Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1890-02-15
COLLEGES FOR WOMEN.
MISS GLADSTONE WRITES OF NEWN.
HAMS CLASSIC HALLS.


some, to hear complete outsiders talk about
womens colleges as they conceive them to be.
They are usually wrong, whether as regards
praise or blame, and chiefly because their con-
ceptions are not sufficiently commonplace.
1t is now comparatively rare to meet with
the utter and unreasoning condemnation Of
former days Womens colleges nre IN es-
tablished fact; they have received much
favor from our ancient universities; many
hundreds OF young women have passed, OF
are passing, through them to various kinds
of work. The education OF our children Is
largely in the hands of former students, and
many others are known to be leading useful,
honorable home lives as wives, mothers or
daughters. The strangeness has worn Off
and the usual attitude OF outsiders is one of
more or less sympathetic curiosity unless
they have already been irretrieyably bored
by too much talk on the subject.
TOO NaoH TALK.
There is perhaps, too much Of such talk al
together There is certainly far too much of
wholesale theorizing apart from thought and
experience, of discussion whether women
should cultivate their minds or become cit for
home duties, whether they are intellectually
the equals Of men, or of no intellectual value
worth mentioning; IL some people tend to
forget that wor.en are diverse from men
others forget that they are in any respects
similar
BI,s with all this talk there is little ki,owl-
edge Of the every day purpose and aspect of
women's colleges, and that is why venture
to add to the talk have no particular
theories to PROFOUND and nothing new to tell,
but over twelve years experience Of Newn-
ham college, first as a student, then as an
official, should enable me to show little Of
what we are doing and trying to do.
The end and aim of Newman college is one
neither new nor startling nor eccentric, but
simply the "higher education OF woman
1t is part of the great movement of the pres
ent day for higher and more widely diffused
education, movement which has especially
| affected women on account of the growing
recognition Of their individuality, response
bility and capacity, and on account of the
( relatively low standard of their education
! hitherto.
In the early days of the movement people
connected with all grades of education be-
| stirred themselves, and much was quickly
| done towards giving girls of all classes OPP
portunities for education as good as that of
boys. Many university men took part in
| this work; it was natural that they, and es-
| pecially those connected with that university
! which has been most forward in widea.pg its
sphere of action, should think Of pro9notirg
not only the education of girls but that of
women. This was an entire novelty; through
all the centuries Of its existence the Univer-
sity of Cambridge, six of whose colleges were
| fnl1uHp1 40 T ctrtAra
looked upon women as in any way within its
| sphere; nor probably had women themselves,
J as class, even wished that they should bes SO.
The matter was full of difficulties -educa-
tional, social and financial; few women had
had the needful preliminary training, and of
these it might be that few would have suffi-
Gent ability, desire or freedom for sustained
intellectual work; it was impossible to carry
the very best instruction to scattered pr iAls
while objections were made to bringing the
pupils TO the center Of the best instruction
and the poverty of women added much to
the difficulty of any permanent scheme
! Nevertheless, by a remarkable combination
of moderation and cautious experiment., with
boldness and great generosity, the difficulties
were surmounted. Instruction was supplied
in the place where it could be of the very
best kind, and pupils as they came were pro
vided for with the utmost care.
Newman college, then, aims primarily al
supplying the highest education to womer
who desire to receive such education and arr
fitted to receive it. 1t is established in Cam
bridge, aud its students take the unlyefejt,
courses, not III order that women mag COP
pete with men, but because the framework
of the university, the courses Of education
the instruction and apparatus, and the who'll
influence Of the place are the outcome of cen
turtles of effort to provide high intellectual
education, and do in fact, provide it.
TIE FE5,INTNE MIND NOT INFERIOR.
do not forget the differences between mel
and women; but, granted that women shoult
have the opportunity for higher education
and assuming that, generally speaking i'll
opportunity is only used by those who ctt
to use it, ana whocflps faaslY well qualified t
use it, do not see why there should be
: marked difference between men and wome
! either in the subjects they study, the exten
TO which they study them, or the method
they use. 1t is trde that there is the excite
ment of competition; but competition is b
. no means wholly an evil 1t need be no NOR
of an evil to compete with men than wit
f women and thoroughly good teaching an
9 thoroughly interesting subjects are a grea
. protection from competition in its damagin
sense.
. The greater number Of stud.nts work fo
. a tripos and stay three or four years, br
- some aim only at lesser examinations or TAX
! no examination at all, and generally renal
q shorter time.
'' Besides the definite and immediate objet
of which have spoken, the college has othC
objects in view. While it aims at givhl
q women opportunities for the development
70 mind and character till lately enjoyed by fe
T. of them, it has constantly tried to do this u
is der conditions Of life thoroughly wholeson
N and suitable for them, and in conformity,
all essentials with what is customary f
lie young women. Adequate supervision al
$ discipline have always been provided, b
le rigid rules are as few as possible self goveh
menU co.'s greatly encouraged and studen
y altogether are treated as responsible youI
lie women and not as school girls, This syste
y is greatly helped by the division Of the C
v lege into three halls, no one OF which CO
~ tains more than about fifty students, so th
H. the principal and vice principals cap respec
n lively know and be. known by every studf
10 in their charge; they are in friendly and =
merely official relations with the studen
IN they interfere with them rs little as possib
III but live with them and are freely aceeSsit
H. to them at almost Guy time.-Helen Ola
stone.