. Competitive examinations, unless
by a special board that is fully aware of
the needs of the public schools, and a
board which would direct such examina-
tions to the qualifications Of the inspec-
tors as required by the schools of the Dis
trict, would fail of it's object. The board
of education, with the assistance of such
advice as 1t can command, would be better
able to judge of the qualifications of the
candidates, than could be done by any writ
| ten examination in general medicine. We all
| know that ability to fill position requir-
| ing technical skill is entirely different from
| that required for license to practice in any
| of the professions.
While this would naturally close our
hearing, we beg leave to add the following
| additional suggestions to the arguments al
ready advanced:
First. That opportunity be given to the
inspectors to study the effect which hered-
| ity has upon disease and personal pecu-
| liarities.
Second That personal certificates be re-
| qUired as to the advisability Of admitting
| children under six years of age to the privi-
| leges of the school.
| Third That provision be made for the
| consideration of recommendations of in
| spectors as to the general -hygienic condi-
| tion of the schools and schoolhouses.
] Fourth. That provision be made for re-
! ports to the health officer from each school
| as to the existence of contagious diseases
| when recognized by the inspectors.
| Fifth. That such instructions shall be
| given as shall prevent interference on the
part Of the inspectors with the family ply
| sician of the pupils