Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-01-28

MIR, y. I. CalQWell OnereQ Jne fOllOWlng
programme of business for future meetings:
l. Calling the roll.
?. Receiving new members.
3. Reports of committees.
4. Filing queries.
). Discussion of questions.
6. Reading essays.
I. Hearing addresses.
s. Unfinished business.
9. New business.
10. Announcing programme for next
meeting.
II. Adjournment.
Mr.. +. I. Eaton wished to know if this
was the State Teachers Association.
The President said it was not, and ex-
planned that it was intended to comprehend
especially teachers of Middle Tennessee.
After this explanation, number of new
members joined the Association.
THE Co-EDUCATIoN OF TIE SEXES.
Prof. J. Baldwin opened the discussion of
this question. he said it was a broad one
embracing mental education having refer
ence to the purely intellectual faculties !;
moral, having reference to the moral and
emotional nature; physical, having reference
to the training of the body social, having
reference to our relations in society and in
all the social and domestic relations, hus-
band and wife, parent and child, master and
servant, neighbor and friend. If it was
meant that the sexes should be educated
mentally alike, morally alike, socially alike,
physically alike and together, confusion
might arise unless all these were separated.
Woman was neither superior, equal nor in
feriOr to man. She was part of him. He
believed that mentally and morally the two
sexes should be educated alike. Men
tally their labor was the same. Nor
rally they were under the same
Obligations as men. Not so however
in their social and physical relations. There
was a difference between men and women
here, difference established by the laws of
nature and the laws Of God. However
much men might undertake to ignore those
laws they still existed, and our happiness
consisted III obedience to them. Physically,
it was plain they could not be educated
| alike. On that point he supposed there was
no necessity for argument.
| Mr.. Eaton said it would be well if men,
instead Of sneering at this subject, would
| take hold of the matter and endeavOr to ar
rive at some sensible conclusion. He
| agreed with the opinions expressed by Prof.
| Baldwin. There was this difficulty how
| ever, that girls were expected 10 complete
! their school education at the age of eight
! cen. With boys it was different.
| They were not only expected to acquire
| the accomplishments which girls were re-
/ quired to learn, but they were allowed to
| remain in the schools till they reached the
| age Of twenty-five. There was another diff
! ficulty experienced in educating the sexes
| together. 1t was found in MurfreesborO
that marriages resulted from it, at what he
| considered too early period in life.
| Mr.. Caldwell, Superintendent of the City
| Schools, was the next speaker. He adj
| dressed himself particularly to the question
| of educating the sexes together. There
never had been an objection raised against
| educating little boys and girls together in
! the primary schools, but when they ap-
preached something like to the age of young
| ladies and gentlemen, there was no ques-
| ton raised as to the prOpriety
| of assOCiating them together, still
! it had been observed that when
| girls were shut up altogether, as was the
case in some Catholic schools, they were
ready 10 fall in love with the first fellow
! they met, no matter how trifling he might
| be, and run away with him. If there
was a danger of educating the sexes to-
! gether, there was, at all events, better
opportunity afforded them to know each
| others characters before entering into life
union. His experience was in favor of edu-
eating the sexes together.
Mr.. HIS. Burnett said the question was
now being settled by experience. 0berlin
! College had taken the lead in educating the
sexes together. According to the latest re-
port on the subject there were 100 colleges
in this country which educated young men
| alone, G5 which educated females alone, and
! II which educated the sexes together. A
professor Of Oberlin College had
! given his experience ofthe benefits to be de-
! rived from the cO-educatiOn of the sexes.
! The arguments in its favor were: economy
of means and forces; convenience to the
| patrons of the schools; wholesome iDcite-
! ments to study; social culture; a tendency
| to good order in the college; a tendency to
| good order and morality in the town and
! outside Of the college in promoting good
| conduct among the students; a cordial feel
| ing of good will between the town and the
| college; the students were kept In harmony
| with society at large. There were obiec-
| tions raised against the system. One was
| that young ladies lack mental yigor. His
! experience was to the contrary. 1t was al
| legged that the character of the students
would deteriorate, that the young men would
| become WOmaniSh and the young women
mannish. In reply he would say that eX-
/ perience had proved that social intercourse
! of the sexes was elevatiug in It's tendency.
! 1t was also urged that young people
/ would form matrimonial engagements. lie
| would reply that if this were certainly an
/ objection the system would fall to the
| ground. But it could be no objection that
proper matrimonial engagements were
! formed at college. The experience of the
| II colleges in which the system had bee II
( tried had proved that immoralities were less
! apt to occur where the sexes were educated
together.
Prof c. D. Elliott said the principal OBJ
lection to the system was that it promoted
infdelity. 1t was in opposition to the laws
| Of God. Women were constituted differ
emily from men, and they require a differ
| ent kind Of education. Women should be
/ educated as women, men as men. Woman
/ should be educated in the presence Of her
/ God-appointed lord and master. Shut her
up in a monastery where she would be eG
/ Guided from the sight Of man, and God only
| knew the damage which would result from
it. He believed in educating women from
| different text books, but in the same
! school.
Prof. Baldwin said there was a strong OBJ
| lection to carrying the cO-education Of the
/ sexes beyond the primary schools. While
| attending such instituti0f girls kept up
! their relations of sisters and daughters. But
send them to college, aud these relations
were at once broken, and naturally they
would seek to form new relations to replace
them. He proceeded to argue that wOman's
! intellectual faculties do not differ from a
| mans.
Prof. Elliott said when Prof. Baldwin
would have such experience as he prof.
e. had in examining pupils, he would find
! that there was difference between the in
tellects of the sexes. He would find that a
wOman's was wOmanish, as a mans was
masculine. Even the best female writers