The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-05-06
Americas Public Schools
 Need Health Program, Says Acting Supt. E.. E. Outright
BY EVERETT E. COPYRIGHT, Acting SunaHinfendent of Schools

the ledger. In matters or healtn, however, the balance is rather dis
 tinctly on the debit side. Certain surveys, some planned and others ac- cidental, have furnished the evidence that our national health is matter of concern. Among these agencies of evidence I want to name four.
 DEFECTIVE TEETH.-What has amounted to almost a nationwide ex- ties where lived progressive dentists and oth&r persons of vision, shows the appalling condition wherein prac- tically 95 per cent. of the children in the public schools have defective teeth. The defects are not bounded by decay and dental cavities alone in the deciduous teeth, but in a large percentage of cases the permanent teeth are gone beyond hope. Defec- tive teeth is hardly classed as a dis ease, but such wholesale defects are
 THE DRAET-We called the flow CT of our youth-our choice young men between the ages of 21 and 31. in the strength of their prime out of four because of remediable de fects The report of the Provost Marshall shows a. serious, progressive physical deterioration year by year even in this our best group. The de- fectiyes at 21 average 46 per cent, but by a steadily decreasing ratio It has dropped to g per cent. at 5o Tn commenting on these facts and fie-,,res Dr. Eugene Fisk, of the Life E,xtention Institute, said: "The most superficial analysis shows very clear ly that at least 60 per cent or these reflected men owe their impalrrnentS either to ignorance or neglect. They need physical training, hygiene and proper diet" This looks distinctly ike a school job M flor. for t,im9s school can
 MALNUTRTIION.-W sur yeys have been conducted, through even the simplest means-weigh1ne
 nyyjG orninously similar-that almost one II1t of four of our school children have sufficiently faulty nutrltlon .o make them probable candidates TOT a special class to oVercoiiie 'A0 ~ ton. 1 I
 At first thought one would De al most certain to decide that nldlmu- triton was a poverty conoltlon. Aie school with the best showing III m entries conducted in the lower grdues of seven of our largest scnoois lWaI tersville) Is soEdly foreign, Ioctted stast in a district where the ctty's greatest congestetion exists, and where Iie economic condition is very poor IIil Inis taJI;es with pr. William R F. Edh- ersons statement that the Wois' o+ S dition he found was in a Ne" Ens land private school where the tuluOh charges are very high, the puplls coming from the homes or wealth anu plenty ,,a,,, anpar- ently well children conducted by tne New York Association for 1hnpfosnS tbe Condition of the Poor, careful s,1rvev was made of 2,1S6 children ranging from to Is years Of age Defects were present in Sf per Se., Satr of all children from to D. ef aI1 r---e present in 92 per cent oi aH
 from 6 to 12 Defects were Ires 87 per cent. of all children from L. 60 IS years of age. =
 ryhe significance of these nguTes IS o11jte apparent as is also the fact that tt1e majority of the defects noted are r,reveutabIe or remediiable. Ihe out Tha high percentage of defects Of the teeth nose and throat, and nuIri- tion- ..ion
 First let there be medical lnspec- 7iou for all school children or a serl- ous, constructive nature, lead1ng t3 whenever necessary, correcelohi oi,i,9 SA One may get a complete intellectuaI education after twenty, put HIS pouS is fixed-he can never get ne" oAes On the statute books of almost aI 0s o1Ir states there is ample autnorls U 10 press this matter to its legitimate concIudon,-the correction oL 1-emedfabIe defect without Whlci becomes the weaknesses or in1oole fife Where such authority Is not now given it must be secured. NO medical instructor should De respoii- citias with the number much smaller in sparsefy settled districts. so that Tbe child may have a thorough, com plete examination each year. .,,
 second, there must accompany thS work of the medical inspector an anu pIe supply of nurses. so that each school building has the personal toucn of a trained woman, skilled In deauns with the child teacher and parent we | need a new type of nurse however, one trained to radfate health ana IoI chiefly to remedy d1seaSe' one M.o shall make health attractive and con +apious. one who knows the pedagogy 1 of health and human psycnology: 1Ie hospital training is the wrong outIooK- She must study hygiene and physlo!- pry. instead of pathology It's 1ob Sor the normal school of the near fu- +ure These will be public school ny gienists with the vision or the euu- cator.
 Third. there should be lnstituteo q program of physical training ana sanes-competitive as well as for 1,ure pleasure. Several of our states have established this by state enact 1nent and many cities have made a good start This should be con structive educational effort to upbu1id bfg muscles. Most cities in New Jer- sey have found it wise to lengthen the school day to properly provide for op eY-ation of the state law on physical education. Nature allows from flve to eight hours a day to satisfactorily grow a child when she is unhanpered iv schools, etc. The educational de Dortn,ent can hardly hope to accom- nlisf it in an occasional fifteen minute period.
 Fourth, a department of prophy- tactic dental hygiene is a practical necessity to cope with the teeth and mouth conditions of the children This o11ebr 10 mean a resident dental hygienist in each large building of city system one or two itinerant den- fists for extraction and filling of per ,1anent teeth. with a supervisor in CaneraI charge of the work. To be of opium benefit the work should embrace the fonowing at least:
 Actual cleaning and polishing or teeth. three and four times year, and charting of the mouth for refer ence and comparison
 Stereoptican lecture for middle and upper grade children
 Educatfona1 work in the homes by