EDUCATION.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2665, 21 October 1882, Page 3

EDUCATION.

Great as has undoubtedly been the improvtw meat in the character of onr primary and secondary girls’ schools, it has been far eur> passed by the .advances mads in the higher education of women, which, indo d, amount to nothing less than a revolution in teaching, not only as to the stylo and matter, bat ar to the numbers and position of those who have of late years been irresistibly drawn by l the desire to obtain fi more extended kind of knowledge than was hitherto possible. Twenty years ago people would scarcely have believed that such a desire did exist ■ amongst the young women of tho day, and perhaps their incredulity was natural j for few could faavo imagined that a creation like the “sweet girl graduate ” could have been meant for anything but a pleasant jest. But the jest baa become a reality—a reality which -has swept away a vast accumulation of conventionsli-y, and which has enabled many hundreds of intellectual young women to approach the inner secrets of learning as freely so b«B hitherto boon the privilege of the cppmi’.o sex. The doubts and fears that are entertained by so snany ea to the over education of the masses, and which teem to be almost justified in the case of the lower-clast children, will scarcely be felt when we consider the phase of higher education. In the first place, it is not compulsory, but the real and natural yearning for more knowledge on the part of the learners, who, having served their apprenticeship, so to speak, are cf an age and position to judge for themselvefl whether their desire for more extended instruction is genuine enough to make them take the trouble to gain it. We have often heard doubts (sometimes eneert) at the advisability of encouraging girls and yrur-* women to spend their time and energi-* >n the more abstruse branches of study, such a* mathematics and philosophy, to the cxcluain of the more lowly, but more generally uncial subjects which appertained more or less to a woman’s life, and the home duties which she hopes or expects to fulfil. To u csrtiua extent there is reason in this, and one can scarcely wonder that a man about to e-mimd; matrimony should seriously hesitate, before he chose for his helpmate a young woman who was better qualified to fill a professor's chair than to interview the butcher, or to see that the children’s things were properly mended.

But though a va»t number of women are undergoing a scholastic training of which their great grandmothers never would have dreamt, we thick that practically ouch oases as we have suggested would be rare. And yet the question of higher education is very intimately connected with that of matrimony. We have seen in previous articles which dealt with that important era in woman’s life, that the number Jof females’considerabl/ exceeds that of the moles, and that th:s excess is annually on the increase. It is evident, therefore, that a large body of women mast always exist which is debarred by circumstances from expectations of a married life, and that moreover, the number of spinsters is mors likely to increase than decrease, particularly under the tendency of the sje to make matrimony such an expensive institution a® to bring it under tbs head of & luxury. A large number of women, therefore, have to face the prospect of a single life, and in many cases, alse 1 to provide for the tolual necessities of bread-winning; and to both of these sections the throwing open of thaao opportunities for higher education is an unspeakable boon. Not only have special colleges and institutions been started in abich women can follow out their prescribed course of study without let or hindrance, bat or her seats of learning, including those hitherto closed boroughs our Universities have followed suit in a spirit of generosity which which is beyond all praise j and ai me present time there is not a single great educational establishment in Great Britain the advantages of which have not bean flur-g open to the women as freely as to these far whooa they were originally founded. li'sy, more. Not only have the women been given the opportunities ungrudgingly for learning, but they have been offered under certain limitations the same rewards, viz , the privilege, it they wish, for entering for examination and obtaining degrees. Girton College, near Cambridge, which was founded In 1872, is the original and most typical women’s college, ia which they not only devote themselves wholly and solely to a special curriculum of study, but lead a kind of academic life, or, at all events, a life based somewhat ,on the system of the University which has bo thoroughly adopted them. Of course » considerable number—perhaps the majority —of the students are qualifying themselves for the profession of teaching, though tho idea that everybody who enters Girton must try for a degree is unfounded, The ordinary course of study is not alarming, comprising divinity, modern languages, mathematic*, moral and natural science, history, and vocal music ; and although it is natural that many students should push beyond the prescribed routine, this ia left to individual option.

What may be laid of Girton miy also be said, as far as the facilities for obtaining education are concerned, of kindred institutions, such as Bedford and Queen’s Colleges, London; the Alexandra College, Dublin | the Cheltenham Ladies’ College ; University College, Bristol j a..d similar undertakings while outsiders, that is, these ladies who, from age, choice, or circumstances, arc only able to avail themselves of occasional lectures, have the same opportunities provided for them by the Universities of Cambridge, Durham, and' Edinburgh, King's and University Colleges, the College of Preceptors, City of London College, &0., besides the moro technical and special classes for art and soienoe at South Kensington. Here wo are at the threshold of a still further development of women’s education. The class of institutions previously mentioned is Intended for general instruction, and is more adapted (as far as regards the employment of women) for those who propose to follow the pretension of teaching—and these form a large body. • But it is small when compared with the numbers who attend the art and science classes throughout the country, with the view of seeking outlets for their various talents, of embracing different profession* of handicraft, and, in fact, of qualifying themselves for some ’kind of work. The absolute necessity for women to find work for themselves nowadays has, of course, tended to the establishment of these different classes, while vice they have largely contributed to the bringing of fresh candidates for employment to tho front every year. In mentioning tbe art end science classes wo can partly fall back oa the statistiral aspect, which, while dealing with private or semi-public undertakings, is of course not obtainable. Looking over tho Eeport of the Department for 1880 wo perceive that the female students in art school* take a most honorable position as to results when compared with the men. 3?ho list of students rewarded at the national competition shows that in gold medals there wore two onoOfsaful women to eight men, and that both these ladies took the scholarship given by tha Princess of Wale*. In silver medals the women numbered 9 to 35 men ; in bronie medals 20 women to 53 men ; is book prizes 16 women to 115 men j while those who obtained art certificates numbered 44 women to 54 men. The total proportion (nearly one hair) of the female element is a very telling fast, and shows ooncluiively that art is a field in which women can, r.t least, held thc-ix own. The whole qusctioo of women’s education is intimately connected with that of woman’s employment —touching which we can only say here that the opening* in this direction appear to be increasing in almost as sstiifaetory a ratio as the means for obtaining education, Tha chief difficulty experienced by those who have interested themselves in this important subject, is the difficulty raised by the candidates themselves, who seem to think that they have only to apply for employment to get something pleasant and remunerative, while their capabilities and qualifications ara of the slightest when they cone to be looked into. But as timo goes on, this helpless section c£ society will gradually disappear, and tho candidates for employment will fce_ welltrained and self-reliant.—G. P. B, in the “ Queen.”