Education of Girls.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 82, 20 December 1887, Page 2

Education of Girls.

Al the distribution of prizes at ths VVellingi ton Girls' High School last week, a rspori written by Professor Brown was read. TbB following is an extract Indeed, under almost any arrangement, girls would learn and develop more quickly than boys during school age; they are more diligent and patient in work, self-reflective at an earlier period, and fonder of reading and expression; they seem; in fact, to be more lilted lor intellectual work. Many regret the application of highs* education to girls, supposing it to be destruct tive of their womanly instincts. If th* members of one class are representative of New Zealand girls, perhaps such observers may find aoms crumb of consolation in a note I ha** made ou its composition, I asked the pupil* to state what they admired in certain po*m* they had read. In • Tb* Ancient Marina I the majority especially admired ths reference to the wedding. To quote one— • Th* part in the Ancient Mariner I like the bsst i* when it tells about a bride being in the hall,’ They all showed great appreciation of th* lonmaking in ‘As You Like It,’ and in Tennyaon’a ■ Passing of Arthur.’ They were also unanimoue in admiring Sir Bedivere, and strongly approved of his attempts to cheat the dying Arthur and save the jewel-hilted sword Excalibur. To quote on*—' It was very hard for Sir Bedivere to throw the beautiful sword away, because it was set with such very precious atones, such as he thought it would be very nice for the world to hat*. ’ The indications, it seems to me are very ol*ar that, however learned girls may grow, they will retain their natural likes and dfflikaii to the end."

•' Pnff ” comments on the above as follows: I say have you read Profeesor Brown’s report on the Girls’ High School 1 Yes isn’t n 1 ively 1 Brown says there's no fear of higher education destroying the girls’ womanly instincts 1 All their favourate passages in the Poets are about wedding* and love making, and they think Sir Bedlvare a duck of a man for trying to prig the dvlnw Arthur’s jewelled sword 1 And they learj French better than any other subject, and German next 1 And they wear plaited pigtails and bustles and red hats turned op behind 1 Oh no, there's not the slightest fear of higher educa ion destroying their womanly instincts I You say they learn Frei ch and German well 1 I should think English would be useful too I. Do they learn English pretty fairly ’ Oh yes, they all speak the meet beautiful English ! They don’t say "gowin daown taown Oh no, they woufd’nt think of such ! lam very pleased to hear it 1 If they learn to speak their mother tongue without a colonial twang, I don’t care whether they learn French and Gorman or not 7 Or wear pigtails or not? No, I like pig'ails ! They’re their own, any way, while th »e flat eoils pinned on the bick of their head may be anybody’s 1 Don’t you think it would be a good thing for the girls to leain to make their own frocks and cook the diunqr and teach the littie ones the catechism ? Yes, but. I suppose they learn all that irt hoino ! Hum—lets hope so 1 A wire man hath said “ An educated woman who knows how to keep house is the noblest work of God I”