HEALTH OF RURAL SCHOOL CHILDREN 



The general health of a given community is fairly 

 well indicated by the average health of the older school 

 children. While it is difficult to secure satisfactory 

 statistics with reference to the health of the entire 

 population of a rural town, it is possible to secure such 

 data for the school children, though also involving error. 

 Inasmuch as the younger school children are often 

 kept at home due to weather conditions, the following 

 data are based only on fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth 

 grade pupils. The school used as an example, if it 

 were not for the malaria, is situated in one of the most 

 healthful localities in the state, — malaria is the chief 

 cause for absences. 



The manner of keeping the ordinary school register 

 does not furnish accurate statistics for our purpose, 

 because the child is not considered a member of the 

 school when it has been absent five days in succession. 

 However, in a small school where the teacher is per- 

 sonally acquainted with each pupil as well as parents 

 he has a means of knowing just how long the child 

 has been absent and for what reasons. This is espe- 

 cially true of the school data used in this connection, 

 because the principal is a man who takes an intelligent 



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