In proportion as
more careers are opened to women, their teaching will tend to converge
with that of men. That specifically female education in domestic arts
has been rendered superfluous by commercial products. I will tell you
what I think. A sound schooling should teach manner of thought rather
than matter. It should have a dual aim--to equip a man for hours of
work, and for hours of leisure. They interact; if the leisure is
misspent, the work will suffer. As regards the first, we cannot expect
a school to purvey more than a grip of general principles. Even that is
seldom given. The second should enable a man to extract as much
happiness as possible out of his spare time. The secret of happiness is
curiosity. Now curiosity is not only not roused; it is repressed. You
will say there is not time for everything. But how much time is wasted!
Mathematics. . . . A medieval halo clings round this subject which, as
a training for the mind, has no more value than whist-playing. I wonder
how many excellent public servants have been lost to England because,
however accomplished, they lacked the mathematical twist required to
pass the standard in this one subject? As a training in intelligence it
is harmful: it teaches a person to underestimate the value of evidence
based on their other modes of ratiocination.
Pages:
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101