Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-08-11
EDWARD HARTMAN
On Pre.sehoo, Training for Children

On Pre.Schoo' Training Tor Children
DHILADELPIIIA has too many grave
L yards and too few Fairgrounds, accord
ing to Edward T. Hartman, managing Ill
rector Of the Child Federation. who declares
the public Is paying "the greater bill FOR
the greater ill'' in not providing proper
physical training for children during the
pre-. school period of their lives.
"The United States Bureau Of Education
sets forth in one Of its health education
leaflets says Mr.. Hartman. that the
determination is widespread that the public
schools of the country must never again IN
the future, as in the past, place book learn
ing before physical fitness. Frank Cody,
superintendent of the Detroit schools, says
that the most far reaching change in educa-
ton is the new emphasis upon he lth edu-
cation. Twenty years ago health activities
were incidental to the main purpose of the
schools. Today they are the first Of our
seven objectives. Sir George Newman, chief
medical officer of the English Board Of Edu-
cation, says that 1T seems futile TO attempt
to reform education apart from the physi-
cal condition of the child
Whatever the thought may be about what
is education, we 1--we to admit that the first
thing in life Is life. If we are not alive We
are dead II we are only half alive We are
not properly developing physically, mem
tally or morally.
These facts bear On our educational
problems, also on our civic, ldustrial and
military problems. The labor turn over In
industry, heavy burden in e-pense and
efficiency, is largely due to the fact that our
people re not physically hit.
Which Is Greater Bill?
$50 our schools have a definite task in
relation to health. IL the money we are
spepding on them is TO be we'll spent If we
are TO get results in education if We are TO
turn out from our schools people able to do
their work, the work they and the country
need II ignorance, incompetence and uu-
natural slothfulness are not 10 pull us down;
IL the greater bill for a greater is not
TO sap our treasury for care Of the criminal
IMPOVERISHED and incompetent classes, the
schools must build, build in every sense with
every child.
for the work the world needs, what about
,he vre- school period, the eat neglected
period Of childhood? The pre- school child
Of today is the school child Of tomorrow,
the citizen Of the day after tomorrow.
we are slowly learning the Importance
Of the prenatal period. We are doing a
little work in this and little in the period
of infancy, but not enough. This is obvious
from the fact that in Philadelphia more than
two thousand children are born dead every
week Of life and three thousand die between
one week and one year Of age. So what we
are doing here Is not all that needs to be
done.
but we are doing practically nothing
between infancy and the school period Here
are five years, among the most important in
the dcvclopment of the child, physically and
mentally. which we leave 10 chance. The
health department needs more nurses trained
in health nurture, to enable it to reach into
this period,
"And the school department must do
sOmethng, 1t must reach down into the pre-
school period and prepare its material for
the schools. Why noti II the public reaches
down into the school period to prepare ma
| terial for renewing itself. for perpetuatinp
civic life, it is surely logical for the schools
to reach into the pre- school period and pro
pare the material with which they are 10 h.
continued
Neglect In Pre- School Period
"In the absence Of this the scho,'s find
their material untitled. diseased. barkwurI
and all progress is retarded. yrar tun
wears. perhaps the whole school ppri'd w.
wasted IN trying to make school material ON,
Of the results Of neglect ins the prn srhnoi
! period.
"lIow are they to go about II? Here 10
| lust one suggestion The pre- school cbii5
needs one thing pot provided in abundance
] by parents. 1riva& enizations or the city