The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 11, 1901, Page 5

THE SUNDAY CALL. *0e O DOt it ik il dedeiniel - O OO DOES A COOCOBDrinios ottt OR years and vears it has been wrangled over, this question of woman's education. Perhaps ill solve it. first woman with been or sbe was. is more she dates back a long, g way. She y have poked her rose out of an early American wig- a Grecian house, or a cliff g, for the matter of that. In vowed that her sole EDUCATION UNEIT & WOMAN FOR DOMESTIC LIFE ? OLLEGE duty was not to the cradle and the cook stove, and she demanded a peep into the world beyond her home. But in these years it is not a lone. bold woman here and there who pokes her nose out—it is an army which cries out right lustily for edu- cation. The “higher educated” wo- man is among us, and we must decide whether or not she is to have our ap- proval. The opinions on this page may give a hint of what sort of an outlook she has among representative San Fran- ciscans at the beginning of this new century. *- - - e ' Major General Shafter. ion 2 woman for an whom she is compan. motherhood d A women ge of age of e of % e high A it of oped into ation will omen, good oman be truly B 5 + O make a nation truly great we must have great women, and the broadening of the intellect through education, theoretical and practical, can make such. It is not necessar- v the college woman, but the woman who knows how to make her home the center of intellectual and kindly inter- course, the artist, the woman of letters, philanthropist who stands forward as ideal mother and wife. A woman can- not have too much education. The edu- cation which arms one for every point should comprehend a training for all parts of life equally, for hours of relaxa- tion, as well as hours of active occupa tion. We are told how frequently a hus- band lives a life apart because the wife is not interested in the life that interest: him. Lack of interest is often ignorance of the subject in hand. I most heartily approve of college education or any edu ion which will broaden the intellec! and promote the general good of the na- tion, for its future depends upon what the mothers of the pergpd make it | R. H. Webster. POTE— X HERE is a misconception of the term educztion from my point of view. One may have a mind well stored with the wisdom of the an- cients, be able to perform with ac- curacy a mathematical problem, or glibly quote pages of the Tliad, vet should their inner heart be the abode of vanity and prejudice they cannot be accredited with a true education. I share the view given in ney Smith’s Theorem: “The woman who has successfully cultivated her mind without @iminishing the gentleness and propriety of her nature Is always sure to meet with respect and attention, border- ing upon enthusiasm.” Certainly the edu- cational doors should be open to man and an allke, for in many Instances that 1 nature bas neglected education will develop. Through the pursuit of the va rious branches the intellect is broadened, the brain is made necessarily mora fotive new currents of thought are entered into, the memory is trained to recelve and re. taln and the mental arguments uncon- y taken up develops the reaseming ties. The higher education is also ive to prudence nnd a closer dis ination in all things, ineluding matri- The procese of having clear and THE LAST WRITING PROFESSOR JOSEPH LE QONTE GRVE TO PUBLICRTION. e essay on education the last writing that ofessor Joseph Le Conte ubject on which ke cc ly be more fitted to he wwrote these words. ] cation meant everything to him; h had spent the vyears of his life in ng educated. And he full meaning of the educate, to lead forth— at it always 77 T has been quoted that “education || may modify but never overrule in- 4 herited defects. All nature, includ- ing human nature, is governed by immutable laws,” but my experience from thirty years’ observation has been, with both man and woman, that the wider the knowledge and ore liberal the education the s the usefulness and the happi- ness of the individual promoted. It is but the natural constquence of sys- tematic training of the mind that the rought into action will be in perception, more accurate ent and enjoy a more thor- standing of the majesty of the law and order anc design. A development of the facunl- mental activity cannot e to the success of any oc- on in any walk of education of wo- 1 apply. If she nother, the moie ng the better will her child; the sive her understand- ill che be fiited to and for the gen- nation this type of ntial. I consider hat our girls nt with one or two branches of sci- ecial those studies able them to better ur- on of the human h depends great- ised knowledge ol ntary knowledge of entially beneficial, 3 ophy is important; for Low many errcneous and con- tracted views e given to the most simple causes of natural phenomens. Education attunes the mind, it opens the way to a better appreciation of ' usic and literature, it promotes to ural p! | meant to him. Not the importing |of dry facts and arbitrary doc- trines; these would never be edu- | cation; but the leading forth of a mind, the cultivation of its grotwth. This is why he was an educator in the true sense of the word. He led forth those under his guidance: |led them from the darkness of ignorance into the light of greater understanding. Nor did he ever fail to live up to the principle wohich he laid down here: “The higher education, in the finest sense of the word, means culture of the heart as lwell as of the mind.” the perfection of the moral, intellec- tual and physical