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snooze during classtime, it is so truly natural for them to snooze; in
other words, Dickens's picture of this boy—as so many of his pen-pictures—
is very apt although perhaps, as is usual with this great writer, somewhat
of a caricature.
These boys are out of adjustment so far as class life is concerned
and must be a trial to their teachers; they are out of touch with regard
to their class mates and the boys and girls they meet in the playground
because from so many standpoints they are years and years older than
the children with whom they are mixing, and all we can do from a medical
standpoint is to recognise that these facts are inevitable and do whatever
we can to help them adjust themselves to their environment, because
that, after all, is the chief benefit any child receives from education at
school; it is a hard task.
I am very glad that you have brought this matter to my notice
because the "Fat Boy of Peckham" is what we call an endocrine defect;
that is, his glands of internal secretion are not functioning properly.
This is a branch of medicine which is sadly neglected, particularly in
our school work.
During the war we had a man in Barking who did a good bit of
work on this subject. He is now a Research Associate in the Department
of Endocrinology and Assistant Professor of Oncology in the University
of Georgia, United States of America, and although I must say that I
was not very impressed with results, I did learn that there is a very great
need for further study of this problem and that if we have the necessary
research a large number of children might be helped who, at the present
time, by reason of that defect, are looked upon as abnormal, and who
still find their way to psychologists and other people who are not specially
trained in the branch of medicine which deals with these endocrine glands.
Question:— From a medical point of view what importance
do you put on Rhythmic Dancing ?
Answer:— Rhythmic Dancing is dancing to a musical instrument,
almost invariably a piano, which gives a lead so far as rhythm is concerned;
it is sometimes developed into dancing where the children are encouraged
to interpret the music, but this interpretation goes rather beyond the
fundamentals of Rhythmic Dancing.
Rhythmic Dancing is good because it satisfies one of our innermost
urges.
Human beings and, so far as I know, animals also are fond of rhythm.
This is a curious mental phenomenon and I believe it requires satisfying
so much as many of our other inherent urges. Because Rhythmic
Dancing satisfies one of our fundamental urges it is pleasurable to us
and the value of exercise depends largely upon the pleasure we take in it.
I believe that Rhythmic Dancing is less fatiguing than Swedish
exercises, and of course all exercises should stop before fatigue is well
established.
So far as health is concerned I certainly think that pride of place
must be reserved exclusively for free exercises, but I do think that
Rhythmic Dancing is a very good second.
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