156 STATE BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



PRACTICAL EDUCATION FOR GIRLS. 



BY MISS MAUDE GILCHRIST^ DEAN OF WOMEN^S DEPARTMENT, AGRICULTURAL 



COLLEGE. 



We have beard a great deal in the past few years about education 

 for culture as distinguished from education as training, — the one 

 involving brain activity merely, the other eye and hand activity. We 

 ought to have both, — the true education is a drawing out of all the 

 powers. Work and thought should not be separated. If they are, 

 the Avorkman becomes only a machine — poor fellow that he is — and 

 the mere thinker a snob, — a poorer fellow still. 



What do you want to make of your daughter? Perhaps, because 

 of the strain and stress in your own life, you wish for her a life o\ 

 leisure and idleness. If so you do not -^ant the education we have 

 to propose. Or should you entertain ambitions to have her take a 

 man's place in the world, to hold it by a man's methods, becoming 

 aggressive and hard, this education is not for her. But if you wish 

 her to be a womanly woman, one who is gentle as well as practical, 

 who uses common sense in dealing with every day affairs, who makes 

 of home a haven of rest and joy for family and friends, then we 

 start from a common vantage point. 



By practical education we mean, in general, such training in the 

 affairs of every day life that the girl may be able to cope with the 

 situations of life and that she may be more effective for good in her 

 community. Since every girl must be a member of society, her edu- 

 cation should not only prepare her for her individual work and life, but 

 also for her Avork and life in the community. She should be worthy her- 

 self and she should do something worthily, and the two go hand in hand. 

 This education is not then limited. It means intellectual training, moral 

 training, physical training. It is social as well as technical. Is its aim to 

 turn out cooks or dressmakers as artists or Avorkers in any special line? 

 No at all. It aims, in general, to develop the all-around woman whose 

 trained faculties give her an assured place in any community or so- 

 ciety. Practical education for girls must preserve and emphasize 

 feminine ideals. It will fail in the artist if these be omitted. The 

 principle of the eternal feminine we cannot overlook. "The eternal 

 womanly will lead man ever onward and upward" sings Goethe. A 

 strong moral and religious character must be the foundation of every 

 right life. The girl who has received this training in everyday affairs 

 will be polite and will help conserve this virtue of civilization. She 

 will take her place among others and keep it because she observes 

 the amenities of social intercourse. 



The average schooling of the boys and girls of our country is only 

 about four and a half school years. Much is to be learned in that time. 

 Too much is attempted. But do we give the very best that we might 

 give? The vast majority of those who fall out after the earliest school 

 training, do so because they are compelled to do it. They must earn 

 their living in some way by the labor of their hands. Now, if this 



