THE EDUCATION OF GIRLS.

White Ribbon, Volume 22, Issue 257, 18 November 1916, Page 1

THE EDUCATION OF GIRLS.

(Extracts front .> Paper read at the Secondary Schools Conference, Wellington, by Miss Nancy Jobson. M.A.) In considering the question of the. Education of Girls, it is of primary importance that we should have a clear vision of the aims and the ideals of Education in the true sense of the word: for, as educational matters at present stand, either our ideals are not what they should be or the* divergence of practice from theory is far too wide. Education, in the words of Dr. Reddie, the famous founder of the new school, Abbotsholme, is the harmonious development of the whole nature of the child, and therefore demands that the training of the* child should be (t) physical and manual, (2) artistic and imaginative, (3) iiterary and intellectual, (4) moral and re ligious. Professor Butler, of the Columbia University, expresses a similar conception in different terms. “It becomes absolutely impossible,” he says, “for us any longer to identify education with mere instruction, and we begin to look upon it as really the vestibule of the highest and tlv richest type of living. . . . Education must mean a gradual adjustment to the spiritual possessions of the race. These possession.; may be variously classified, but they are c< rtainly at least five-fold. The child is entitled to his scientific inheritance, to his literary inheritance, to his aesthetic inheritance, to his institutional inheritance, and to his religious

inheritance. Without them he cannot become a truly educated or cultivated man.” With these authorities, 1 think we shall agree, undoubtedly lies the truth. It is not sufficient that a ch Id be trained to know and to do: he must be trained also to think and to feel; he must learn not merely how to work, but also how to play; not on.ly how to earn his daily bread, but also how to use his leisure aright. 1 fear that, looking round upon our young people of to-day, we must admit that thus far our system has failed to teach them the right use of leisure, and that this failure is the source of mu< h of the restlessness, the mistaken ideas and the low ideals of pleasure, the passion for picture shows, and the love of excitement which characterise the present generation. Returning to l)r. Reddie’s definition of Education, let us pause a moment on the word “development.” We may define it as the process of unfolding from within —.0 that Education means the pro. ess of unfolding from within the nature of the child. Just as the bud, growing in the right soil, and receiving under the right condition* the right nourishment, unfolds into a flower of beauty, so should the child in like < ir< umstances unfold into a womanly woman or a manly man. We must not forget that the process is from within. I’nder present edv ational systems, the child’s scientific inheritance is assured in great -r or less degree. W hether he enters upon it in the best way is however, open to question. Some part at least of his literary in-

heritance comes to him, but practically nothing of the aesthetic or of the religious, \» {r< h me.ms an incalculable loss, rendering an s> stem of education hopelc. sly incomplete. Then, again, some endeavour i-. made to secure the child his institutional inheritance, which brings him inti contact with his fellows, making him realise that though an individual, he is also a citizen, though free, yet subject to the law This side of education is of great importance, carrying with it, as Professor Butler says, lessons of duty and the necessity for co-operation in the working out of high ideals. If the education cl our girls is to be: complete, therefore, it must, 1 maintain, be* made up of these five elements, and in whatever measure any system lacks these, in such measure is it unsatisfactory and incomplete. Before dealing with this part of our subject, however, let us take a brief survey of the ex sting conditions which make this question of greater importance than ever before - conditions some of which it muM be our aim to alter and improve. (1) The excessive and dangerous freedom allowed the child and the adolescent girl, generally the result of ineffectual parental control. (2) The frequent lark in parents of the sense of responsibility in and for the formation of the character of their daughters. (3) The necessity for teaching in the school what should undoubtedly be taught in the home. 14) The possession of the franchise bv women.

(5) The necessity for t;iris and women to earn the means of livelihood.

Now it seems to me that the hrst three conditions make it imperative that it should be one aim ot any system of Education to make the home take its rightful place, and parents assume their lawful responsibilities in the training of the child. On the subject of home influence, Or. Littleton, of Eton, writes: “The school cannot plant what the home has neglected to plant —namely, a certain view of life and its responsibilities that is above the dictates of public opinion. . . . The normal out-

come of Education is the outcome of • * the home.” This, in the majority of cases, is undoubtedly true* but none the less it is in our power nay! more*, it is our bounden duty to help our girls to become women who will be* wise and capable mothers, so tb.it the home influence ma> be the best and the strongest influence, which the school training will but strengthen. We must not, however, fail to reeog nise the 1 importance of the* economic factor —which, unfortunately, sc r ouslv affects education in so many ways—in this lack of true home life* h\ many of our homes, and we must also remember that often the underlying cause of the la< k of parental control and of parental responsibility i* primarily ignorance, together with the fatal ease of saying “Yes” and the tiresome difficulty of saying “No.” Here, then, is work for the school: we must try to inculcate the* (|ualities of ideal womanhood purity, strength of character, kindness, courage, justice, courtesy, thoughtfulness, and a wise* discretion or wisdom—in short, self-knowledge, self-reverence, selfcontrol.

