96 



doinfr things properly and woll. and a prido and joy in work for its own sake. 

 Thero must tirst c-oine a general understanding of the value of this kind of 

 education and a keener realization of its need before it will be popular with 

 young women. This attitude of the pul)lie will best be developed l»y improving 

 "the elementary and manual training instruction in the i)ublie schools, since this 

 reaches and influenc(>s the largest number of people, and yields the most tangible 

 and the greatest results. 



The land-grant collt\ges seem destined to have a large share in this develop- 

 ment, and therefore' have a large responsibility, which is not in the direction 

 of aiding and encoin-aging this new education alone. They are in quite as great 

 a degree responsil)le to the educational world for maintaining educational 

 standards. A degree course in home economics will be entirely consistent with 

 such standards if given for thorough work in the liberal arts and scienc>es as 

 applied to domestic jtroblems. but not if given for training in the manual opera- 

 tions of the household. 



J. L. Snyder, of Michigan, presented the following i)aper: 



What Ought a Degree Course in Home Economics to Include? 



The true object of all education is to prepare for life. This preparation may 

 bring the recipient into harmony with his environment, or it may develo]) in 

 him sufticient jiower to create entirely new environments. It may be contined 

 to the accumulation of knowledge, and the memory may be used as a case of 

 I)igeonlK)les. in which are stored selected data to be brought forth as occasion 

 may demand, or it may be so directed as to develop power. Knowledge and 

 power— the latter word used in a general sense — were at one time held as the 

 chief and only objects of a higher education. In later years higher education 

 has been called upon to ijlerform another function, not only to give knowledge 

 and iiower, but also such special training as will pre]iare the recipient for one 

 particular field of labor. Education adapted to one particular end is commonly 

 termed technical education. A degree course stands for a certain amount of 

 culture and mental training. A technical course leading to a degree must in 

 addition to the necessary technical subjects contain also such other subjects as 

 will give a considerable degree of culture. Many technical subjects based upon 

 previous training in science give mental discipline. This is specially true when 

 pursued in the scientific spirit; other technical subjects train the hand and the 

 eye, but afford little means for mental training. 



A course in " home economics" is designed to give such training as will best 

 fit the recipient for administering the duties of the home. These duties :ire 

 many. To meet them intelligently a woman nnist not only be skilled in the 

 selection and preparation of foods and clotliing. l)ut she nnist have all those 

 other qualities of mind and soul which find their fullest fruition in her life as 

 a comi)anion. as a teacher, as a mother. Preparation for these duties requires 

 much broader training than that usually given in technical courses. It is only 

 recently that it has been thought advisable to give young women such training 

 as would fit them specially for the vocation in life which the great majority 

 of them are destined to follow and which the minority would no doubt gladly 

 follow if they could enter upon such a vocation under circumstances satisfactory 

 to themselves. While the i)r()gress of develoi)ing courses of study in home 

 economics has been very rapid, such courses are still in the early stages of 

 development. Yet consideral)le knowledge of a practical nature has been organ- 

 ized and worked out in pedagogical form and is given to a large body of young 

 women with xoiy satisfactory results. 



The question, however, is. What ought a degree course in home economics to 

 include? 



First, it should be a four-year course and should bo preceded by a thorough 

 and strong jireparatory course, not less in either <iuantity or ciuality than that 

 required by all good colleges and universities for entrance to the freshman class 

 of all degree courses. This preparation is fairly represented in the four-year 

 courses given in our best secondary schools. 



To correspond in a measure with other technical courses leading to a degree, 

 about 20 per cent of the work of the freshman year should be i)urely technical ; 

 33 per cent of the sophomore year, 40 i)er cent of the junior year, and at least 

 75 per cent of the senior year should be technical. This course should contain 

 such studies as are of recognized exceptional worth for all courses. Higher 

 algebra and solid geometry should be reviewed and electives offered in trigo- 



