At what age did you get eyeglasses?
I got new lenses in my eyeglasses last week. I had been noticing that distant signs weren't quite as sharp as they used to be, so I wasn't surprised that at my annual eye exam, the doctor said my prescription had changed. It wasn't a big difference, but enough to warrant new lenses. I've been through many such adjustments since junior high, when I began wearing glasses.
As I drove away with my newly improved vision, I was thinking about how amazing it is that someone figured out such a simple way to make vision possible. Without my glasses, I can see clearly only about a foot or two away. Beyond that, things get blurry. But by putting some glass in front of my eyes, wah-lah! Such a significant problem so easily fixed. Things snap into perfect focus and I can see the individual leaves on the tree across the street. And the lettering on street signs. And, back in junior high, the chalk board at the front of the room.
At which point it occurred to me: I don't know how I would have made it through school without glasses. Indeed, so important is vision to school that our kindergartners are required to have an eye exam as part of their enrollment in public school.
If education is a critical component in combating poverty, so too is optometry. I'm fortunate on several counts. First, I live in a country with plenty of eye doctors, and I grew up in a family that had the means to take me to see one. I also was part of an education system that had plenty of books. Being nearsighted, even without glasses I still could have read anything up close. Without glasses, school would have been harder and I surely would not have done as well. But as long as I had access to books, I could have gotten the information I couldn't see on the board.
But what of children in places that lack both optometrists and text books? Or children who simply lack access to those things? Or children who are farsighted and can't see their books? I don't know the percentage of children who need vision correction, but I'm guessing it's not insignificant. I've seen plenty of pictures of children in one-room schools around the world, with or without text books, often without desks or even chairs, looking at a teacher and a board at the front of the room. But how many of the children in those pictures were wearing glasses? One more obstacle I've never really considered.
As I drove away with my newly improved vision, I was thinking about how amazing it is that someone figured out such a simple way to make vision possible. Without my glasses, I can see clearly only about a foot or two away. Beyond that, things get blurry. But by putting some glass in front of my eyes, wah-lah! Such a significant problem so easily fixed. Things snap into perfect focus and I can see the individual leaves on the tree across the street. And the lettering on street signs. And, back in junior high, the chalk board at the front of the room.
At which point it occurred to me: I don't know how I would have made it through school without glasses. Indeed, so important is vision to school that our kindergartners are required to have an eye exam as part of their enrollment in public school.
If education is a critical component in combating poverty, so too is optometry. I'm fortunate on several counts. First, I live in a country with plenty of eye doctors, and I grew up in a family that had the means to take me to see one. I also was part of an education system that had plenty of books. Being nearsighted, even without glasses I still could have read anything up close. Without glasses, school would have been harder and I surely would not have done as well. But as long as I had access to books, I could have gotten the information I couldn't see on the board.
But what of children in places that lack both optometrists and text books? Or children who simply lack access to those things? Or children who are farsighted and can't see their books? I don't know the percentage of children who need vision correction, but I'm guessing it's not insignificant. I've seen plenty of pictures of children in one-room schools around the world, with or without text books, often without desks or even chairs, looking at a teacher and a board at the front of the room. But how many of the children in those pictures were wearing glasses? One more obstacle I've never really considered.
-Nancy Michaelis
posted by Nancy Michaelis |
1 Comments:
It is amazing how easy it is to take such vital aspects of education and activities of daily living for granted. Reading Nancy’s post made me think of another aspect that is vital, not only to education, but nutrition as well: dental care.
The connections to nutrition may be more obvious; it is hard to eat a wide variety of food if you have a bad tooth ache. However, I believe we need to recognize the implications this has for other activities as well. When a person is not eating because of a tooth ache it may be hard for them to concentrate in a learning or work environment because of the hunger pains, as well as the pain they are experiencing in their mouth. This decreases productivity and ability to support themselves as well as their dependents, either in the future for students dealing with these issues, or in the present for adults.
This is a significant problem, both domestically and abroad. With the rising cost of insurance, unemployment, and rising expenses related to health care, there are many, including children, who are going with out dental care. Also, the high sugar content in many foods available in the developed world contribute to dental problems such as cavities. Those drinking tap water are at least given some advantage by consuming fluoride-infused water. While those in undeveloped nations may not consume a lot of sucrose, many times they do not even have access to clean water, much less the fluoride that we as Americans benefit from.
Poor dental hygiene further degrades health, productivity, and quality of life. This problem is a contributing factor in the cycle of hunger and poverty, just as eyeglasses and other factors. I believe this is another demonstration of how all of God’s children must work together to use their gifts to eradicate world hunger.
- Rachel Zeman
ELCA World Hunger Intern
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