WHEN WARPED BY EDUCATION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 30, 30 October 1907, Page 5

WHEN WARPED BY EDUCATION.

. A REPLY TO DR. TJtUBY KINO. Sir, —The three-cornered interview with Dr. Truby King cepoitcd in Saturday's issue of Tin; Dominion lias canned quite a flutter. Though his opinitns on the, higher education 1 of .women are most interesting, they can hardly bo termedconvincing as to women being warped by it, 1 and tho, party to that interviow deserves our thanks for pointing out .that excessive Work is as bad for boys as girls. Wo arc told the Doctor would not admit this, However,.he partially.did so later on, with this reservation: Tho harm is the same, ho said, in kind, " but in a greater degree, because of the greater nervous and emotional, instability of women at the'time'of physical growth and development." Now, as women have net had higher education long enough to judge of its effect on posterity, the "emotional instability " mentioned cannot be laid

to its ohargo. Tlicreforc, the onus belongs to a former regime, when generation after generation of women lived and died and

"Knowledge to their oyos her ample pago Rich with tho spoils of time, did ne'er unroll." Tho Doctor also says: "Boys' education has this at least in its favour, that it has boon for tho Most part- ovolved by men for tho youth of their own sex." This may, of course, prove a slight handicap to women, but they have been so used to handicaps and disabilities that they make little of-this one, especially now thoy find thoy can do as well, and somotimes better, than, men in the schools and coliegos. As to tho lady teachers, thoir caso is indeed hard. "Broken down in their training and after-conduct of school work," tho Doctoi says, though it may bo they are broken down -.villi, disabilities. Did it ever strike Dr. King 'that many of these teachers not only siip;.ori themselves and aged parents or ya'ing sisters and brothers, but are also forced to help to support the wives of the malq J-oachcrs, as while doing equal work rith tho men (judged by results) they are 'paid smaller salary, that the men may have more to supports wife and family? "Surely this.arrangement also was evolved by men for their own sex. ,

: If it is essential to the future of tho race that women should not be overworked, it is short-sighted policy to p require them to contribute to the salaries of tho/men. Few will deny, that (excessive, work is injurious, but many deny the assertion that' a University course entails excessive work on women, and that she is not just as capable as her brothers of sustaining the.strain. | - If. Dr.. King-is right, and higher culture is deleterious to the physical well-being of women,.so that she can only cultivate brain at tho oxpenso of body, and body at the expense of .brain, it becomes a question of individual choice, which she shall cultivate. But Dr. King lias not proved his ease, and even if ho could prove that nowadays woroon break down undor the strain of higher culture, how can he.tell if the'fault lies with Higher education of tho iraht of it iV her heredity?—l am, etc., ■ ■ .■ DUBIOUS.