For several reasons, there has been a change in the relationship that
used to exist between teacher and child. Earlier the teacher lived in,
and was part of, the community and so knew something of local conditions
and the tensions of his pupils' lives. This gave him a more intimate
knowledge and sympathetic understanding of a child's difficulties.

Today in the cities, and particularly in the quickly growing urban
areas, there are different conditions. Schools are new and big, without
a tradition of long community service; teachers have difficulty in
finding accommodation in the district from which their pupils come; to
meet the shortage of permanent staff many partially trained persons have
to be used as relieving teachers; even qualified teachers have to move
frequently to meet promotion requirements.

As a result the knowledge that once came to a teacher from sharing the
same environment as the child has now to be acquired in some other way
and, probably, from within the school. This knowledge is of great
importance in diagnosing maladjustments that might lead to delinquency.

In primary schools the situation is met by the establishment of a
system of visiting teachers who can investigate the circumstances of a
problem child. Perhaps of greater importance, the presence of visiting
teachers reminds class teachers that children have difficulties out of
school. The Committee feels that:

(_a_) As many of the problems have a medical origin, there should
be as much official liaison as possible between the public health
nurses and the visiting teachers. This would automatically make
the services of a medical officer available.