The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1922-10-04
Importance of
Medical Supervision
Continued from Page y

Also thelopportunlty is here
given for group instruction. Group
instruction can be made more i'm
pressive and commands more at
tention than the instruction given
to the individual child. The long
period of school life permits a vari-
ETY. of health teaching from the
simplest things taught the young
est, with graded instruction throu
to the wider information given the
oldest. In fact the home is often
best reached through the child.
There are two kinds of health
instruction. On. relates to mat
tiers of public or social health and
is largely concerned with the pre-
vention of disease. The relation
of these diseases to faultv hygiene
sanitation, food, etc, may be under
stood by older children.
The other phase of health in
struction is that which might in
contrast be termed private or per
sonal. 1t is concerned with the
promotion of health rather than
the prevention of disease. With
the youngest we must begin with
the simple, dramatic and pictures
que-the things which appeal to
the imagination Of the child. Other
more serious things taught in other
ways must follow. In all this in
struction the emphasis must an be
placed upon the promotions of
health, not on the Importance of
the avoidance of disease, System
attic and effective teaching of
health in the schools is not only
possible but practical and indis-
pensible.
Assuming that we have med
ical supervision in the schools
(Which is considered essentially is
the problem met Of correcting the
physical defects found? 1t is esti-
mated that Is per cent of the SIX
teen million school, children in the
United States are suffering from
one or more physical defects, most
of which are remediable. But
are they remedied? The school
doctor reports to the nurse that
Johnny needs glasses or dental
work or tonsil and adenoid OPP
GRAFTON. The nurse goes to JOHNNY
home and reports the fact to the
parents. 1t is her duty to cooper
ate with them to secure correction.
But not all corrections are made,
mainly because we have not
enough free and low priced clinics
to do the work. In the smaller
towns this is quite as much the
case as in the cities, for many
families cannot afford the cost of a
private dentist, occulist or doctor.
Private organizations have tried to
point the way for state and NUM-
cipal action by opening dental and
other clinics.
1t is right here that unofficial
and private organizations have
wholly legitimate and largely UNI
discovered field of investigation,
research and experimental organ
lzation. For a long time there
must continue to be many acuv-
tiles in which the unofficial agency
is the only one capable of function
ing, but after the utility and pur-
posefulness have been demonstrate
ed the work can and must be turn
ed over to the official body.
"The simplest and most widely
useful means of interesting child
least time and labor, is group COM
rem and one which involve. the
petition based on the record of
height and weight. By means of
the scales the mother has been
taught the meaning of the weight
of infants and the importance of
a normal increase in the weight. In
older children the same thing holds
true.
The condition Of nutrition is
general index of health and the
triton. Normal growth and dew
weight shows the condition of nu-
elopment depend upon the nulri-
ton of the body. The conditions
which affect nutrition are there
fore the vital things to be empha-
sized to the child. They are
taught as the rules of game and
practiced by the children in the
spirit of game--and compcti-
tive one.
"The class room weight chart,
distributed by the Bureau of Edu-
cation is something concrete for
the child to grasp. 1t is designed
% hang on the wall of the school
room and the children fill in the