THE GLOBE. SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 1879.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1707, 9 August 1879, Page 2

THE GLOBE. SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 1879.

One of the great difficulties to be contended with in this colony is, without any doubt, the want of female domestic servants. Not only is a spirit of unrest observable in those who are obtainable; not only are they, like the Athonians of old, constantly longing for some new thing or place; but their ideas on the duties they have to perform are frequently of the vaguest character. In some instances no doubt this cannot be helped. Many of those who enter situations here are immigrants who have, in the old country, had nothing to do with domestic arrangements, or any but a very limited scale. Some of them may have come from factories, others from the heart of agricultural districts. Some of them may have had much the same experiences as the girl, who, previously to her voyage to New Zealand, had done nothing but "pack nails." But even those domestic servants who have been brought up in this colony often appear to be by no means thoroughly up to their work or to take much real pride in doing it well. All this is certainly to be

regretted. As long as work is worth doing at all it is worth doing well. MoreoYor, a thorough knowledge of what is required in a household naturally fits a, young girl for the position which, in nine cases out of ten, she is destined to fill later on when she marries, namely, that of a mistress of a house of her own. Tho absence of all special training in the direction of instructing girls in household affairs is not therefore only a misfortune to the employers, hut also to the employed. Supposing a girl to ho anxious to learn something of tb : s special work, what opportunities has sho ? Practically, none at all. She may learn sowing at any of the Government schools, hut that is about all sho has any chance of picking up. A stray professor of tho art of cooking may pass through tho principal town of the district at long intervals, and may speak learnedly on a platform and turn out a few wonderful dishes, but that does not teach tho art of cooking. As for tho other thousand and one duties connected with the proper management of a household, they must bo left to bo picked up by tho instinct of the girl. A notable attempt is now being mado in New York to remedy this undesirable state of affairs. A number of ladies and gentlemen have combined with tho view of seeing whether it is not possible to teach to children in some pleasant manner the rudiments of what must in all cases prove most useful in after life. The system they have called in to their aid is that known as the kinder-garten system, which aims at piloting children through the drudgery of learning in a manner as pleasant as possible to the youthful mind. The first experiment was at the Phelps School of tho Children's Aid Society, where somo forty girls are under tuition. A lesson given under the principles alluded to is thus doscribed by a contemporary:—- " After a little talk by the instructress on wood and its properties, which elicited from tho class that ' matches are not to be struck on the wall, and to bo kept in a box,' each was furnished with a scrub-bing-brush, and »et to work singing and moving in unison to a scrubbing-brush song. Then a bundle of four white and four coloured sticks was given to each to set as knives and forks for a party of four to a recitative of ' Knives to light, forks to left, all perfectly straight,' &c. Each then folded a square of paper like a napkin. At a signal from the piano each opened a box of toy dishes, and arranged them on little round boards to the »ong: — When I was jerj |littlo, I used to ait and think How hard mother had to wort, until my heart would sink; I tried to help her as I could, but always did it wrong, Which only made the matter worse, and her own work more long. So then I went to school, Where we were taught by rule How to set the table, how to lay the fires, How to make a cup of tea, the cup that never tires; How to wash the dishes, and °keop the kitchen neat,

How quietly and gently to move and speak. As each article was put on the table it was named by each child : ' This is the coffee-pot; always scald it before the coffee is put in. These are the breakfast plates; have hot ones for the steak, and cold ones for the bread.' Dinner was served in miniature for three courses, and a pan given to each child, who was taught how the glasses and silver were washed before other articles of greasy nature; as before, the teaching being embodied in a song. A little girl next gave a lesson in bodmaking, illustrating the answers, as to disposing the nnder-sheet right side up and the upper right side down, with the dapper pride of a scientific professor when his batteries work well on a wet night. Then came a losson in washing, in the course of which the table linen, the fine clothes, the coarse things, and the towels were manipulated in due order—the washboard not being used for the best, the water changed for some, and some boiled; there was a talk about rinsing, blueing, and starching: the articles wore hung out to dry on a stout twine line and fastened tip by little clothes pins, to be stripped in a twinkling when a note on the piano warned that a shower was coming on. Then, after an exercise in sweeping, there was an interval for recreation, when the children played 'Lady come to see'—to learn how visitors should be received. A circle was formed, and a girl with a bell walked outside it; while the others sang a chorus, the last line of which referred to 'the very little girl, who is learning to wait at the door.' At the last word the bell rang, the child next it turned to face the singer, who inquired for an imaginary friend, was courteously shown to an imaginary parlor and so tho game went on."

Wo have given a unusually long extract because it is absolutely necessary that, to understand the method employed, the reader should be made acquainted with some of the practical details. One of the teachers who has undertaken this work has 250 children under her charge, whom she proposes to train in housework. At first she tried to teach four at a time in a real kitchen, but they were an annoyance to the cook, and were always in the way. The kinder-garten system was then adopted. Friends came forward with toys and suggestions. The children enjoyed the method of teaching, and the idea was found to work out very satisfactorily. A conviction is gradually finding its way in America that the rising generation must be educated by labour as well as by study. The idea is as old as the hills, but for a length of time it has dropt out of view. Technical schools in the higher branches are certainly being started in all directions, but technical schools to instruct children in what is sure to be of use to them in after life, have not found favour. The application of the kinder-garten system to such a use is a new idea, and the enterprise of the promoters of the scheme, if it will aot command, will at least deserve success.