Aleksandr Skryagin, Palana, Koryak Autonomous Okrug
Pediatrists have coined a new term: often ill children (OIC*). Twenty to 30% of all children in kindergartens of the Koryak AO are OIC. At an average across
It has been known for a long time that a significant portion of pupils have bad habits that negatively impact their health. In the sixth class 7% of pupils smoke; in the tenth class almost one out of two does. Children probably do not know that the lung cancer rate doubled in our country over the last 20 years, and forecasts for the next decade say that about one million people will die of this illness, in other words, largely from smoking. In the seventh class experiences in connection with binge drinking increased for schoolchildren from 42% to 74%, and those who tried drugs and stupefying substances from 5% to 15%.
When I worked at
Alas, my efforts have been in vain. There was no understanding among colleagues. Most of all I am disturbed by that fact that in kindergartens, and possibly also in preschool, children do not learn not to smoke – this is definitely bad. Starting school they see the following scene: senior pupils stand around with cigarettes between their teeth during every break. Bad examples are infectious.
It is not surprising, that children cannot run two kilometers without resting, have studied up to the 11th class, but not having learned to ski. As we see, children do not learn to protect their health. At school there is no such subject as “health education”, to teach students how to follow a healthful way of life. While they learn about astronomy, for example, they do not learn how to stay healthy. Health is no priority; priority is only given to education.
It is evident that the educational authorities, including the Ministry of Public Education, do not show responsibility. At certifications of teachers these facts are not considered. As a result, the quantity of healthy children decreases by 4-5 times from the 1st on 8th class, and after they leave high school there are only about 20% who pursue higher education, and 58% of the graduates are restricted in their choice of profession due to health problems.
So what can be done now? To move, create, function – a person has to have a certain lavel of well-being. In other words: physical training must again become an integral part of our culture. It is established knowledge that, if muscles do not work, the organism “stagnates”. Deficiency of movement is reflected in the general development of children. In fact, motor skills and intellectual skills develop together. Children who start to walk, swim, and run early have a good foundation for their future development.
The educationalist couple Nikitin have shown that early physical exercise makes kids much healther: they get ill 8-10 times less often, and almost do not catch colds at all. A very small child should run 30-40 steps in a day, and in kindergarten he or she should run two to four thousand. It is known, that coordination of movements is necessary for a good development up to 5-6 years of age. In our district, day nurseries and kindergartens are not few, but only 15% of them have facilities for physical training. The unique swimming pool in the district center of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug – in the kindergarten “Rabinka” – was closed 15 years ago due to lacking finances for repair. I do not think that we should save money at the expense of children. We have no domestic sports grounds and an insufficient quantity of skiing equipment at the district schools. Where should children be trained in the motor skills?! Are we really not capable of understanding that the future of the nation depends on health?
Educational institutions look generally horrible. When a child starts in the first class, its physical activity is halved at once. Up to 30% of the pupils have no access to sports halls. In our district, 95% of the children are not able to swim. Regional and district games between schoolchildren have ceased. It is not surprising that the quantity of army recruits with a poor health has noticeably increased.
The programme “Physical training and youth policy” only exists on paper. In the Koryak Autonomous Okrug children have no place to train. District branches of the Children’s
In 1997 in the national village Ust-Khayryuzovo the school burned down; since then children are housed in two modified emergency buildings. The rooms do not meet sanitary standards, nor do the outdoor areas, the furniture, the illumination and other things. During all this time children have had to study under difficult conditions, which is reflected in their health and also in that of the employees of the school. During the school years 2000-2001 alone pupils lost 2187 school days and teachers 412 working days owing to sickness.
All the government authorities, including both the district and federal governments, know about the situation in the
Where can 200 million roubles be found in the local budget, and where are the sponsors that will help?! In my opinion our government is indifferent to the problems of children of the North; it does not understand the severity of the problem. The lack of schools for children of the North in 350 places is an infringement of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Who will help the children of the North? Where is the policy of our state?! How is it possible to state that the destiny of the children has not appealed to the government, the President, deputies of the State Duma, members of the Federal Assembly?!
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