New-York tribune., 1912-02-06

girls domestic training? Almost none.
Twenty thousands little girls were turned
out Of the schools last week. the end OF the
first half OF the year. with absolutely no
teaching in the household arts. for none OF
that is given until the sixth grade. and
these 1000 were leaving in their fifth year
leaving school without the remotest idea
how 10 cook or clean. or wash baby. un-
less they had learned in their own homes,
which the chances are most of them had
not.
If the girls could only see their teachers
doing some forms Of housework. To vt
tie girl, Teacher IS the all-important fact
in life. But they never even see Teacher
so much as make cup Of cocoa for her
self. Probably she brings a cold lunch IN
a music roll. The children don't even have
the lesson in cleanliness OF seeing the win
dows washed, for the school janitor does 1t
when they are not there"
What is needed, Mrs. Kelly says. is few
experienced mothers on the Board Of Edu-
cation.
1t is a shame" she exclaimed. that
women have so little TO say about the gov
ernment Of the schools Now, do you sup
pose. If we had a wise woman superinten-
dent Of schools I'm New York, as they have
in Chicago, we'd be spending millions Of
dollars in repair work, and almost nothing
to get at the root OF things. This repair
work is very fine; it's fine TO have nurses
and doctors visit the schools, and TO have
milk stations for the babies. but IT is rather
discouraEing 10 think that the milk goes,
much of IT, into homes whore the mothers
are too dirty 10 wash their hands or the
bottles.
If We had d woman superintendent, our
little girls would he learning, with dolls
how to take care OF babies they'd be learn
ing household arts and they would learn
in a pleasant way, that would make il a
reward after their other tasks"
Mrs. Kelly thinks The lectures offered hv
the Board Of Education at their evening
centres are entirely too "highbrow"
Lectures on Shakespeare and the in
terror Of China make for culture no doubt"
she observed, but is il the kind Of culture
most needed by the average pupils cf four
teen and sixteen years OF age:'
Miss Ida Tarbell told the association how
she had discovered the germs Of good
/ and evil" and one great reason for the
( problem of the cost Of living in two work
4 lIGmeQ s MONIES III O. letCAoAJ AyNii il'o'
Pittsburgh. in one Of these homes the
mother was ignorant, wasteful, dirty: in
/ the other the mother was thrifty, clean
and liked her job because she did 4 well
/ Il don't mean" said Miss Tar5e,l, that
/ the cost Of living is not problem in the
/ thrifty homes. II is a terrible problem
! there, too; but in the home OF the woman
who knows nothing Of home-makinG and
can teach her daughters nothing 1t be-
/ comes a menace.
! when you see children coming into the
world in homes like these, you see VI
cious thing started-and there's nothing
doing at bottom to stop 1t. The housekeep-
ing centres here in New York are doing a
good work, but ] wish it could be in
| larger way"
! Miss Mabel Kittridge is president OF the
| association, which maintains four house
! keeping centres in crowded parts Of the
! city. These centres are fats, In which
/ during the winter between $50 and 100 girls
/ and women learn TO cook, clean, market
/ give little dinners and suppers-everythinG
! I'm fact that a home-mother should know.