Womanhood suffrage adds another responsibility that of training the girl to use her vote aright when given the power. What a field is here! Many years may pass, indeed, before the majority of women learn to use the vote wisely and on their own reasoned judgment alone. Do the majority of men even now thus use it ? But we must persevere, finding encouragement in the* thought that a woman’s vote will always be more disinterested and less influenced by consideration*- of personal gain than the votes of many men. Let us now consider the defects of our present system of educating girls

-and, indeed, the first defect is that, save in the introduction of the* Domestic course in some schools, we have no such system —only a system of educating boys to which, forsooth, girls must conform. Girls differ from boys in too many respet ts intellect, temperament, physical strength, and destiny—to be educated on the same system. I do not mean th.it the girl is weaker in intellect than the boy—her academic achievements have long since disproved that but her natural aptitude is different, and her intellect, tastes, and powers, as a rule, lie in other directions. Women, afte r being long denied them, at last obtained the rights of education—but of education not suited to their peculiar nerds, but to those of men, and no deviations from the* path were approv. cl of or permitted. , Now th.it wom.'n have scaled the heights and won the r way to intellectual freedom, it is their duty to work out and establish a new and appropriate system of girls’ education. Again, the competition at present existing between girls and boy- i* undesirable and injurious, and is one of the- causes of over-pressure in girls scf.ools. I.et it be granted that girls and boys possess equal ability, and equal brain power: must it not follow that, as the physical strength of girls is substantially less, 'ompetition must entail upon girls a greater amount of application and study, and that those who wish to excel must, as a rule, work much harder than is right or wise. Why, 1 ask, should the* real interests of girls’ lives and of girls education be sacrificed to the mistaken idea that the withdrawal of girls from competition with boys would mean the* acknowledgment of intellectual inferiority, for that idea lies at Hie root of the* objection to su« h with drawal. Like the opposition to conscription, it seems based on a false conception of liberty. Girls* interests, girls’ duties, girls’ responsibilities, girls' pleasures, differ materially from those of boys, and so do their intellectual pursuits.

The lack of connection between Brimary and Secondan Schools is another source of difficulty. The Secondary School subject-, require special attention, whiie often the standard of acquirement attained at the Primary School in English, Arithmetic, Geography, and History does not render, as it should, the first year

Secondary School requirements in those subjects compartively simple. Hence the first term especially is often something of a strain, demanding, as it does, the undertaking of entirely new work and the mental adjustment to new conditions of school life and to new environment.

The unsuitability and uncongenial nature of certain subjects taughi at girls’ schools is another defect in our present system, and another cause of over-pressure. Among such subjects Mathematics must undoubtedly be included. The existence* of the unmathematical nund cannot be questioned, and the fact that the majority of girls possess it demands recognition. The time spent by most girls upon Mathematics—save, perhaps, elementary Practical Geometry would be far more profitably employed in the study of other subjects of greater educational value, which, under present conditions, are more or less neglected. History, for example, can receive but slight attention—instead of being accorded its rightful place as an important factor in Kducation. All that is possible is a very superficial and unscientific study of English History, with occasional glances at the history of other nations and other times.

Another marked defect in the present system is the almost entire absence of aesthetic* training. The important influence of beautiful and harmonious surroundings is, as a rule*, unconsidered, and there is little* attempt to train the taste of the child to appreciate the finer and the higher things of life. A love of the beautiful in the younger generation would do much to render picture shows unattractive and to combat the dangerous fascination they at present exercise. The lack of provision for moral and religious instruction, unsectarian and undogmatic in character, is also unquestionably serious, and must sooner or later undermine our national character. Apart from other considerations, surely the right to study and know the Bible, both as priceless literature and as the foundation of all that is good and noble in the world, is the divine inheritance of every child which no one dare deny him. Another unsatisfactory feature exists in the present scheme of technical instruction, in that girls begin specialisation at too early an age—i.e., on leaving the primary sechools.

Though the Technical Colleges are doing excellent work in their particular department, the courses neither aim at nor provide the liberal education and possibilities for all-round development to which the winning of a proficiency certificate should entitle the holder. The net result is that a girl’s true interests are sacrificed to the demands of utility. Passing from these defects in the ordinary curriculum, I come to two other defects which an* of special gravity because of their injurious effects upon adolescent girlhood: the necessity for train travelling and the lack of school hostels. Here, again, we find the economic factor —or, as may be more truly said in this case, the factor of false economy. With regard to train travelling, 1 do not know whether a similar state of affairs exists in any other districts, but in Southland the length and the duration of some daily journeys are decidedly startling. Some girls leave their nearest railway station a‘ 7.10 a.m., reaching Invercargill at 0.57, and, catching the afternoon train home at 4.10, arriving at their journey’s end at 7 o’clock. The distance in this case is 45 miles, and the time spent in travelling is six hours a day, the rate being about 16 miles per hour. Often this journey is preceded bv a walk of some distance to the station: a walk during the winter months often in darkness and biting cold, or in driving rain. Other girls engage in farm duties, such as milking cows before attending school, rising at 5.30. Some of these girls do surprisingly well, but it can only be at a great cost in the expenditure of nervous, physical, and mental energy. I know of some cases of nerve trouble and sleeplessness which have been the consequence of the constant strain of such journeys. One wonders whether Education—so-called is not too dearly bought at such a price. Such travelling is mentally and physically exhausting: sitting so long in more or less uncomfortable seats, very often in necessarily cramped positions, can not but seriously counteract the benefit of I'alistheni's and the other physical exercises practised at school, and in winter the possibility of chills, etc., is somewhat alarming. When I think of the conditions under which some of these country girls come to school I

cannot but regard them as heroines, if not martyrs, in the cause of Kducation, and we must see to it that the> do not receive a stone when they ask for bread.

