THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3606, 17 July 1880, Page 1

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

. , (To the Editor of the livening Star.) Deab Sib,—Having, noticed a leader in • the Etenikg StAß'on the anbjeet of technical education for bdyi a ihori' timo ' ago, it struck me that it might haTe;been also made applicable to girli. Having taken a great interest in the quefetioi^ and observed the, effect of. the eduoation system of New Zealand, Lwquldask yoji to pardon a few,remarks on the subject. That young women should', have the ad- . vantage, of. a good education JL .lulljr belivive, but,the manner they, are., at present educated is sufficient to eanse the gravest apprehensions in the minds of thjnking men for their future., Nearly all of the young ladies are being educated wjth the idea of obtaining scholarships, and eventually becoming teachers, in the schools under the Board of Education, but thore will not ,be openinga t for. one> # third of .them. The main object seemi'to be in fitting them for a high aphera in _' society, and endowing them with acoomp^ jishments to fill that position.' <lattie or no heed appears to' be paid by their maternal parents to the ftct chit domestic life is essentially a; woniJin's,, and the amount.of instruction they receive in , domestic nutters, is generally nil. The parents fleentt to think that it is derogatory to allow their; daughters,to do cooking, cleaning, washing, or mending;, and, i£ :spoken to on the subject,' say ''they ' could,not think of allowing,their ehildrea .

to do a menial's work."" If this is correct •-and I think it undoubtedly is-rwhere will the system of edncation now ill vogue lead us to ? In a few years time there will be educated noodles for our young men to choose their wives from, and their domestic happiness .Will be of a rather equivocal character. The greatest happiness of man lies in having a good wife* children, and a cheerful home; but if girls are to be brought up in the way they are at present, where shall we see : such homes ? Let us imagine lhe state \of things say twelve years hence: Our rising generation will have arrived at the stage of manhood, audwill be looking but! for helpmates. The only girls available will be highly-educated young women, who, however, will be fearfully ignorant as to the duties,of a housewife. The young man marries one of them, and his life with her will be somewhat like that of David Copperfield and his firit spouse —with the exception that the youthful swain will not probably be endowed with such an angelic temper as Dickens' hero. He returns home after work and what

does he find ? A smiling wife, a cheerful • hearth, and an eatable dinner? Nothing -of the kind. His wife, tired of fruitless endeavours to cook the evening meal, looking cross and dissatisfied, the fire half out, by the careless upsetting of a teakettle, and the viands ornamented by countless black cinders. Her husband may be ever so good-tempered, but a continual run after this fashion will be sufficient to drive away any better thoughts and send him to the refuge of the publichouse. The wife then blames the busband for obtaining, comfort elsewhere, when she cannot give it him herself, which leads to mutual recriminations, and often

ends in high words and separation, indeed it will be a dog's life, for both parties. This may be a very gloomy way of prophesying.bbt the way in which girlsarenow brought up—to study the highest accomplishments and the latest fashions, will inevitably'result in the fulfilment of the prophecy. A woman to fit herself to take charge of a man's house, mast be . thoroughly domesticated—once that, and accomplishments soon follow ; but the way to become * a useful woman is not to learn French, Latin and elegant composition, or play the " Priere dune Vidrge" on the piano

but to be able to accomplish the art of sewing, darning,' cooking, washing and making pudding. It is a well known fact and one by which no doubt " our girls V have «uffered, that a man does not look for accomplishments in a woman, but wants something more durable than a pretty face. Were the girls of to-day more domesticated, sensible and less coquettish, they would find little difficulty in obtaining respectable and affectionate husbands, but as it is a good many of them stand a chance of remaining a long time on the shelf, like yours truly, An Old Maid.