DOMESTIC ECONOMY.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 September 1920, Page 3

DOMESTIC ECONOMY.

PLEA FOR TRAINING GIRLS. By lelesrapl' —Press Association. Wellington, Sept. 9. An eloquent plea was made by Mrs. P E. Baume, at the Technical School Conference to-day, for the better training of girls in the work of the home. The present domestic economy teaching in schools was largely a farce. About 7000 girls left school and received no secondary education, but went into blind-alley occupations—shops, factories and offices. Men know nothing about the proper education of girls, and women should have representation on the education boards and other administrative bodies of school managers. The State must undertake the training of girls in home management, if the over-burdened mother was to get any relief. Without such relief it was hopeless to talk about the declining birthrate. The vocation of I'ome assistant or domestic worker should be as dignified as that of the nurse. The whole future of the race depended on the well-being of the mother and child. Girls should be instructed in the whole science of home management to insure the nourishment and the maintenance of the physique of children for good citizenship. The scope ranged beyond cookery. The conference adopted a motion that the boards of managers of schools must include at least one woman.