The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-05-31
What Our Girls Should Know.

The tendencies of the present time
are in the direction of prolonging the
girls school-life and delaying marriage
until a thorough course of culture has
been gone through. But, however long
a girl may study, she can never learn
all she should know, all she needs to
know, when she is a wife and mother.
Marriage is itself long apprenticeship,
q school which one must enter before
one can even begin to learn some most
important lessons. The newly-made
wife soon perceives that, however much
she has learned, the ocean of knowledge
is still before her.
But our girls may learn, and should
learn, right methods of living. of act
ing. of thinking and feeling. They
should be well-grounded in all the
underlying prime pies of morality, ply.
steal, social and spiritual They may
learn to be accurate, painstaking, thor
ough, industrious, patient. They may
learn not to cry over misfortune and
disappointment and annoyances, but to
devise means of overcoming all these
things. Boys learn this, and litSse boys
are as ready to cry over triles as are
little girls. If it were considered weak
and unwomanly to cry, girls would
learn to choke back their tears, as boys
do. and turn the force of their feeling
into action rather than let it dribble
away into mere salt water.
A certain curriculum can not be pre-
scribed for girls any more than it can
be for boys. In our colleges for young
men there are various courses suited to
various needs--classical courses, scien-
titic, eclectic, literary, besides those ac-
counted strictly professional. 1t is pre-
sumed, however, that each student who
faithfully goes through the studies in
any one of these courses is prepared,
in his measure, for the work of life.
He learns to use the faculties he pos
sesses, and how to apply them to the
mastery of the tasks given him. He is
held up by his professors to certain
high standards OF attainment. and his
greater or less success marks the de-
gree of his proficiency. When he goes
out into active business life he has
everything to learn, perhaps, in the APP
plication of acquired habits and infor-
nation to the work in hand, whatever
it may be. The same is true of girls.
1t would be impossible for thousands
| of girls to take q course in medicine or
nursing that would fit them TO take
charge of cases of severe sickness
such cases should be intrusted to pro-
fessional practitioners-but they can
learn great deal about disease, its
symptoms and treatment, if they use
the opportunities for doing so thrown
almost every day in their way. They
can learn hygicnic ways of living,
| ;nI ;,.t 81 10; -,
holds, will prevent sickness and drive
it away. They can acquire such habits
of adapting themselves to work needed,
of observation and attention to details.
as will make them quick to do in
emergencies what should be done. The
girl who in her quiet home is habitual-
~ systematic, methodical, faithful, con-
scientious in the work assigned her,
and brings to it all the intelligence she
can command, when called to higher
duties and larger spheres of influence
can not fail to exemplify the same quail
tiles and virtues-and these always in
sure success.
Some mothers are so situated that
they can not have their daughters
taught general homework and sewing
but if right habits are wrought in them
and right methods are used in wha
they are taught, the final results will be
satisfactory. Said a mother. Il was
afraid that Mary would not make {
good seamstress, as | couldn't teacl
her when she was little girl, but a
last when she had chance to learn sh,
brought to her work the same pains
taxing, fidelity and taste she had showi
in her music and drawing, and in tl'
care of her person, and she is now
thorough and beautiful seamstress
doing well whatever she does"
1t may be that many of the domesti,
arts practiced in most families at TIN
present time will, in the near future, b.
relegated to parties outside the house
hold, rs are the arts of carding, spin
ming, weaving, dyeing and the like iha
our grandmothers were so familia
with. But the habits and condition
necessary to happiness and success il
our households do not change with it
industries. Y Tribune.