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24
(b). Often the expense of some food.
(c). Often the carrying of a toddler or baby who cannot
be left at home.
(d). The loss of a mornings' or days' work, when the
mother is working, and finally a thoroughly exhausting day.
It is no good expecting anything much to be done—it cannot
be—in the present state of unemployment, it is out of the question.
If orthodontic work is to be effectually carried out, it must be
done by the School Dentist acting on the advice of the consulting
Orthodontist at the Dental Hospital, who could prescribe the
necessary treatment in the way of extractions and/or appliances.
This then could be carried out by the local School Dentist.
Open Air Education.
There is no open air school in the district, the only open
air education being comparatively few classes held in the playground
in the summer. There is a great demand for an open
air school, as there are a considerable number of children who
could attend such a school, with benefit from the point of view of
education and also from the point view of their physical wellbeing
due to the proper feeding, rest, etc., which form such an
important part of an open air school curriculum. There are a
considerable number of border-line cases that it is very difficult at
present to deal with. They cannot attend an ordinary day school
and hope to cope with its curriculum. Their power of concentration
is sadly lacking, and one feels that on the whole, the child is
better running about in the fresh air, and even mud larking under
what might be supposed to be far from ideal conditions, than
sapping what energy it has by attempting to cope with the
school curriculum. The presence of these children in a class also
makes the work of a teacher infinitely harder, as they are apt to
be a disturbing element amongst the normal children.
PHYSICAL TRAINING.
There is no Area Organiser of Physical Training for the
elementary schools in the district. Whatever is done is on the