WOMEN AND EDUCATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3470, 14 September 1920, Page 58

WOMEN AND EDUCATION.

MRS BAUME'S VIEWS. WELLINGTON, September 9. An eloquent plea was made by Mrs F. E. Baume at the Technical School Conference to-day for the better training of girls in the. work of the home. The present domestio economy teaching in schools was, she said, largely a farce. About 7000. girls left-school and received no secondary education. They went into a blind-alley occupation in shops, factories, and offices. Men knew nothing about the proper education of girls, and women should have representation on education boards and other administrative bodies of school managers. The State must undertake training of girls in home management if overburdened mothers were to get any relief. Without such relief it was hopeless to talk about the declining birth rate. The vocation of home assistant or domestio worker should be dignified, also that of the nurse. The whole future of the race depended on the well-being of the mother and children. Girls should be instructed in the whole science of home management to ensure ihe nourishment and the maintenance of the physique of the children. Its scope ranged far beyond cooking. The conference adopted a motion that the boards of managers of schools must include at least one woman.