The former aims at securing physical soundness and vitality
and looks far into the future.
The physical examinations conducted in these dispensaries have shown
conclusively that a large percentage of the Cleveland children--like
those of all other cities--suffer from defective vision to the extent
of requiring an oculist's care if they are to do their work properly,
and if permanent injury to their eyes is to be avoided. More than
this, a considerable proportion of the children are so seriously
defective in hearing that their school work suffers severely. Most
important of all, only a small minority of these defects of sight and
hearing are discovered by teachers or known to them, to the parents,
or to the children themselves. When the children attempt to do their
school work while suffering from these defects, among the results may
be counted permanent injury to the eyes, severe injury to the nervous
system due to eyestrain, and depression and discouragement, owing to
inability to see and hear clearly.
Moreover, there are other defects, in particular those of nose,
throat, and teeth, which are common among children and which have an
important bearing upon their present health and future development.
The importance of these defects is emphasized by the fact that, if
discovered early enough, they may easily be remedied or modified,
whereas neglect leads, almost invariably, to permanent impairment of
physical condition. These are the reasons why Cleveland's heavy
investment in school dispensaries is yielding a return in enhanced
health, happiness, and vigor probably unexcelled by the dividends from
any other sort of educational expenditure.
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