DISCUSSION 281 



And this brings me to a matter I have in mind as to whether the 

 teacher of today is going to be able to fill all that we expect of the 

 public schools in teaching health matters. I am inclined to think that 

 we must have a specialist, what I am inclined to call a school physi- 

 cian, who must be something more than a physician, who must 

 have medical education and also special knowledge of the child. 

 I do not conceive it possible for a public school teacher to re- 

 cognize beginning cases of scarlet fever, diphtheria or other con- 

 tagious diseases. If we want our children protected from these dis- 

 eases there should be a daily inspection of the schools, and a school 

 physician could accomplish much. Education has a three-fold object, 

 not only to bring out the mental side, but the highest possible moral 

 and physical development of the child, and I think a physician work- 

 ing along with the school teachers would bring greater results. I 

 think the day will come when in every large school building in this 

 country, along with the superintendent of the school, will be the 

 school physician, devoting all his time and attention to looking after 

 the physical welfare of the child, even to the extent of interrupting 

 his studies when he thinks it is necessary for his health. So I be- 

 lieve that we must have still further progress. This public school 

 education should go into questions of municipal, State and national 

 hygiene. 



A community is called to vote on a bond issue for water supply, 

 and it will often be voted down year after year until possibly a severe 

 scourge of typhoid fever teaches that community to put in a better 

 water supply. If every child were thoroughly grounded in municipal, 

 State and national hygiene and sanitation we should have great im- 

 provements along all health lines. 



