The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1924-09-11

Is Your Child Ready for SCHOOL,

How about eyes. ears, nose, throat,
Teeth?
Very shortly the schools all over the
State will be opening. In cities,
towns, villages and rural districts
thousands upon thousands of children
will be making their way TO the
schoolhouse there to receive training
which very largely will influence all
their after years. Some VIII be go
ing to modernly constructed and
equipped buildings, with well-trained
teachers presiding over small classes.
Others will be going to some of the
few remaining one-room, o~ne-teach-
err schools, where it is impossible for
either teacher or child to do the best
work.
Regardless of the sort of school
that will be attended, regardless of
the sort of home from which the child
goes forth, in nearly every instance
there are certain things which the
parents will do before the tramping
of these thousands of little feet school
ward bound is again heard in the
land.
First of all, there will be the re-
plenishing of the wardrobes of the
children. Next comes the question
of securing the required pencils and
pads.
So the children from the usual FAM
lily start in the school term equipped
with clothes and books. and pens and
| suggestion were made to father and
mother that the most important thing
in connection with the child's enter
- Il. I,I lgan fafn11tr nnn1nptnh
there would be a prompt and vigorous
denial, expressed with more or less
Indignation.
Yet this is almost universally true.
While the outward appearances are
carefully looked after, needed school
materials furnished and some thought
taken with regard to the child's ply
steal comfort, ii is the rare and eX-
ceptional set of parents who make
sure that the child is in fit physical
condition to receive the benefits of
mental training offered in the school.
Stop just a moment, Mr.. Father and
Mrs. Mother and take thought about
vour child. How about the eyes,
the ears, the nose. the throat? How
about the height and weight? How
are the teeth? DO you know any
thing. really, about the condition of
your child? But what has this to do
with going to school? Just about
everything.
Children who have defective eyes,
ears, noses, throat and teeth cannot,
unless they are relieved, receive and
profit by public school education. To
such . handicapped children school
xrrnrl tg "a min and "a hn r1pn ThnU
lag behind in their classes. sometimes,
repeating the same class year after
year, an evaporation to the teachers
and a encouragement to themselves.
Unless relieved and rendered fit for
study, they frequently are regarded as
mentally deficient and sometimes as
unusually vicious. They become per-
sonally disheartencd and truant and
both teacher and parents too often
give up the child as a bad job.
The system of medical inspection
of school children has wrought Won
ders in correcting defective noses and
Threats and repairing defective teeth
among the school children. Yet the
corrective work 50 done has in reality
reached only a few. Manifestly it
has been impossible to make correc-
tons in all cases found, and equally
as impossible to find all cases where
defects existed. The example how
ever. has been set, and in a gratifying
large number has been followed. Up
on the parents rests the responsibility,
one that can be discharged only by
having the child carefully examined
by a competent physician before the
b%p pinDinp of gphool and auV dnfpct
found promptly corrected, and paying
the strictest attention to the medical
notification card that your child brings
home after the school physicians ex-
animation and consulting your family
physician concerning the defect.