Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1853-10-06
THE FRAUD OF FASHIONABLE EDUCA-
TION


The Southern Ladies' Companion has a
valuable article upon education ofgirls, from
which we extract an important passage -
'''Fhe popular fondness for numerous and
snowy attanments, even were the system
of teaching perfect, can lead TO nothing but
shallowness. Take up the plan or pro-
gramme Of our fashionable schools. and ask
yourself how could i. be otherwise? Here is
four years. college course-for,y months
of fns,rucion-and see wha, is to be learn
ed in the! brief period. Take a sample
l'Grammar, Arithmetic, Geography, Ame,i-
can History, Botany, Writing, Composition,
Rhetoric, Logic, Criticism, Algebra, Geome-
try, European History, Evidences of Chris
tianiIy, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry,
Trigon ometry. Mensuralion, Moral PhiIos-
ophy, Latin, French, Grecisn and Roman
History, Astronomy, Geology, Mental Phi
losophy, Mineralogy, Animal Physiology,
English Classics, Vegetable Ply ysioIogy,
Rhetorical Readings, Instrumental Music,
D'awing, Painting, Embroidery, Ornamen-
lal Neediework, Wax Work, Shell Work, ,
ETC., etc. Here we have some twenty SCI
ences, two languages, extensive historical
readings, fine arts, and sundries, some forty
distinct studes TO be mastered in forty
months, and among them two languages,
The natural, moral and exact sciences, end
instrumental mnsic. Perhaps no studen.
ever mastered those two languages tho
roughly il four years, (snd Greek is often
included and few, if any, ever become &C.
complshad performers on The piano or harp
in shor: Tine. But by uha, magic is
it that gIls, beginning Latin in the latter
half Of their junior year, and French in their
senior yer, can master them before the end
Of The course. Pardon us for speaking plain
Iy; bu. We can hardly look on this course
as less than fraud. A girl studies Latin
twelve or fifteen months, and French half as
ong--at he same time having dozen 9TH
er studies on hand-and graduates with cre-
dit, and takes her diploma as having taken
the regular course-Grcek, Latin, French,
and all. Is rot The gil cheated into the o.
pinion that she understands the language
of which she can know nothing of any val
ue-and .he parent cheated out Of his mo-
ny! AM man, capable of teaching the Ian
1;agas ~1ws that sreh mere smattering
as can be acquired ln so short time, can
be Of no value to the student; then what is
the object? What can it be, if i. be not TO
give false character to the school, and get
money virtually by false prelences Per-
haps some pailia,ion may be found in the
viiiated public taste, and the false pride of
parents, which leads them TO seek as large
a literary name as possible for their daugh-
ters, whether true or false; bu! this cannot
it would seem, be full justification of lrus-
tees and teachers, who are the persons 10
correct those errors, rather than by bowing
to strengthen them. With defective modes
Of teaching, and an amount OF studies press
ed into the course, much greater than could
be compassed by the bes, possible teaching,
it must necessarily happen that female ed
ucatIon must be superficial, and in the same
proportion inu.ile"