| Show THE SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAM nothing is of more vital im when the fall school term opens in the sevier district than the health status of the students who will enter the schools looking toward necessary corrective work preschool pro pre school clinics were sponsored by the district board of education last spring in cooperation with the branch office of the utah state health board this should reflect with favor and is a credit to the officials who sponsored the project an article in the curre current nt issue of our health publication of the state board of health carries suggestions gest ions on the school health program and read as follows the youth of today lives under conditions far different than did his parents only a few years back we hear a great deal about our changing social order which makes it necessary that our educational program provide more than it has in the past in helpful experiences that will contribute more fully to present day living we have been too much inclined to teach better those t aings which have been taught in the past with out noting whether they were desirable to keep in the school program education today is regarded as progressive growing which begins beggins at birth and ends with the grave it is the process of experiencing through which one learns to participate in life situations problems of health and education are inextricably ably related and the health factor when viewed in its broadest aspect touches practically every phase of school activities urbanization and industrial development elop ment have increased therom the complexities of life more and more demands are being made upon the health of our people the school aust recognize the need and pro ride in its program those t acrivi I 1 I 1 aide acs ics which will contribute most to lie he formation for nation of attitudes habits and practices which will carry over into the lives of individuals after school days are arc over possibly the most revolutionary thing in the planning of the school health program is that it be based 1 upon the answers to the following questions 1 L what changes do we desire to bring about in boys and girls 2 what activities can we provide v wh hichi cli will bring about these changes 3 what observations can we make to see sec whether these activities have actually carried through and caused the changes planned 7 this certainly focuses our efforts i upon the individual pupil the measuring rod of successful teaching can no longer be conf to standards stand aids and knowledge of subject matter but the measuring measuring of p po giess and growth in terms rf of changed behavior of the individual A arotin of po p dessive res sive teachers of a n c tv tn en cn nizer aerl an fn n a curriculum i r r i stated their anhilo auby of health education as follows we believe that health is not an end in itself I 1 but ut is that way of in rig ng which at each stage contributes most to the integration of personality that health education is concerned with the growth and development of the whole child that the scope of health education therefore includes not alone the physical but also the mental emotional and social aspects of 0 f health and the interdependence inter dep indence of these that the curriculum of health education consists of provision fo for r and guidance in experiences in healthful living that these experiences should grow out of the needs of each group and the varying needs of individuals within the group that though these experiences the child should grow in his power to make wise choices that the formation and practicing of health information should be an integral and functional part of daily living that all contacts of the child chil with routine measures such as weighing aci hing and measuring and med mcd ical examinations used for the promotion or safeguarding of health should be positive learning experiences that a wholesome environment and adequate equipment for work and play for both teachers and pu pils should be considered a vital and integral part of curriculum experiences their guiding principles for the school health program were that entire health program should be built upon the principle of individual needs the individual ind vidual school area should lie the unit of organization the within each school schools should bould adi buted to the needs of the groups and individuals th h alth grogram should con f n itself ath 1 th ners personal onal and com ah Vio vidith oth ith P Pr opal onal health is inder stood to include physical antal and social health the school health h e a I 1 t h program should hould concern itself with health f teachers and qs is well t r anth th the health of pupils til th cafin tv 1 0 n 1 t h A fotr po tr r nah oarl nd nent ment all other agencies in the community which have a direct earing bearing upon the health of teach tf 1 l hould u rm n ari q ltv in the promotion of healthful living observation and measurement of our health teaching is not easily accomplished the complexity of health problems makes great difficulty in evaluating changes in behavior A change in the death rate of a community or state must be interpreted with great caution morbidity reporting as yet in our count y is not entirely satisha satisfactory atory however hov a few measures of num crichl ical evaluation which might be investigated and noted over a period for progress in the school health program might include 1 number of children entering school who have been immunized against diphtheria dip theria therla and smallpox per 1000 2 number of defects found in 10 1000 00 enteria entering school children each year 3 number of remedial defects corrected per 1000 discovered each year 4 number of annual physical ex examinations ami nations p per er 1000 population in the community 5 number of good up to date health books circulated from school and local library G number of absentees and length of time due to illness these are a few of the readily measurable criteria which might be used in evaluating our health program |
