SCHOOL CHILDREN'S HEALTH.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 222, 19 September 1928, Page 8

SCHOOL CHILDREN'S HEALTH.

THE BOARD'S HTTENTIONS. PRAISE FOR MEDICAL OFFICERS. Dr. Ada G. Patterson, Director, of School Hygiene, attended at to-day's meeting of the Auckland Education Board to discuss matters in connection; with school medical services. She dealt, at considerable length with the during the bourse of which she reported on what was being done throughout the Dominion and made comparisons with operations overseas. Regarding the treatment of backward children, Dr. Patterson said, it was not proposed to drag children away from unwilling parents and place them in an institution. Touching on the matter of children who had to attend a retardation school for three years, the doctor wished it to be distinctly understood that such r children were not to be considered mentally defective. Other matters spoken upon were openair schools and nutrition classes. In regard to the former, Dr. Patterson said no hard and fast rules could be laid down in regard to their construction. Their application shoula be studied from: each particiilar point 'of vie;w. For instance, a design for an open-air • school at, say, Bluff would not be suitable for one in North Auckland, and vice-versa. It was stated that there were only 12 medical officers and 31 nurses to atieud to approximately 200,000 echool children in rthe Dominion, and despite this fact endeavours were being made to, have the children attending all native schools medically examined. Reverting again to the children who are not so bright as thicr fellows, Dr. Patterson said: "You get a greater percentage! of retardation in schools, where children have to work after school hours, and also where the mother has to work hard, especially in the farming districts where she has to help with farm work." Many matters were also discussed in commit tec. On resuming' in open board, the.chairman (Mr. A. Burns) thanked Dr. Patterson for valuable information given. He assured her that every member of the board would co-operate with her in the endeavour to carry out the work successfully. Mr. Burns also paid a high tribute to the work of the local school medical officers, stating that it was the board's intention to give them every facility to carry on.