The Dominion. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1914. SCIENCE IN THE HOME.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1989, 20 February 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1914. SCIENCE IN THE HOME.

The report on the working of the Home Science Department of Otago University, which "was presented to the University Council on Tuesday last, is so full of sound common sense that one cannot help wonder ing how it is _ that one of the last, places into which practical science should find an entrance is the home. Modern science has brought about great changes in our means of transport; it has boon applied in many ways to trade and coininet'ee, and the organisation of business; it is revolutionising many of our ideas on education; it plays a great part in State and municipal activities; and it is an increasingly important factor in providing for the amusements of the public: but the home lif« of the people is still to a very l&tgc extent arranges! and controlled m accordance wUh the dictates of ancient tradition, and nowhere dues the conservative instinct- of the British raws assert itself tmire strongly than in. the ordering of our domestic-affairs. But the inoderts spirit has n«w made its presence felt in the household, and it will gradually extend its influence. Tho very idea of a "scientific home" is at first sooiewhat repellent—indeed, it sounds almost sacriligions; but the application of a little quiet thought- to the subjecfc'lmngs comfort and reassurance, for domestic science simply means a knowledge of the best way of performing the necessary household duties, and the

: most effective methods of keeping the house clean, healthy, and comfort>nbk>. This is snch an important matter that it has become necessary to find a place in onr educational system for instruction in home management, and people arc now wondering why this was not done years ago, _ In New Zealand this question is just now receiving a good deal of attention, and Dunedin has given a lead to the rest of the Dominion by securing the establishment of a Home Science Department in connection with the University, in her report on the past year's operations, Professor Boys Smith -shows that the institution has been started on right lines, and that it is making very encouraging progress. Last winter work was started with nine degree students, 17 diploma students, and 2! taking single or group courses, making a totai on the roll of 47 students; and the report states that this year a large number of fresh stndents arc coming forward, so that the department will soon be larger that ever. The fact that good positions have been found for the first diploma students indicates that there is a growing demand for instruction in domestic science, and PnoMisson Boys Smith points out that it will rest with these students and those who will follow them "to prove that it is desirable for women to take up this kind of educatian, and that it would be an even better thing to have it introduced into girls schools ail over the Dominion.', The teaching of home science concerns the rest of New Zealand just as much as it does Otago. for other parts of .the Dominion will for some time to come naturally look to Otago University for teachers qualified to give instruction i n this branch of education. The general public are becoming increasingly alive to the importance of the girls in our schools being carefully trained in the domestic arts, and as time goes on the demand for capable teachers will be very great. At present Otago has a monopoly of this work as far as the University of New- Zealand is concerned, but before many voars go by the probabilities are that it will develop to such-an extent that each of the Colleges will have a full.vequipped homo science department. In the meantime, the progress of the pionecreffoi't in Dunedin will be watched with great interest., The University Council has secured a ■ very capable organiser of the new ■ branch of instruction, and the scheme is being placed on a sound footing. Professos Bots Smith is i evidently endowed with both ,cnIthusiasm and. ideas, and is determined to do her. utmost to prove in a practical manner that the applicaj tion of science—which has been well defined as "organised common sense" ; —to ordinary ' household affairs would he & x boon to the whole community. Her pupils will go out into the world, and through the technical and training, colleges, the high schools, and the elementary education system will spread their expert knowledge throughout tho land, and so assist to raiso'the standard of the home, life, of the people. The use of scientific methods should tend to make housewifery a. more interesting occupation, and lessen the drudgery of domfftic duties. We are told that ''the'biological unit of human life is neither the individual nor the State, but the family''; and how surprisingly slow we have been to realise the-.beariii| offflisffadt upon our methods of-"e'ducaton."" It has long- been recognised that' special training js needed to fit our young people for other walks of life, but wc are just beginning to wake rip to the fact that .science has its plaee in the home, and in the ordering of those domestic arrangements upon which the health and ha-opiness of families so largely depend..