Side by side with this defect, and to some extent responsible for it is the lack of school hostels for country pupils. Why parents have endured the present state of affairs so long i v to me inexplicable, save that perhaps by long acquiescence they have become dulled and deadened to all it connotes and signifies. That children of 1 2 years upwards should be left under the control (even were any control exercised) of some well-meaning but often unqualified and inefficient person, having little interest in the child save as the source of a small addition to the weekly income, is little less than criminal neglect of the requirements of the adolescent girl. There could be no greate. blot, in my opinion, on our educational system than the omission to provide in 'he necessary districts proper accommodation for country pupils. The provision of an adequate hostel under the supervision and direction of those connected with the school, preferably the Principal, should be compulsory wherever a High or a Technical School has been established. Again I admit the e* onomic factor —or again more truly the factor of false economy—for it is waste, appalling waste, of the most valuable material in the world — the younger generation. How can we rx|>ect these girls to grow into the women and the mothers we desire, when, at the age necessitating special care, supervision, guidance, and help, they are left during these critical years without discipline, without control, without the atmosphere of refinement and happy comradeship that will help them to realise what home life means. I have heard many protests against the establishment of church schools in New Zealand. Till the High Schools can offer the same accommodation to country girls, surround them with the same atmosphere of home life, and the same refining influences, afford the same possibilities of all-round development, and last, but not least, the same religious and moral instruction as the best church schools do elsewhere, and will do here, we have no right to protest. I have a wide experience of boarding schools, and consider that the infiu-

ence of a school hostel conducted on the proper lines is not only a necessity, but an asset of inestimable value in the education of girls. The Government, having taken upon itself the responsibility of secondary education, is, I consider, in duty bound to provide such hostels if the endowments of a sc hool are insufficient for the purpose, or should make the establishment of hostels compulsory for schools of adequate income. If all other means fail, I would even advise that the incomes from all endowments be pooled and distributed according to tin* necessities of every school. In this connection, too, l would say that special Government grants should not be made to schools in the present illproportioned and somewhat unfair manner: no school should be starved while others are blessed with plenty, if not excess. 1 state once again that a hostel is an absolute necessity in connection wph every Girls’ High School, and the failure to provide one is little less than criminal neglect and appalling waste. In the first place, the dominating

aim of any system for the education of girls should be and must be health — health of body and health of mind, and everything in connection with the school should conduce to health. The* situation should be high, bracing, commanding .1 fair prospect: the grounds should he* spa ious and beautiful, affording ample scope not only for physical enjoyment and development in games and all kinds of exercise suitable to gills, but for restful pleasures also.

In addition to suitable games, among which tennis holds first place, physical culture should, of course, be included in a girl’s training. Ideal physical culture’ should include dancing of the* kind to give grace and poise, such as the Morris and other old English country dances, and therewith, as one authority suggests, should be given the history of the dance —so often in the past a mode of worship, and lying at thr root of what is best in drama so that dancing may be* rightly regarded and becomingly practised. Every girl must be taught to hold herself straight, to walk well and stand properly: and physical culture alone will not achieve this if little or no attention is paid to her mode of sitting or standing in a class or her attitude when writing. With regard

to these matters, constant care and watchfulness must be exercised. Kvery Secondary School should have a Primary Department, including Kindergarten (or possibly primary branches if necessary in the suburbs) for the children of parents who are willing to pay fees that their girls may have more individu.il teaching than is possible in the ordinary primary school. Such children should be allowed to qualify for entrance to the Secondary Department in the usual way. Little children need much more individual attention than is possible at present in the Primary Schools, and therefore some such provision should undoubtedly be made. Hostels, as has already been indicated, are absolutely indispensable. To effect their purpose as an important and invaluable factor in the training of the child, they should be under the control of the Principal, assisted by an efficient staff, and must provide a home like atmosphere of beauty, refinement. and kindness, a high tone, and a firm yet kindly discipline. The matter of train travelling is be set with difficulties, but without doubt long journeys, such as have been referred to earlier in this paper, should be rendered unnecessary. The number of pupils travelling to school by train should be reduced to a minimum, and the journey made as comfortable and of as short duration as possible. Those who travel should do so in carriages specially reserved for school girls, and should be under the control of trustworthy prefects, who must be responsible to the Principal for the girls’ behaviour, and must report anything unsatisfactory in the conditions of travelling. Scholarships should be awarded to deserving girls unable to pay hostel fees, whose attendance would necessitate long daily journeys, rather than to children of well-to-do parents living within a short distance of the school. Let us now deal more particularly with the subjects necessary to the harmonious development that Education demands.

(To be Concluded.)