San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-08-15


Courageous Acts by the weaker" Sex.
Well Meant Suggestions to the Sisters.
A Beautiful Epitaph.
At a large public meeting the other day,
several of the speakers urged the value OF
public school discipline, pointing out the ad-
vantage of bringing children of different
social circles together in school as in life; and
the permanent good arising when the child OF
the professional man, for instance, is beaten
in his studies, as sometimes happens, by the
child of the day laborer All such illusions
invariably brought applause from very
well educated and generally well to do audi
ence But it was observable that these argu'
ments all began and ended with boys. Not
word was said by any speaker about the adj
vantages or disadvantages, if any, of giving
to girls the same discipline, and this omission
seemed rather to vitiate the argument. AS
the education and even the employments OF
the two sexes are plainly coming nearer to-
gether-contrary to what used to be predict
ed as the result of advancing civilization-it
would seem that the problem of education
must be in this respect much the same Tor
both. Yet there are undoubtedly many pa
rents who, while able to see the advantages or
a more public education for boys, draw the
line there, and demand for their growing
daughters what is called "a select school"
Nv own impression is that this distinction
is a mistake, and that whatever arguments
apply to public school education for boys
must reach girls also In the first place, girls
need even more than boys, to learn at school
the qualities and merits of those in differ
ent social circle, because if they do not learn
it then, they may never learn it. Men learn
it all through their lives, because almost
every department of business brings into con
tact and comparison those trained in very
different spheres Women not engaged in
business have much less opportunity for this
contact; their homes include but two grades
employers and employed; and outside OF
their homes it is only some rare occasion of
church work or charitable work which brings
women into that easy intercourse with those
out of their own set which is so familiar to
men. If Jane Maria does not learn at school
that the daughter of the coal HEAVIER or the
washerwoman may be as good scholar, or
even have as good manners as herself, she
may never have another opportunity; where
as her brother may make the same discovery
in college or in business. So far, then, the
need of this free early intercourse would
seem even greater in case of the girl.
The answer. to this would be that the risk
of contamination in morals and manners will
also be greater in case of the girl Is this so
certainl 1t is useless to deny that in certain
large CITIES populated largely by lately ar,
rived foreigners there may be some ground
for this fear: but it must not be carried far.
1t must always be remembered that, forum
ately for our civilization, the race and re-
ligion most larGely represented among these
very foreigners happen to maintain a high
standard Of feminine parity; and that, there
fore, as to tho most important essentials, the
danger is less than one might suppose. If it
be said that in case of girl there should be
absolutely no danger at all, it can only be an
swered that no such security has ever been
discovered. since the conventual system of
education certainly does not effect it.
Even as to manners the most exclusive pri
vate school may still leave much to be de,
sired The more exclusive it is, the. more cor
tain it is that some very rough material will
be sent there to be made into shape. | have
heard an anxious parent deplore that the Oc
casiOnal outbreaks Of her little girl in the
direction of rudeness and slang were generally
traced to the carefully selected children of
the city school, and not to the offspring of
country blacksmiths and farm laborers with
whom she played at their summer home.-T
". II. in Harper'S Bazaar.