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15
The first thing obvious is that at any particular age, the higher the standard of any group of
girls at that age the greater the average height of the group. For instance, girls of ten to eleven if in
Standard I. average 125.4 cm. in height, in Standard II. they are 125.8 cm., in Standard III. 129.2 cm.,
Standard IV. 132.4 c.m., Standard V. 133.5 cm., and Standard VI. 135.1 cm. high. And although it
is to be remembered that with increasing age the drift of the children is both towards greater average
height and higher standards, and consequently although these girls are 10.11 years old, it is probable
that the age groups are not exactly comparable, those in the higher standards possibly averaging
several months more than others in lower standards, and this alone would make a difference in height.
To correct for this would be exceeding tedious, but may be omitted for obviously the whole amount
of possible error would never reach a year's growth. The diagram shows that the effect is greater than
this possible error. A group of children at any age and in any standard generally averages less
height than the groups of children in higher standards, but one or more years younger. The ten-yearolds
of Standard II. are not only smaller than the ten-year-olds of any higher standard, but are also less
than the nine-year-olds in these higher standards. Again, these taller ten-year-olds of Standard III.
are less than the small group of nine-year-olds in Standard IV. Or if older ages are taken, the 11-yearolds
of Standard III. are smaller not only than those of higher standards, but also than the ten-year-olds
of these same higher standards, and so on.
The data for following up this enquiry are not available. Some estimate of the home conditions
would have to be made, and probably this diagram expresses the effects of heredity and the pre-eminent
power of the home environment towards which school is an auxiliary, sometimes an ameliorating
influence.
This inter-relation of hereditary and social conditions with educational results suggests the
further necessity of obtaining not merely impressions, but data of a somewhat scientific order concerning
the individual children, and some of the conditions of feeding, sleep, housing and heredity,
as put forth in the suggestions in the Report for 1904.
A chart is given on p. 10 (Diag. 1) showing the heights and weights of these 18,686 boys and
girls at three monthly intervals from 7 to 14.
Unless the physical measurements taken can be made applicable to individual scholars there
is not likely to be any great educational benefit accrue from a regularly maintained series of anthropometric
observations in schools generally. In London, where such great masses of children are being
handled, measurements from time to time will be useful for purposes of comparison, but the tabulation
and estimation of error (which has not yet been done with our figures) makes the task one of very great
trouble.
The systematic comparisons at repeated intervals of individual measurements with standard
records may be of value as determining the condition of health of particular children, but regular
anthropometric measurements must be looked on as of the nature of special scientific enquiries from
which knowledge may be gained but which at present are not a routine necessity, for all children, in
school work where so much that is useful and beneficial still remains to be done.
Feeding Experiment.—A feeding experiment was suggested by the Executive Officer.
It was intended to utilise the cookery centres for the provision of a limited number of cheap dinners
in the schools. The scheme at first included five schools and later others were added. An attempt
was made to utilise this experiment by observing fed and unfed children in these and other schools,
but the conditions were quite unsuitable for the purpose and the results obtained indefinite.
In first examining the children at two of the schools, Dr. Sears noted the nutrition of each,
marking them according to a scale suggested in previous reports: 1 meant emaciation, 2 badly nourished,
3 indifferent, 4 good and 5 perfect nutrition. Infants under five years of age were not taken into
account.
Nutrition marks.
1
Emaciated.
2
Badly
Nourished.
3
Indifferent.
4
Good.
5
Excellent.
Total.
Old Woolwich-road school
Boys department — 10 173 105 11 299
Girls' department — 8 169 104 25 306
Infants-—Boys — 4 77 43 5 129
Girls — — 73 58 8 139
Total'for'school 0 22 492 310 49 873
Glenister-road school—
Boys' department — 2 224 121 19 366
Girls' department — 3 158 140 25 326
Infanta—Boys — 7 127 34 2 170
Girls — 1 76 57 3 137
Special (M.D.)—Boys — 1 11 11 1 24
Girls — — 12 9 1 22
Total for school 0 14 608 372 51 1,045
These observations as to nutrition, 22 bad out of 873 at Old Woolwich-road and 14 out of 1,045
at Glenister-road, are in agreement with the feeding experiment at Buckingham-street, where 25 out