Paragould soliphone. (Paragould, Ark.) 1918-1950, 1921-10-03

health For many years tnlS Wofk
has been carried forward in some OF
1.-THE leading cities and especial pro-
vision has been made for it Just
as in any of the other important
branches of study. Boston initiated
medical inspection OF schools i'll
1894 in the hope that the new
measure would curb the wave of con-
tagious diseases that repeatedly
.decimated the ranks of her scholas-
tic population The attempt was
eminently successful The move
'ment spread from city to city until
the American Red Cross under its
peace time program decided to ex
tend the work into smaller cities
land into rural communities.
Nearly every state in the Cnioa.
if not all, have passed some kind
|of compulsory school law, the
ultimate purpose Of which is to
force all children of certain ages
into school The law is good one;
provided. it carries with it the prop
err safeguards for the prevention
Of communicable diseases. 1t GER
tainiy would not be good one to
force children suffering from tu
berculosis and other communicable
diseases into our schools TO dsso
ciatc with children who are not
| hus affected. The health authori-
ties are not paid sufficient sums
to look after such matters, SO we
Eare left with no constituted author
'ity to look after children suffering
frona any of these diseases. II
students offer themselves for en-
trance unless affected with some
disease whose appearance is patent,
the teacher has no alternative but
to accept such student.
Further advanced and improved
methods of education have demon
ed that surprising numbers of
children have been seriously Aandi
capped III their school work on ac-
count of physical impairments which
can be easily corrected, and if let
alone would be 4 permanent handi-
cap III the race for life. For in
stance a child who is unable to see
distinctly if placed in u school
where physical defects are unrecog-
nized and disregarded. will soon
find il Impossible TO keep pace witt
his companions, VIII become dis
satisfied. discouraged and fall out
OF school. In ne better plight
lis the child suffering from enlarged
tonsils and adenoids, which prevent
proper nasal breathing and compels
him to keep his month open in
order to breathe. Such child Is
soon regarded as stupid, and soon
loses all interest in his studlss,
falls behind his classmates, be-
comes discouraged, ana finally drops
out Of school. The cbild's failure
IS no fault Of his own.
Public schools are a public trust,
and when the parent delivers his
child TO their care he has right
~ lI4GtSt li4't INV ti-h-N H'i"Ni 'i@'
supervision OF tbe school authofi-
ties shall he safe from harm and
shall he h@ndcd back to him in al
least ar good condition as when he
entered school. IF the parent does
not insist upon it, tAe child himself
las that right. EdUcation without
health is useless. II would be bet
ter to sacrifice the education Ii, in
order to attain ii. the child must
lay down his good health as a
price Education must comprehend
the whole man and the whole Is
built Fundamentally on What he is
physically,
il may be safe to say that the
state should insist upon close medi-
cal supervision, and in doing 50 it
lis not trespassing upon the domain
of private rights and initiative,
Under inspection the parent is told
the needs Of the child OF which he
might otherwise be ignorant, 1t
leaves to the parent the duty OF
meeting the needs, therefore, his