HEALTH AND EDUCATION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18223, 17 October 1922, Page 9

HEALTH AND EDUCATION

CONDITIONS IN AUCKLAND UNSATISFACTORY REPORT. SOME REMEDIES SUGGESTEI Some important considerations in re lation to youth and education will b presented to the Welfare of Youth Con ferenco to be opened in Auckland at th end of the present month. The repor hus been drawn up by a special commit tee set up to investigate the subject Within the area of its survey come 3i public schools, having a roll number o 19,077 children, with an average attend ance of 17,522, for whose instruction 58! teachers are employed. A summary of data, from 49 school of grades 6, 6, and 7 in -he Aucklam education district sliowed th*t there wen no fewer than 352 classes in those school having from 40 .to 100 pupils in charge o one adult teacher. The last report o the City Schools' Committee stated tha the overcrowding had become worse With regard to physical education, tin report stated that a very much bette provision lor playgrounds was urgently needed. Ten schools were very badly ol" in this respect j eight were fairly wel provided for; and ten were well off I'our acres of playing space was con sidered an adequate provision. Whili school athletics were well organised, somi general system of organised play wai needed, which could bo adopted in i games manual to supplement the physica training handbook at present providedl bj the Kducation Department. Physically Defective Children. Considering the physical health of child ren, it was noted that the medical anc dental inspection of schools had not beer developed to cover all school children but onjy those of certain standards. Thi recent medical examinations conducted 11 j Auckland and suburban schools showec t that 70 per cent, of the children wen physically defective in some way, anc ■ 40 per cent, suffered from defects othei than dental. No fewer than 2204 cases o trunk and chest defects, including fault} posture, were found. Compared with lasi I year's statistics, the proportions appearec rather improved. There were remedial classes in some schools, but there were neither gym nasiums nor gymnastic equipment ir ' public primary schools. The trunk cle fects included stooped shoulders, flat chest pigeon chest, depressed ribs, etc. Th< nuinoer oi 1 cases of goitre found in recent medical inspections in the metropolitan area was 4c6, 82 being boys and girls. Mortality among children betwoer the ages of hve and 20 years during the past three years showed an improve ment on that recorded 20 years aigo. Health Camps lor Scholars. The report proceeded to recommenc school health camps and their extension Physical instruction at children's mid week clubs organised by the churche: would also benefit by encouragement. Ii the case of children who did not go hom< for the mid-day meal, better provisioi for their accommodation should bo made a suggestion being the provision of lunch rooms with adequate supervision. Th< bad effects on health of the abnorma consumption of sweets in New Zealanc was emphasised, the remedy for whicl lay largely with the parents. In connection with the mental condi tion of children, the tests made in schooli showed that 17£ per cent, were below normal, per cent, were normal, anc 15 per cent, abovo normal. Classifyini these cases according to the kind of en vironment in which they were placed, il was shown that above normal and norma children came largely out of " excellent' and " good" homes, while of those below normal, £2 per cent, cam© from " fair' and " poor"- homes. In the case of thii last group, the children showed a very high percentage of chest deformities. These conditions gnd the close association in which they stood to the mental and physical health of the whole nation, and the grave menace they constituted tc the community, made accurate and definite statistics on (the subject necessary.