El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-18
City Schools Have Nurses
Health Of Pupils Has Become Most
Important Feature of Work in
the Crowded Districts.
By Frederic J. Haskin-

! w The rural school has been
kept so prominently in the
educational lime light during the past
! five years that the Importance of the
! work being done in the city schools
has been temporarily thrown in the
] shade. Next year the city school is
! to have its innings. One feature al
/ ready added is the school nurse A
| bulletin upon special features of city
/ school work has just been issued by
the United States bureau of education
J and another is in preparation. Scien-
! tlflc surveys of city school systems
/ have been made in number of states,
| and others are now in progress.
! These surveys have discovered a num-
! Der of new methods of work in indivi-
! dual cities which might prOfitably be
/ extended to other parts of the cOun-
| try. They have also revealed many
needs which city educators are trying
! to meet.
Presents Complete Problem.
The city school, with its thousands
| of children gathered under a single
roof, many of them from non English
speaking homes, and most of them
I from congested districts in which are
many lacks in the way of fresh air and
sanitation, presents a complex prob
! lem. Its solution is of the highest
! Importance to the future prosperity
OF the country, because it is the city
future citizens. Because of this the
city school must supply every need of
the child whether physical or mental.
instruction in the elements of the 80
, RS" between the hours Of nine and
four Is the smallest part of its work
If a child comes to the ideal city
school hungry, dirty or sick mis- phySi-
cal needs are promptly care for befOI
any attempt is made at giving him
mental instruction. Pure, wholesome
food is now being supplied daily to
thousands of city school children
through many agencies. All Of these
cooperate with the school authorities
IN giving the child what his cOnsti-
tuition seems to demand. In some sec
tions of a city the swimming pool and
bathing facilities OF the building are
in as great demand as the blackboard.
1t requires more attention to keep
them in sanitary condition.
Health Carefully Looked After.
If medical attention is required for
physician are available to any whose
parents cannot pay for them. Many
physical defects, which if left I'M
checked might render the child an in
competent in the future, receive at
tention in the school The school
nurse assists the doctor and may visit
the home of the child to see that the
doctors orders are carried out. If
bad teeth affect the child's health and
perhaps render his breath offensive
TO other children, the school dentist
promptly attends to this matter.
When a child has completed his
school work, or has reached a wage
earning age, the school still retains
its interest in his welfare An en-
ployment bureau will secure him the
work he can do and protect his in
terests in every way If he is unde-
cided as to his future work, the vO-
cational advisor, who is one of the new
officers in school administration, will
help him to decide what he is best
fitted for. If the financial condition
o. his parents necessitate his leaving
school and entering upon some less
desirable calling before he is fitted to
do the thing he wants the school still
stands firm helper Continuation
schools and night classes viii enable
him to continue his studies even after
he has been compelled to join the
rank of wage earners-
Children Taught to Save.
Besides looking after the education
and health of the child the city school
endeavors to aid him in establishing
habits of thrift Few children are
without a few pennies to spend. Ere
Quently those from the poorest homes
often are able to earn small sums
which they spend in ways which do not
benefit them. The establishment Of
the school savings banks is doing
great deal to help children to save
these pennies and to make some proper
use of them Mrs. Sarah J. OberhOlt-
ger of Philadelphia is the acknOw-
bank movement in this country.
Through her cooperation, savings /
banks have been established in many
city schools within the last five years
and the movement is rapidly spreading.
The pennies, nickels and dimes OF
school children mount up into thOus-
ands of dollars when conserved. The /
school savings banks of NorristOwn,
Penn, have had total deposits OfS2O2.- /
O49.26 since they were first opened. |
The amount left upon deposit the first I
of last July was S29.39O-27.
The city school looks after the well /
fare and the morals of the child even I
outside of school hours. The city 1
child has few places of recrea ton open I
to him excepting the street and the .
school endeavOrs to make up this lack. /
dramatic performances in which he \
himself takes part, are only few of 4
the regular activities of the city school I
system Many of these are held in the /
evening so that the child may be ac- 1
companled by his parents. The school /
IS responsible for the public play
grounds and numerous recreation cen /
tiers which afford diversion to the child !
whose home is in congested quarters. /
Usually these are closed during the /
winter but the school board of Trenton,
New Jersey, has decided this year to
have the public Fairgrounds as we'll
as the school gymnasium open to the
children upon Saturdays and after
school throughout the year.
Have Safety Days.
The protection of school children
from street dangers is being further
evidenced by the street safety crusades
which are now featuring many public I
schools. New York, Philadelphia and I
Chicago have now established Safety |
Days" in their schools upon which 7
teachers and other speakers will give /
the children special instructions upon I
how to protect themselves from
street dangers. New York held its
first Safety Day last April when
nearly $4,000 teachers were simultane- (
ously supplied with literature upon
the subject and fully $4,000 school
children were reached. Simple rules
were given and buttons distributed I
bearing the words Safety Always"
The rules forbid playing upon the car
racks, "hitching on" wagons, auto
mobiles and street cars.
Try All Year schools.
Another innovation in city school
work is the all year school with the
'egular work going on for u months
instead of ten. Gary. Indiana. first
presented this idea. the peculiar indus
rial conditions of that CITY making !