Evening star., 1901-03-09
A Woman's Idea of the Proper Edu-
cation of Girls.
The TRUE LESSON OF LIFE
To Attain to an Honorable and
Useful Citizenship.
WHAT SHOULD BE STUDIED

Written for The Evening Star by Julia Ward Howe
The greatest object of education is .he
formation of character. 1t may not suit
the ambition of youth to be told at the OUT
set that honorable and useful citizen
ship is the highest end attainable by the
individual, and that most desirable to the
society of which he or she is to form a part
The true lesson of life, however is this and
none other. Women in the past have been
trained mostly to exemplify the passive Side
| of morality Meekness, patience, receptiv-
ity. traits relieved by an amiable and ANUS
ing frivolity-these elements, more or less
varied by differences of environment and
circumstance, have been looked upon as
most prominent and important in the FEM
mime makeup An ancient rhyme says:
"A woman, dog and a hickory tree
The more you beat them, the better they
be-
Even the immortal Shakespeare shows us
| the pitiable subjection of the Shrey as a
fortunate result. The concession Of the
higher education to women marks more
| than any other measure the progress OF the
| last fifty years. 1t implies on the part of
| society tacit confession of the Injustice
SO long done them in their exclusion from
| the opportunities of an instruction CORE
| spending to their natural ability and best
| aspirations. The bounds arbitrarily set for
| them by the selfshness and ignorance Of
equally with men may say:
| Nlhil humanum me alienum puto"
Surely, in the use of their new liberty
| some counsel on the part of elders may be
helpful, especially If ii refers to the eternal
| womanly, to the precious traditions of the
sex, wrought out in the long past by many
| a noble intellect, by many a commanding
| character. Saints, heroines and martyrs
| many OF them unrecognized as such, have
| helped to form the ideal of womaubood
| which has led to the present happy era. and
| which still points beyond it to new efforts
70 new achleVements for the good Of the
race.
| The Same for ALL
While in the plan of education the di-
| VersitleS of talent and of circumstance
! should receive our consideration, We must
not forget that the cardinal points of train
| ing are properly the same for all. Every
girl should be taught to look upon herself
as member of a civilized, Christian COM
mun1ty, and, as such, as bound to hold the
interests of such community dear and
sacred She should early learn that no
woman lives to herself alone. As the nat
ural guardian of the home she is bound
TO have in charge its dearest and most inti-
mate sources of well being. If she marries
1t should not be with view only to the
personal suiting of tastes and circum-
stances, but with an earnest desire to
fulfill the duties and to deserve the dig
mites which belong to true matronhood
from the start servants of the state and
as members Of the church universal.
To the individual the great values of life
unite in thought and affection. Each of
these has its mean and its heroic side and
the facile sympathies of youth can be led
in either direction. The responsibility i'm
piled in this statement Is so momentous
that one may well tremble in assuming it.
Margaret Fuller, in the early days of her
maternal experience, was heard to exclaim:
God be merciful to me, sinner!' Which
we may interpret thus: How shall l. a
fallible being, dare to undertake the guild
ance of this immortal soul?'' Thus much
we may say. that in this guidance the
selfshness of talents and advantages should
always give place to the generous and
helpful holding of both.
An Eminent Gift.
Girls of especial promise are often train
ed to a self-worship which goes far to
neutralize the beneficent effect of their in
tellectual endowments. An ideal opposite
to this may be found in Dante's praise OF
Beatrice:
''Such virtue rare her beauty hath in sooth,
No envy stirs in other ladies' breast;
But in its light they walk beside her. dressed.
In gentleness and love, and noble truth.
Her looks whate'er they light on seem to bless,
Nor her alone make lovely TO the view,
But all her peers thro' her have honor too"
This lending of grace to ones whole sex
is rare and eminent gift, sure to be seen
more frequently education shall enlarge
the sympathies of women, enabling them to
be friends to their own sex, rather than
jealous candidates for the favor and ap-
probation of the opposite.
Having done our best to prepare the
youthful mind for acquisition in the moral
departments of learning, let us ask accord
ing to what order and method We shall fur
nish the fair receptacle with its treasures.
l speak with diffidence, having been bred in
the old-fashioned ways of sixty years since.
But according to nv best judgment should
say: Language first in order that thought,
as it develops. may find its pure and appro-
those who are born to the possession of the
English tongue. Let each endeavor above
all things to speak it with clearness and
precision. I doubt whether there exists an