The Coolidge examiner., 1938-03-10
What the School
Should Expect of the
Woman's Club
Continued From Page One)

active part in some way toward the
betterment of the school and the
child, either directly or indirectly.
Now let us look at some of the
problems of the school in regard
to the pupils, which the school can
not take care of, but which could
be an intergral part of the func-
tions of your organization. Proba-
bly, our greatest problem is that
one dealing with undernourished
children. You will be surprised
when l tell you that not less than
forty percent of the children attend
ing the Coolidge Grammar School
are what might be termed, under
nourished. By that | don't neces-
sarily mean that they are starved
or in any sense hungry,-but l do
mean that they are not properly
fed, either in amount, quality, or
in a well-balanced diet.
You might say, What can we do
as a club member, about that?
We feed our children. 1t is the
poor who have no money to buy
food that are implicated there.
You cannot be of much help to
those who do not feed their chill
dren properly because of economic
difficulties; but you can be of the
greatest assistance to those who are
ignorant of how to feed their chill
dren properly.
First, you can help the school
make most of these parents realize
that their children are under nour-
ished. These parents attempt to
feed their children, and they really
think they are doing it right. They
do not realize that it is as bad on
a childs physical condition to make
him eat one kind of food every day
as it is for him to go a little hung
ry.
l was sitting in my car on the
street the other day, and a little
boy. about seven years old came
up and said" "Well it's $50, and
| have an hour to kill before time
for the show; so I'll just talk to
you, Miss Williams" l said, Have
you eaten your dinner?" The reply
was, "Oh, no, l never eat at night.
| was surprised, because most chill
dren are very hungry in the eve
ming; so l asked him, why. and he
said, "Oh, my mother always
leaves me beans, and | got tired of
them, so 1 just quit eating. l miss
ed my dinner for a while, but |
never get hungry anymore" Poor
little boy. He had money to go to
the show, but he was going with
out his supper.
This is a problem with which the
school cannot cope, and this is the
place where an organization of the
nature of your club could be of
the greatest assistance.
If the child is to be in an active
frame of mind-in a mood for
learning, he must be physically fit.
If he isn't, he is restless, sluggish
and a problem to his teacher. When
he becomes a problem child, he
takes the time of the teachere
away from another child, and that
child may be your child.
You, as an organization, couldn't
Just go out and tell a mother that
her child wasn't being properly fed,
but you could be diplomatic about
it.
What affect would cooking
school have upon mothers and the
community? What effect would
little pamphlet of suggested foods
and their preparation, if carried
home by each pupil, have upon
parents? l once heard OF COM
munity trying to rid itself of this
problem by arranging for a woman
to direct a cooking school. The
community did this through local
merchants who helped finance the
school in order that they might
have some of their best products
advertised. Sometimes, it also can
be financed through some national
ly advertised product. The unique
thing about the whole matter was
the way they got some knowledge
even to those who did not attend
the school. A little booklet, con-
tanning a few of the favorite reci-
pes, an interesting and instructive
article on the proper feeding Of
children, and an announcement of
the arrangements of the school,
was sent out to the parents by the
school children-and mothers al
L