Litchfield enquirer., 1877-12-06
President Porter on Co.Fducation. ;

President Porter on Co., Education" [The Hartford Courant publishesth the follow ing excellent communication in reply to Presi- dent Porter's recentextrao rdinary letterregaFd- ing co-education. ED. EEo.
 Under the above heading the Courant print ed, short time ago, portion of the letter written by President Porter to the Boston school committee in regard to the advisasility of ad-
 mitting girls to the Public Latin School. This letter was extremely interesting to me, first,
 because any word touching education from a
 man of President Porter's reputation and posi-
 tion must carry great weight and, secondly,
 because the opinions here expressed by him
 are so radical and sweeping. He says:
 ''There can be no serious objection to the
 presence of children of both sexes in elemen- tary schools, for the most obvious reasons But the reasons are as obvious, in my iudg-
 ment, why boys and girls from the, ages of fourteen to eighteen should not recite in the
 same class room, nor meet in the same study
 hall, nor encounter one another in the same passages of large public school. First of all the natural feelings of rightly trained boys and
 girls are offended by social intercourse of this sort, 30 frequent, so free and so inceremoni- ous. Civilization of every description, and Christian civilization pre- eminently, is ground ed in, is sustained by certain restraints of two sexes If in any of the stages of education we expose our growing boys and girls to that familiarity which offends or weakens modesty, we tend to barbarism and immortality. * 1 have no obiec- tion to learned women, but would have them remain women; and if they are to be perfect women, they must be trained as women; and womanhood in girlish years requires isolation and reserve, if nothing more. -.
 Now it is not my desire to defend here the cause of universal co-education. Nor is it my purpose to come forward as the champion of these Boston girls who desire the advantages enjoyed by their brothers in the Latin School
 Perhaps the Boston committee are right in judging it not best to make as yet so great a change in the traditions and methods of an old and prosperous institution ;let the good people of Boston decide for themselves on that point
 But there is something in this letter Which comes nearer to iig here in HATtford Pfesizl dent Porter pronounces an unqualified con demnation of the very methods followed 80 long, so successfully, and with such manifest approval on the part of the public, in the Hart ford high school and in hundreds of high schools all over the country. His general state ment in regard to these restraints at the basis of our civilization we may in the main accept but does he mean that the social intercourse permitted in well-conducted high school ac- tually does offend or weaken modesty, and so lead toward barbarian and immortality? What are those obvious" reasons ''why boys and girls from the ages of fourteen to eighteen should not rectte tn the some cl0ss-1'OJse, aaOr meet iae the some study hG1c'? If it is danger ous to the modesty of boys and girls, busily engaged in the study of Latin or geometry, to sit within few feet of each other, under the eye of teacher, pray where is it safe for them to meet? Certainly not at any party or church festival, where they might join in conversation or free boyish and girlish laughter. But Pres ident Porter asserts that ''tse natural .tselings cfTig'ttly trajaaed boys and girls Gre ofera5ed" by the social intercourse of the study and rec itation room-''so frequent, 80 free, and SO un- ceremonious." Now in the course of the past twenty five years good many young people must have graduated at our high school. whom every one would call rightly trained. Did you, Mir. Editor-did the parents of any one of them -ever hear or see any indication of any such offense to their feelings For my part, never heard the idea so much as mentioned. On the other hand, many of us know very we'll that very sort of association between the young of different sexes which pupils enjoy exerts an el- evating and refining force. We look back to the acqualnIanceS the Ir1enQSMpS, the CloSer ties, if you will, formed in our school days, and find among them the purest and most per- feet ties that we have known. Indeed, ac- cording to the views expressed in President Porter's letter, almost the only place where growing womanhood could pass it's budding season in security would be nunnery-like se- clusion, for no ordinary association with the other sex could be more harmless than that of school. The remarkable growth of our own high school is proof that people generally re- gard the matter in that light. As an ardent admirer and grateful pupil of President Porters, was surprised and grieVedto read, as coming from him, such opinions as his letter contains; and on deliberation cannot but adopt the al- ternative of believing that he did not appreci- ate the full force of his words, rather than the other alternative of supposing that they repre- sent his real sentiments x.
 As to this special Indian Orchard case it