WOMAN AND THE HOME.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1736, 29 April 1913, Page 6

WOMAN AND THE HOME.

The suggestion put forward by the Society for the Protection of Women and Children that an application should be made to the trustees of the T. G. Macabthy Bequest for a grant in aid of establishing a chair of domestic science at Victoria College gave rise to interesting discussions at the recent meetings of the Board of Governors of- Wellington College and the. Technical School Board. As everyone seemed to bo somewhat in the dark as to the precise definition of the term "domestic science," the views expressed were rather vague, but the general opinion was that the proposal should be supported, and both bodies carried resolutions to that effect. - The matter is by no means a simple one. • The teaching of "domestic science" may be made so theoretical as to be useless for the great majority of young women, and on the other hand it must be something more than mere practice in household duties. The well-managed home isj of course, the best place in which a girl can learn home duties; but all homes are not ideal, and the well-regulated family is naturally conservative in regard to its internal working, and its methods of doing things tend to become unduly traditional. In household management women are slow to adopt new ideas and scientific theory and method have great difficulty in crossing the threshold of the average English home. Progress is, however, being made in this matter, and girls who nave learned in technical schools to,'cook and to know the why and wherefore of other domestic matters must naturally assist to raise the average standard of household efficiency. A university chair of domestic science-would be of value mainly for teaching the teachers; but its effeet would eventually filter- down to the homes of the people. Such an application of modern scientific knowledge to home life is certainly desirable, and all girls should receive instruction - which' would help in this direction. Still, if -a woman is to be'something more than a domestic drudge a high degree of general culture is also her right. Many people feci that our whole method of teaching girls requires to be reconsidered. A modern scientific writer, discussing the question, advances the view that one of the most serious drawbacks of the present system is "the fact that it is essential to the discipline of a school that English grammar and physical geography should be considered before spring cleaning and jam-making, while it is even more essential to the welfare of the homes of the nation that spring cleaning and jam-making should, when the .processes or their equivalents'' becomc ' necessary, be given the position of prc-emincncc." There may be a good deal in this of looking at the matter, but it is also of great importance to the advancement and development of the community that its homes should be presided over by high-minded and cultured women, and to attain this desirable state of affairs it is necessary that our girls should receive a reasonably good all-round education in addition to instruction in household matters. Domestic science and general culturc are equally necessary for the woman whose 'duty it is to manage a household and bring up a family. No higher scrvicc can be rendered to the State. Walt Whitman writes:. ■ And I say.it is as great to be a woman as to be a mail, Am! I say there is nothing greater than the mother of men.