The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1909-09-09

Reginald Wright Kaufman In
Hampton's Magazine IS very hard
upon the finishing schools for girls.
After reading what he says, We wua.
der why these schools should be called
finishing" The word can hardly be
APPLIED to an intellectual training which
seems never TO have been begun.
Whatever education" may have been
impaired to her in the earlier grades
has made no impression either upon
mind or heart She knows exactly
what is expected of her in the social
game, and whatever remains over
and above she ignores:
One student Of my acquaintance
has, after a three years course, man
aged to choke down enough French
to translate, if there's a dictionary
handy, the original Gallic phrases en-.
countered in a popular novel; she
knows what the menu is trying tC
say. though, OF course. neither sbu
nor anybody else can translate that
verbatim II she would take time to
complete it-but she never takes time
/ to complete anything-she might be-
! able TO make fair copy of Charles
! Dana Gibson line drawing. She can
recite certain chapters Of the B.blu
| by heart, but knows about as much
! concerning them as the average ac.
tor knows about the lines Of his part
And as for literature. she has ac
4 quired the exact date Of every great
| English authors birth and death with
out having any conception OF waa,
any of them wrote. ana without sW-~,
ing one hairs breadth from her ale
| glance to the contemporary marsh.
mallow school of fiction.
The ignorance Of the average g'f.
is certainly appalling. md we ma
well wonder what she has done VIZ
her time during high school days. .a
has acquired books enough TO s.u.
a store. thanks TO the entente cordial
that exists between the schools c.'
the publishers. But IL we u'- 81
draw out any Of this Information "
shall lamentably fail. She seems "a
know absolutely nothing that
worth knowing upon any conce.vaJ'
subject She has studied civics--O.
says she has-but she has no Sim
mering of an opinion upon any c;ri,
or political subject. She has plough
ed her way through books on history
geography. mathematics, and litera
ture, but she is entirely dumb when
any intelligent subject is on the car
pet. But there are some things, Mr.
Kaufman tells us, that the girl doe.
know:
The last time she was home I triel
to talk to her; we used to make muC
pies together and, later, she chewet
the spitballs that threw at the teach
er in the fourth reader; but now an
a mister to her and she is a myster!
to me- Well we talked, or rather she
did, and what | received from her wa
simply a rapid running description o
all the seasons plays on Broadway
1t appears that the school is Otter
taken to the theatre in a body, pro
vided the drama TO be produced i
not too serious. and that the who'll
student body go as individuals I,
Saturday matinees. Consequently
this girl has twenty photographs o
Robert Edeson, each in a differen
pose, on the dressing table, whicl
she used TO call bureau, and know
tn private history and matrimonial
record of all the idols OF the stage.
And this is the equipment for sc
ciety" and later on, perhaps. for othe
and more serious things. It's rathe
sad when one comes to think about il