Milford chronicle., 1935-03-29
THE acHoOL HEAITH PROaRAM
by c. A. Sargent, Director. Division
Of Child Hygiene, State Board
II Hei.lth

BY c. A. Sargent. Director. Division
of Child Hygiene, State Board
IL HeS.lth
The keynfte Of school health
work, as IN all Thases OF health
work, shOul, be prevention. Il Is
far better 10 .each children the pre-
Vention OF physical defects than to
have to establish clinics for the cor
rectiVe work.
The school health programs now
in vogue in many schools are not
ideal. There Is not enough emphasis
placed upon health education and
prevention Of disease For the most
part, the school health program In
many schools consists mainly OF
first aid and the correction Of phys
zeal defects. The correction Of de-
fects program Is aimed more at the
individual case than the group as q
whole and does little to prevent the
spread OF disease among school
children. The teaching Of good
health habits is to be recommended,
but in addition the children should
be given instruction in the preVen-
tion OF contagious diseases, nhtri-
tiOn, exercise, rest, personal hy-
giene and sanitation.
The diet Of school children has
been the target OF many enthusiasts
tic welfare workers. Many times nu-
triton work In schools consists Of
giving food such as milk and .gra-
ham crackers to sO-called malnour-
ished children. Granting that cases
of malnutrition are found, it would
seem advisable, before changing the
diet, to have thorough physical ex-
animation made to determine Whe-
tber some physical defect is the
cause of the condition. The next
step should be home Investigation
to determine the diet and eating
habits of the child. MalnutritiOn Is a
physical defect; 1t is also a symp-
tom of illness, faulty diet or bad
eating habits.
To most individuals, sanitation
suggests the care of milk and water
supplies and the proper disposal OF
sewerage; yet the field OF sanita-
tiOn embraces many other things
such as heating, lighting, Ventila-
tion and the abatement of uuisanees.
One Of the hest ways OF teaching
sanitation Is by it's practical appH-
cation in the school buildings and
on the school grounds.
Teachers should take an active
part in the physical examination Of
school children. The yshould be pre-
pared to determine the vision and
hearing and to examine the skin
and scalp and note the posture as
well as to weigh and measure the
children. There are many reasons
for this. First, If the teacher takes
an active part in the physical exam
inatiOn she becomes more interest,"
ed IN the school health program
Second: Many times the teacher
can obtain more accurate infOFma-
tiOn because Of almost daily contact
with the children. Third: She may
be able to discuss conditions with |
the parents to a better advantage |
than the nurse or school physician.
One phase of school health work |
which Is often very much neglected |
Is the physical examination of |
school teachers. Before the begin
ming Of the school year every teach
er should have a thorough physical
examination.
Physical education has contribut-
ed much during the past few years
to broaden the field of health in-
struction. However, rest is seldom
in the physical education
There are individuals as
much In need Of rest as others are
In need Of exercise There should be
In every school facilities for rest
periods for the heart cases, the chill
ifen with arrested childhood tuber-
eulOsis, etc
The main factors IN the control of
diseases are: Finding
he source Of Infection, isolation of
he case and the incubation (immu-
of the contacts and sus-
ieptables. Finding the source of in
ection, Is often difficult because of
he mild cases which may not be
carriers who harbOr the
,ausitlVe organisms and may give
be disease to others and the fail
ire to report the disease to the pro-
,eF authorities. Many of the social {
d children's diseases may be ex-
remedy dangerous because of the {
which may follow an I
tack OF the disease. The following
re few of the complications of /
ONE of the children's diseases.