The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-12
THE EDUCATION OF WOMEN.

Harper's Weekly.
Clark university, at Worcester, has a
summer school, before which, on July
70, Pres1dentlG. Stanley Hall made an in
teresting discourse about the education
of woman. Dr. Hall is in the business
OF education, and believes in it thorough
ly. He believes heartily in educating
girls, but has his doubts, as many others
have, whether the sort of education
which Is now lavished on American
glrls is doing them good and benehting
the race and the nation. He is not sure
that 1t is the right sort Of education
for girls; nor must any one blame him
for his misgiVings, for the education
OF women ON modern lines is still in the
experimental stage, and many, even Of
those who work hardest at 1t, are not
sure yet whether they are doing good
or harm.
DR.. Hall especially concerns himself
about the education that girls get in
colleges. He has studied statistics in the
effort TO find out about the health Of
the college women, and what percentage
OF them marry; and though the statis-
tics he quoted are not conclusive nor es-
pecIally convincing, as far as they go
they make somewhat for disquietude DIR
Hall himself did not seem to trust them,
but the gist of the figures he quoted
was that less than half of the college
third of them married: that those who
married married late and had too few
children, and of those few lost ear too
many in infancy. Statistics or OBJ
servation, or something had led him to
conclude that the current higher educa-
ton was of little use In training moth
ers. ''Woman's colleges he said, have
done little or nothing for the proper edu-
cation of women. While I sym
pathize with the claims of women, and
yield to no one in admiration of chGlr
work in the colleges, it looks as If the
colleges were training for independence
and support and celfbacy-notherho
to take care Of itself"
He doesn't believe in that. Bookishness,
he says, is a bad sign in a girl we
must educate chiefly for motherhood
Co-educatiOn should cease at dawn Of
adolescence. The present civilization
is harder on woman, who is less adapted
10 the world, than on men We must
also recognize that riches are harder on
her than poverty Such things, he as
serts, and goes on to give his ideas about
what college for girls ougtr to be;
how it's first aim should be health; how
Il should be a place of cottage homes,
not too far from a city, with pets. gar
del ,nS, plenty of outdoor exerc Sc, and
plenty of time for it; a place wn=Ce reg
ularity should be exercised, ldleness Gull
tivated, and revery provided for in every
way And he would have the stu
dents learn religion, rudimentary mathe-
mates and physics. a little chemistry
and good deal of ootanJ, but woul1
take care not to have them oppressed
by books. Think of It college president
writing such a prescription as that! Aft
er all, though, it has been related that
President Eliot once wanted to know
why a woman who could have a musical
education shoul1 want any other KIND
Men whose estimate of women Is based
on other facts than what the said
women may have learacd out Of books in
their girlhood. seem not always to be
less wise than other men, nor are the
women whom they admire apt 10 be in
ferior women.