Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-04-29

One of the most important commit
tees appointed by the council on
health and public instruction of the
American Medical association is that
on cooperation with the National Edu-
cation association. This committee,
appointed two years ago, has been
working with similar committee ap-
pointed by the National Education as
sociation on the subject of school
hygiene. The first year of the COM
mittees existence was devoted large
ly to a survey of the field and a con-
sideration of what activities should be
first undertaken. After careful discus
sion. the committee decided that the
rural school was more in need of at
tention and assistance than the city
school. Then the question arose as to
the amount of available information
concerning rural schools and school
houses. Surprising rs it may seem, it
was found that little was known of
the actual conditions of rural schools
in the different states. 4 preliminary
survey was accordingly undertaken
with a view to remedying this defect.
Through the United States bureau of
education, Professor Dresslar of Nash
Vile, Tenn, made a careful study of
large number of country school dis
tricts in the south. Special surveys in
Connecticut, Vermont and New York,
as we'll as general Investigations
which gathered statistics from every
state in the union, and special studies
Of rural conditions in Idaho, Massa-
chusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey
and Virginia, resulted in the accumu-
lation of a large mass o. Information !
which is now being digested and !
drawn up in the form of a report. Pro-
lessor Dres5lar's work will be made !
public through a special report issued |
by the United States Bureau of Edu- |
cati, n. While the work of the COM
mittee is only begun, enough has been
of rural schools is not by
any means so satisfactory as was
generally supposed. In the New York
Times, March s, appeared a lengthy
article based on a statement by DR.. T
D. Wood of Columbia university, chair
nan Of the education committee.
After describing the organization of
he committee and the work which it
Z
grew up with the notion that the
school children in the country were ,
pound to be much healthier than the
children of the cities. Our parents al ,
way credited the little red school !
ouse for their excellent constitutions. :
" late years. however. there has been .
good deal of suspicion cast on that =,
anne little red school house. We have
egun in this day of sanitation and =,
ledical inspection to have our doubts !
bout those unqualified benefits" =
DIR, Wood then gives a few specific :,
Instances in proof of the general prop :
sition that the country school child is :,
rom 10 per cent TO 20 per cert more !.
elective than the city child In ~
study of 1881 rural !.
chool districts wac made and the "
ealth of the children in these dis. =
lets was contrastcd with the health :
the school children in Harrisburg.
ftsburgh and Altoona. The per- 4
entage of defective children in Al
ION was 60 per cent. in Pittsburgh
% per cent, while in the rural dis
lets studied, the aggregate of defec-
We children amounted to rs per cent.
his means that three-fourths OF the
'4.427 country school children in
are in need of special
re and treatment. while even in New
ork City only ~ per cent OF the
ildron are at all defective.
The investigation of specific defects
yes the same results. For instance, \
comparison of the school children of