nature, it imparts the power of self-discipline, thus en- abling one to confer the greatest favor and to be of the greatest possi- ble service to not only themselves, but to all with whom they are asso- ciated. In the uplifting of self the individual unconsciously uplifts all with whom he or she is thrown in contact. The higher education, in the finest and best sense of the word, meane culture of the heart as well as of the mind, and the best result of learning is to illustrate it by reliev- ing the indigent, teaching the igmo- rant, bringing joy to the sad. gistinct notlons or thoughts is of as much mportance as having them. Education itself means the perfecting of ihe faculties to perform any one thing well. The skilled mechanic, the success- ful gardener, not thoroughly at ease in the translation of a Greek poem, vet with the perfection they have attained in their everyday calling, they certainly can lay claim to education. We are all ready to affirm that the great alm of human ex- istence is happiness. Beyond elementary education the process of procuring this happiness must vary in the case of every individual according to his or her position in life. As for the effects of higher edu- cation upon domesticity, there can be but the one opinion. A woman cannot but be more comvanionable to a man of intel- lectual pursuits through the acquisition of varied knowledge. I cannot say that & reading of the classics will have a ten- dency to make a woman a better wife, but it does not always detract from her fem- inine attractivene So much depends upon the individual, and one’s own in- stincts' will be too pronounced to need guardianship in this matter of domestic- fty. It is but natural that culture and elegance in a home will make that home more attractive, but perhaps the most sa- ilent point to observe upon this guestion is to make a note of the numerous mar- riages wherein the learned professors of our State universities have selected col- lege women to be their life companions. Considering their superior advantage of judging from an unprejudiced point of yiew, a search through Cupid’s record of the last year will result in the most sat- isfactory reply. However, to resume, the greater proportion of college graduates ere country bred, and their return to the country during the last twenty years has had the most excellent effects upon the country community, for extensive knowl- cdge goes hand in hand with higher standards and more lofty ideals, two qualifica’ions which we as a nation are desirous of obtaining, for the prosperity of a country depends upon its citizens. I would say that any education which can promote the general good of any commu- nity to the moral, mental or physical con- &ition of a natlon should be extended equally to individuals of either sex hav- ing the desire to attain such. 000000 @ F-ini-iivinie siivivivivirlniieininls dfeivirininfe dninivini =i 00990900 WHAT PROMINENT § MEN AND WOMEN SAY -;3 ; ABOUT THIS GREAT QUESTION 3 HE fear is expressed that the col- lege woman as the result of her col- lege experience will lose her wom- anly charm, her chance of matri- mony, her possibility of mother- hood and her taste for domestlc life, but statistics do not confirm this theory. Fifty per cent of the college graduates are happy wives and mothers. The task of motherhood is one of the most complex and exacting known, for it requires all the various talents and the most thorough knowledge, and the pecu- lar fitness for this of the woman of high- er education must not be overlooked. The college woman has learned too much of the intricacies of the human body and the human mind to neglect her child. She studies her offspring, the result being children mentally and physically stronger than are shown in the best of the com- munity. Her well informed mind is a never falling source of amusement and instruction. She controls her children not by force, but by superior knowledge, which always commands attention and respect. On the other hand, ignorance sometimes breeds contempt even of one whn might be loved otherwise. o+ Mrs. R. H. Warfleld. l ¥ 5 ICERTAINLY approve of the same educational opportunities for our girls as for our boys. If a woman were to do the best for herself in a worldly sense there is no better way than by fitting herself to confer the largest bene- fits to those around her. It is a foolish theory that learning makes a woman a bere and destroys the pleasure of so- ciety. I should rather say the lack of learning makes such conditions. Men looking for agreeable companions look among the educated. The development of the faculties gives additional grace and luster to their attractions. I should say 2 college education does not unfit a woman for domestic duties: it adds rather to- 2 more perfect accomplishment of them. A knowledge of Greek or Latin may not assist in the concocting of a Gainty dessert, but it will not detract from its perfection. Early Impressions are not easily ef- faced; if the mother is able to give in- telligent answers to the child's query, will not that child be more fully developed? If she understands music, will it not add to the pleasure of her home Perhaps she has learned French; a knowledge of the language of any contemporary nation cannot be harmfui. But a most thorough educatlon consists in giving our girls mental . equilibrium regardless of the learning—the rest will depend upon Individual. ISTORY has been written about court circles of our republic deal- ing with our finest ined and noblest women from Martha ‘Washington to Ida MecKinléy. Among them figure