May 13, 1887.J 



SCIIJJS'CU. 



473 



delicacy of sight and touch which will be of 

 equal impoi'tance to the future mechanic, to the 

 artist, or the man of science. 



Again, the songs and movements of the infant- 

 school afford a jjleasant break in the graver work ; 

 but the songs and games of the kindergarten are 

 themselves an integral portion of the instruction. 

 Through them the ear, the memory, and the in- 

 telligence are systematically exercised, while the 

 children feel the charm of rhythmical expression 

 and movement. 



Once more. While, in any well-managed school, 

 the children are faii'ly contented, in the kinder- 

 garten they are genuinely happy. Parents of all 

 classes bear witness to this important fact, and it 

 is true throughout the day's exercises, grave as 

 well as gay. For while schools impose dry tasks, 

 hard in proportion as they are iminteresting, be- 

 cause bearing no reference to childish tastes and 

 aptitudes, the kindergarten, proceeding from close 

 study of child-nature, follows and yet guides the 

 child's own wish to learn, by presenting to him 

 the facts or objects that naturally excite his 

 curiosity ; thus, instead of the passive attitude of 

 the mere enforced learner, we find even the 

 youngest active, and happy in their activity. Nor 

 must we forget, that, in fostering natural curiosi- 

 ty, we are fostering the root of the love of knowl- 

 edge, the growth of which, however humble, is a 

 treasure to any life, and which may become with 

 many the perennial source of the noblest enjoy- 

 ments. 



To sum up, then. The new method is more ac- 

 cording to nature, and therefore more successful, 

 and making the children happier. 



It is more comprehensive, and therefore not 

 only richer in present gain, but more durable in 

 its effects, since education influences the future 

 just in proportion to the hold it has taken on the 

 whole development of mental and physical fac- 

 ulty, the germs of which lie undeveloped in the 

 child. 



It is more reKgious in its influence, not through 

 dogmatic teaching nor direct religious services, 

 but through the daily rejoicing in God's works ; 

 through the dawning sense of his presence and his 

 ruling will in that wonderful outer world con- 

 cerning which the child is so curious, and on 

 which kindergarten-teaching is so continually fix- 

 ing his attention. Thence gradually spring rev- 

 erence and the sense of duty to that all-ruling 

 power, and the vital roots of all religion are 

 there. 



Such being the superior claims of Froebel's 

 method, it is most important to urge those claims 

 upon all educational departments that include in- 

 fant-schools, to induce them to adopt that method. 



The only serious difficulty is that of providing 

 duly trained teachers, since, in the hands of ill- 

 trained mistresses, the surface, j)lay-aspect of the 

 kindergarten becomes the whole ; routine replaces 

 principle ; and a system, every step of which has 

 been philosophically thought out, becomes a 

 mechanism or a toy. 



What is required is, that training-colleges should 

 know that theu- infant-school teachers will be ex- 

 pected to be thoroughly conversant with the kin- 

 dergarten theory and practice, and that employers 

 should requii-e a certificate from a competent 

 authority, vouching for such training. With these 

 precautions, difficulties will speedily vanish. 



Emily Shirreff. 



3IR. ROMANES ON THE HIGHER EDUCA- 

 TION OF WOMEN. 



Authorities of all sorts, theological, medical, 

 and pedagogical, have lately been heard from on 

 this subject as to the higher education of women, 

 until it has been thought that nothing is left un- 

 said. But so eminent a scientist and psychologist 

 as IVIi". Romanes can always command a hearing ; 

 and in the course of a recent lecture at the Royal 

 institution, on ' Mental differences between men 

 and women,' he said not a little that directly in- 

 terests educators. ]\Ir. Romanes did not criticise 

 the old-fashioned view as to the general mental 

 inferiority of women, though he proceeded to up- 

 hold the more modern conclusion that women 

 cannot be too highly educated. Ignorance, he said, 

 is no longer one of those feminine qualities uni- 

 versally admired. It was not till the middle of 

 the present century that any attempt was any- 

 where made to provide for the higher education 

 of women. But now, whether we like it or not, 

 the women's movement is upon us, and we must 

 endeavor to guide the flood into the most beneficial 

 channels. What are those channels ? Assuredly 

 not those that run directly athwart all the mental 

 differences of men and women. No education 

 will ever equalize this natural inequality of sex, 

 and women as a class will never aspire to rival 

 men. Yet, though inferior in mere strength, 

 whether of body or of mind, in the truest gran- 

 deur of human nature, in the higher moral quali- 

 ties, women are at least the equals of men, and 

 for the full development of their nature they need 

 education as much as men. More especially do 

 they need an education in science. Thanks to 

 high schools and colleges, he hoped that it would 

 no longer be possible for a presumably educated 

 woman to put to a lecturer such questions as these : 

 " Tell me, is the cerebellum inside or outside the 

 brain ? Is your diagram of a jelly-fish intended 



