EDUCATION OP GIRLS
. 'A COMPLICATED QUESTION. (By Parent.) ' Just iib tho present time, whon tho services of women aro being utilised so .largely in tho affairs of the nation, tho report of tho Council of Education on tlio education of girls makes interesting reading. In its insistenco on tlio importance of training the "womanly" qualities and of the need of segregation and.differentiation in tlio caso of girls, it is Very reminiscent of Miss Pinkerton's Academy for Genteel Young Ladies and Thackeray's sarcastic references to ivhat was long ago considered "correct" in the education of girls. lii drawing up any scheme for girls' education, several things must bo considered, among which tlio most important aro: (1) Tho nature and needs of girls ;• (2) tho girls' life work. ' Tho report insinuates that girls have not tho same mental equipment as boys. They lack originality, but they aro very imitative. Thereforo tho proper thing to do is to 'give tnem tho training which will increase their lack of originality and their imitativeness. Originality evidently is not a "womanly" quality ( and must not bo encouraged in : girls. Tho special training should begin at the ago of ton.
11l opposition to this view recent scientific investigations show us that in estimating sex differences due account must be taken of differences duo to training and environment and differences due to original nature. The results of latest investigations show that in matters of intellect tho average girl differs very littlo from the average boy, and at the early ago of ten It is almost absurd to postulate any great difference or tlie need of special training. A great many of tho differences are duo to the traditional treatment of women /'and girls) anH not to any inherent mental disposition. Moreover, educationists tell us to jremember that the differences between, women themselves are greater than thos<). between women and men. Women are by no.means all formed in oxactly the same, mould, and Nature, which wo are told does not make two blades of grass alike, could not be expected to fashion all women exactly after tho same pattern.
Everyday experience gives some evidence in support of .tlioso investigations, for when a girl from stress of circumstances, has had the same' kind of education as jboys in tho school of life, being thrown entirely on her own resources, sha develops very often the initiative, tho originality, ana ins selfreliance which some people regard as so distinctly "unfeminine."
If all these things bo'true, then a ( girl should be allowed to drop the domestio science aspect, during some part of her school course, especially if ner talents and aptitudes lead her in other directions. She should not then, on this showing, be condomned irrespective of aptitudes and interest's to include some form of- domestic science among her studies, from tho age of ten right though the primary and secondary schools to the univorsity. Indeed, differentiation should-not.be encouraged) overmuch in the primary schools at all.. Ear,ly specialisation before the. age of 14 has never'proved very successful. But .if tho, early years are spent in gaining - a good general education and a good grounding, special work can be more easily learnt later on. Domestio science certainly has a place, but that place should be ill the secondary school and! the continuation i class, or tlio Technical School.
The question of differentiation lgads to the question of segregation. It is "suggested in the report .that girls ibe taught' only by women, and that they slioula bo kept separated from hoys from the age of ten right through *their school career. . This surely would not be, in the interests of-girls nor of boys eitner. In mixedl as many teachers say, excellent.'resiilts can be obtained under wise supervision, aud children trained in this.way are far less liable ■to make mistakes in; after-life than tiiose who havo been trained in the artificial and unnatural way suggested in the report.- In .mixed'schools and'classes, where .the supervision is -good, the girls lose a, great deal of their silliness, and the boys a great deal of their roughness. Moreover,- each in this way become accustomed to coL operate, and so consider the other, and the habits so formed are kept in afterlife. • In these days, when co-operation is being so widely advocated, it is surely inconsistent to preach the doctrine of segregation.. ,-If- there-is. to be cooperation between men and women, the habit must bo instilled! in childhood", or the idea will never become fixed in later life.
, Girls' life work! What is, it ? Tho report assumes that tliere is;only one kind of life" work for all girls: they will all inarry and liavo homes to look after. Now, a great many girls do not marry, and whether they marry or not, every girl should 'bo taught to earn her own living in some way or other. Emergencies are always arising, even in the lives of* married women, and! it will save a great deal of trouble if tliey are ready for these. Nowadays many girls will not bo able' to many, and many more will bo compelled to' contribute financial ; support for the upkeep tf homes and -relatives.' -It would he qruel and' unjust to neglect this important aspect of girls' education. Indeed, the whole question is a complicated'one, and involves many difficult, problems. They must receive.- and at the same time most' of them need to bo c<fucated, to earn their own, living. ' On other grounds, too, it is taking a short-s'ighted view to restrict their educational advantages • ill any way, fir the mental and moral strength of tlio men of tho rasp depends very largoly on tho mental and moral strength of the women. Stultify the women of the race, educationally or in any other way,- and you will also stultify tho men. Therefore let us give our girls as liberal an education as possible.
Jliss Natalina M'CaUunij who sang to Jlr. Paul Dufault when he was in Duhfidin seven months ago, and wlio.ro-. ieived great praiso from the celebrated tenor, again sang for him during his List visit. Mr. Dufault warmly congratulated Miss M'Callum on her improvement- in the interval, and advised tier to continue to study.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19161226.2.6
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2960, 26 December 1916, Page 3
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,031EDUCATION OP GIRLS Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2960, 26 December 1916, Page 3
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Dominion. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.