all women who have attained a prominence as beautles, wits or “grand ladyes.” Each one of these ‘women was educated for the express pur- pose of presiding over the home of some man, becoming the mother of children who were expected to be “wise and brave as their fathers and as virtuous as th mothers.” These women accomplished all thetr du- ties without the “higher education.” They were taught to write elegant letters; they wore lovely gowns; had the whitest hands ever seen; their children were obe- dient and deferential: they are the wo- men whose faces will be glorifled and whose names will be the theme of the “belles’ letters” of the world while it rolls around in its space. The education of my day was a little more advanced, but 1 was also trained to belleve that to ba the companion of some manlike man, to be mother and tralner of his children, was the chief duty of woman: but even then the continuous straining of the mind, the concert pitch upon the line of crowding studies and multifold aceom- plishments which we attained injured us in a degree, and the present higher col- lege education of girls Is ufidoubtedly tn- jurious to them. Some of our finest medi- cal men have sounded the note of warn- ing. Schiller says, “To be man's tender mate was womtan born, and in obeying nature she best serves the purpose of heaven.” The college-bred woman does not make a good mother. It is not the modern woman of the higher education that the boy away from home will think of as of one whose brooding tenderness encompasses his very soul with love. The best qualities of woman are injured, or at least latent, while her brain is beins drawn out fine. Tt is the woman of the fireside, the mother who talks to her Cre- ator and pleads with him for her child that remains a picture like that 5f the Madonna in the mind of every man with one pure spot left In his soul. In this brief space I could not fully re to the questlon propesed, but I am for various reasons relating to health, both mental and physical, and for the good of the coming race for whom we ought to live opposed to the extreme higher education now given to our girls. A woman who can write a good letter, elther business or social; who can keep accounts so as to stay within the limits of her own or her husband’s income: she who has read the great prose and poetis literature of the world and its history; a woman who knows how to keep her homa so that it will be a delight to the eye and herself also—in fact, the “creaturs not too high nor good for human nature's daily food,” is my ideal. My young daughter will not have a col- lege or “higher education.” I shall ili trate my belief. No woman who ex won the highest prize in mathemat ever enchanted a man any more than ti 0ada Colossus of Rhodes does. and I do wish the days of enchantment to f: entirely out of sight. Future generations will the penalty a manlike educa- tion of the girl of to-day. I am utterly opposed to it, and am not alone, for thou- sands of men and women who are lead- ing the world are h me. B - - ! D. M. Delmas. {: - Y education I understand the devel- opment of the faculties of the body, heart’ and mind—physical, moral and mental. The highest education of an individual consists In the harmonious training of his faculties to that degree which enables him to perform with the greatest efil- clency those functions, and to dis- charge those dutles which In his sphers of activity confront him. You ask, Can there be an excess of true educa- tion? In the sense in which I understand the term, obviouw not; for, strive how- ever we may, perfection must ever elude our efforts. And this s as true of edu- cation as of all other human pursuits. Education, however, mus be founded with mere book learning. To {llustrate: n might be able to explain most lucidly the varying degrees of eficiency of all known detonants, the mathematical curves de- scribed by a bullet as it leaves the muz- zle of the rifle, and the history of fire- arms from the days of the invention of gunpowder to the present: and yet, for the purpose of bringing down a deer as it leaps over rocks and brambles on the slopes of Tampalals, the refootad mountain boy who never has heard of Roger Bacon, and for his life could not tell the difference between a parabolte and a hyperbolic curve we educated, better trained, than he. You may, if you wish, readily a thess no- tions to the education of women, E you can deterfhine what is the proper cation—the pro a wom: vou must first know what is dest +o be and to do. § R - William S. Barnes. | ’ - + LTHOUGH I do not Indorse co-edu- cation, T think our women should have the same educational oppor- tunities that enjoy, not orly to educate the mind, but aiso the body, It !s no longer the fa admire pkysical frailty and fem norance; it is our active minded athletic girl that wins the palm. A college educa- tion does not unfit a woman for domestic duties, but it may make hera trifle more critie the choice of a husband. A woman with rich and well stored mind, with a bread view of the life of the worid —a woman who can converse and if necessary advise, In fact, a compa every sense of the word work of the higher educs judge the beneficial res course to be very great in developing the on to ne fg- a college better appre: of the relative value of nutritious stematie ex- ercise, A college education has a ten- dency to broaden chara destroving local prejud: and peculk: es. In a word, any learning or ace which enables a wom gal love, to become the progeny, must be reckon endowment. mplishment to attract cony heaithy as her proper