Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-10-06
ENGLAND FINDS ONE
SIXTH Of CHILDREN
CAN I GET BENEFIT

LONDON, Oct 6.-The surprising
revelation that at least one-sixth of
England's six million school children
are so physically or mentally defec-
tive or diseased as to be incapable or
deriving reasonable benefit from the
education which the state provides" is !
riade in report just issued by the
chief medical officer of the board of ed |
ucation.
The report has aroused great inter
est and has come as a shock to the
public generally. The Manchester
Guardian says that the report should
awaken fears as to the nations fu-
ture as sharply as would news of
disastrous defeat of our arms" IT.
makes the point that the waste refer
IGu " 10 Dl ChCUtdUlC anu llcI WIllC IL
is being lessened by better housing,
better labor conditions and purer and
cheaper food, together with ampler
medical facilities and sounder ideas
in education and hygiene, that ''the ma
ton moves with incderible slowness.~
Sir George Newman, the chief medi-
cal officer, at the conclusion of his re-
port, indicates that complete scheme
is now practically ready that will en-
able the state to take entire charge Of
the child, mentally, physically and
morally, with a view to preventing in
future a repetition of reports as dis
appointing as that just issued. The
transformation is to be accomplished
through the aid of several agencies.
The local education authorities,
through their school medical service,
have established system of remedy
and amelioration. Education commit
tees, doctors, nurses and thousands of
voluntary workers compose a cooper
alive system designed to save the
child. The system is to extend from
schools for mothers to the home and
from welfare centers to juvenile en-
ployment. In his report Sir George
Newman says:
Great Physical Defects.
Eight years work has brought to
light large mass of physical defect
and disease, varied in character and
widespread, most of it preventable. In
regard to the data thus provided, we
can form two general conclusions.
First, not less than a quarter of mil
lion children are seriously crippled,
iEvalided or disabled; not less than
million school children are so physic-
ally or mentally defective or diseased
as to be unable to derive reasonable
benefit from the education which the
state provides. If this figure be con-
sidered mercy from a financial stand
point and quite apart from that of dis
ease, suffering and premature death
entailed, it will be seen that the state
is not getting adequate returns, on
physical grounds alone, for a substan-
tial part CT its expenditure on ele-
lmentary education
Consideration of the situation seems
to indicate that the physical welfare,
ard in part the education of the child
of school age is dependent upon ante
school conditions; and dependent also
upon post-school conditions. In other
words, if we are determined to rear
healthy and yirile race of high capacity
we must, from physical standpoint,
begin earlier and continue later than
the hitherto accepted period of educa-
ton. What is needed, indeed, is an eff
fective supervision and a sound and
practical training of the body from the
end of infancy to adolescence. 1t is
said sometimes that in the interest of
economy that the state cannot afford
such complete scheme. My submits
sion is that in the interest of economy.