WOMEN WARPED BY- EDUCATION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 27, 26 October 1907, Page 3

WOMEN WARPED BY- EDUCATION.

ABSURDITIES OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM. \Tlie strong remarks made by Dr. Trubj King at his Monday afternoon meeting on the subject of the harm done to girls by their so-called higher education Jed to a request for an interview. It was n threecornered interview, for there was piesent a woman known as a warm advocate of women's rights, which, to her mind, includes their right to study what sulijccts thov may choose. She urged that if excessive work is bad for girls it is just as bad for bovs, but this the-doctor would not admit? ". The harm done to girls is tho same thing lb kind as-in the case of boys," he said, "but itjs greater in degree. There are obvious reasons for this. There is'greater nervous and'emotional instability among women, especially,in the time of physical growth and development. The system of education ■■■imposed on boys, arbitrary and irrational as it is in many respects, has this at least in" its favour that it has been'for the most part evolved, by men for the youth of their.own sex! Had education been evolved by women for women it would unquestionably not have exacted the-sacrifice of an excessive'amount of time and energy to the acquirement .of a proficiency in arithmetic and mathematics, seeing that these subjects, when pushed beyond moderation,' are naturally trying and distasteful'to women... I have heard'a schoolmaster, say that ho behoved that the extreme difficulty which he experienced' in bringing the girls up. to the mark with regard to arithmetic' was due, not to tho fact of any inferior aptitude upon their part,' but to 'the misfortune that you couldn't lick a girl. His knowledge of the ascertained facts of psychology was not. profound." ■'' ■ "But what if a woman has a natural aptitude for'mathematics ?" . ' "One. always finds this-difficulty in trying to got what is undesirable 'eliminated from the education of women, that their conservatism makes them fight for the retention of what they have been taught to think desirable. 'Mary'Soniorville and others notwithstanding, arithmetic and mathematics arc not woman's natural forte." "But when a girl shows i ail abnormal 'mathematical.talent, should she not have a mathematical training;''' "*'. "Darwin found that if yoir ■ fed ' certain insects on leaves which .are riot thoir natural food they would acquire a taste for them, and,, though it is-food that in the long run would actually kill them, thoy.obuld not be diverted to-, their natural food after thoy had thoroughly acquired a taste for ■ what was abnormal; Besides, iiv devising- a scheme of compulsory education it should be adapted for the majority and not for a small minority. of'long hours, of excessive, mental application in, any direction especially at the time'when'the strain of secondary education usually falls most heavily, that is at tho time when bodily growth-and development should bo-sovorai'-'times more rapid than, during' the preceding years after infancy, is to interfere with the proportionate growth of the brain and nervous system, and,the growth of other parts of tho "organism which aro essential to the future of, the i'aco. ■> "It must always be borne in" mind'thatthe contribution' towards "parenthood upon the .part of tho father is indefinitely less important than' tho contribution upon the part of the mother. The future of the nice is entirely bound up in the question of'the iituoss of mothers for. maternity, a:id their Vrillingncss to 'undertake' full, maternal .responsibilities: 1 quite' agree' with the .'position taken up by. the b|dUl6ctdr'in 'Nancy Stair,' -whan speaking of■ 'the 'over-pressure' to'.which the girl bad been .'lf. I had'the book 'here, i'd read the passage to; you. ..•...!'"';. ~ . ~.• ■.. • ■■■ ~...,. Here is the passage which .was found after a-long and determined search for the book:—' ' Old'.Dr, M'Murtrio came..into the, -library and-addressed mo with some heat and scant apology.N .•_■-' "John," said, he, looking; at-me over his glasses, 'JI am going, to'- malcd myself disagreeable. ; I am going to lie that 'nuisar.ee, •a' candid friond; but somebody's got to speakto you, for, you're, just.jetting that girl of. yoiir's kill'herself.-"- •'•""■' '.''"