The log cabin Democrat., 1912-11-14
PROF. BRENNAN
 ON SCHOOL NEEDS
ANSWERS SUPT. CANNON
SAYS INSPECTION SHOULD NOT BE MADE AT EXPENSE OF
 SCHOOL DISTRICT.
From Mondays Daily.

From Mondays Daily.
 Editor Log Cabin Democrat:
 In a recent issue of the Log Cabin Democrat appeared an article by Su- iperintendent Cannon advocating med ical inspection in the schools of Con- way. This contains a startling table of defects found by the teachers in the children of their respective grades. These defects seem to be al- most altogether adenoids, defective teeth, defective vision, and defective hearing the last named probably aris- ing in many, if not in most, cases from the first. Now the symptoms of these are sa apparent and the test so simple that they may be made by any intelligent person, certainly by any person of sufficient intelligence to be teacher And this is evidenced by l the fact that the table given by MT. Cannon is compiled from the examin- ations and reports made by the teach CTS. Have these individual reports been sent to the parents of the af- flicted children, advising them of the conditions found and urging them to seek expert medical advice? If so, what more can medical inspection do in the matter? This is all that is done in Little Rock, where they have medical inspector. l presume it is not expected that free treatment is to be provided by the school board of Conway for this host of defects.
 But before Little Rock provided for this medical inspection it provid ed schools of 12 grades running nine months in the year and whole day session. 'These things ought vel to have odne and leave the others undone," seems to be the policy of the Little Rock school board, and 1t might them.
 Superintendent Cannon seems to think that the defects he enumerates are sole cause of the fact that many children are one, two, or more years behind the grades corresponding to their ages But 1 hope he does not overlook the fact that grade here means as much, on paper at least, as it does in Little Rock, and that here tofore Conway children have had on- ] ly eight months in which to do the work as against nine months in Lit tie Rock Moreover, several of these have had but half days work.
 Again, may not much of the list lessness, indifference, and event stu pidity, noticed be as much owing to the fact that more than half the chii- dren, and these the least able to bear it, are driven for three consecutive hours trying to do a whole days work in half a day? Is not this fact as much responsible for the conditions noted as are the defects named? Will not this condition have the effect of aggravating the defects already ex- isting and making even the healthy children fall behind what is expected of children under favorable condi- tions? Children are not plants; they cannot be forced in their physical and intellectual growth without serious and permanent injury to both.
 But where is the cost of this med ical inspection to come from? Shall we cut down the remaining element ary grades to halliday sessions in or der to provide for it? Or would it not be well to cut out the elementary grades altogether and run a high school only? Then we could build from the top downwards and per haps in a generation or two we might be able to resume elementary work in our schoolsl It is true that our constitution and our statutes, as well as our common sense, if we have any, require that we should provide for the elementary work first and then add the other as we can afford it. But what are the constitution, and the statutes, and common sense among friends?-and schools boards?
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