■"■' I stared at him in speechless wonderment. "She's killing herself,"'"-ho went on, relentlessly.' "And-; when 5 it's'too/lata you .VI sec the truth of it. No girl's body is equalto. the excitement she's had for 'years," over since she was a baby; in fact,with her chanties and her Burnfolking and her versewriting. It's all nonsense,'' he summed up, succinctly, "and it's for you to stop it." "Instead of helping her got out' a second edition of pooms," ho went on, "yo'd show more sense if you put your mind to-consider-: ing tho problem pf how.much ;work>a woma'hcan.do'in. justice, to .the race.. .Every.female croatu'ro is in allprobability'the repository'of unborn generations'; -and' should bVtramed to think of that solemn fact as a man is taught to think of- h!s country." " Some w omen,'.' I testily;, "are forced to work daily at laborious tasks to support families —-" .... "And 'others," he interrupted, "squeeze their feet each- other poison; but they are. not my patients, and. Nancy Stair is. And I think you'll hud that the. wome.n who work, as ye saydo most of it with their bodies, not with their heads or their nerves, and it's in work of this kind the trouble ot female hbour lies. Nancy should save. her. vitality. She should store it up-for.wifehood; ; ar.U. motherhood.' Shc'lj bo a spent.'w,onian' . 'before she has a husband, 'and, your grandchildren puny youngsters as"a resulting. ' Think it-over,. John,"he concluded; "think it over.",.-' '"The circumstances in' 'Nancy. Stair,';.' continued Dr. King, "apply -with ' ov'b'ri gro3tor force to women teachers, who aro being broken down bqth in their training and , .in the after-conduct 'of'school' work." So-far, ■ ,as schoolgirls aro'concerned, I entirely concur ' with the often-expressed opinion of the mistress of the'.. Girls'-High School in Duimdin : that ordinary schooling should'be 'limited to the morning?" , : , i ....., ' "That is the English system, is it not!''.'''. "Certainly, and it was trie obvious benefit which Miss Marchant saw resulting from it in England that so profoundly im- . pressed her.' ■ Under this system V and with proper attention paid to / growth and development, it is A found that., girls do better . even' , i\ ',, from the mental point of ;viow', ' X'\s while they also have time to de- \^3ll vote to what the Americans call \Vh the. science and practice ..0f... : ........Nr^ domestic economics. It is. now f'v being insisted in. America that a- -.-. - - ;N, girl should bo trained to do well, .'. -,' ).' atijcl'.'to': understand the basis.! of. '',', everything connected with the con- '•[>.. duct of ''a h,ome; .This docs., not interfere-. ; in .-the-slightest '' degree with the .acquire-, 'incut of a proper culture.' Indeed, as ail American: philosopher has said, 'Don't-.pursue culture or'.you'll scare the life-out of her I-'. -, It goes'wjthput saying that it is not proposed .the existing forms of afternoon and evening l ; work should be replaced by idleness 1 ;" Ub- ■ viously, the time needs to be reasonably and £ profitably filled, but if what'is at present de-' " manded were subject to proper restriction so - that the work could be properly got through T in tho evening, there would bo;plenty of timo * left for this. There should be plenty-of time. r left for the essential: features, of. true all- ° round education which -are.,at present -nog-' s l.octed. Oho bfltlie. most, 'extraordinary. [ features'of our time in 'respect-to education - is the fact-that a school can exist'withput , a.playground, without a place-for re-creating, ' robui'diiig tho .system.- .Dr.'.AVoods Hutchison' said forcibly-in the i' Contemporary -Review,'' ,2 'If ,it comes to" ii choice -between • a; school without a playground and a playground-with- '? out a school, give win the playground.' Re-' creation is a duty just as much as work, ami l ' a it is especially a ■ duty that youth owes to posterity. AYc have no right .to uso up jn ,° this generation onergics which wore intended *). to be handed on to the next." ..•■ rl

; Apricot Mould.—Stew one pound of dried apricots in thesame. manner as the' prunes are done. Dissolve) one ounce'of gelatine in a littlo warm water, and add to the stewed apricots. Whip halt, a pint,of double cream, .and stir it by .degrcea to the fruit and gelaitin'o. adding one tabfosnnonful of castor sugar ami a tnblcspoonfm of ground sweet almonds. Wot-.a mould; well, and pour the mixture into it, "and set- it »r a cool place. When quite set, turn out, and decorate with chopped candied "peel."Serve with plain cream, which is ». great..'addition to , this §\vc6t.-—"■Austrslssi&n. ' • V-. ! '