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MIDDLE CLASS SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS. 175
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
It Is Very Easy To Find Fault With Our N...
• witnessing experiments or handling specimens . Howmany lessons & re iven on the chief products of the countries of Europeand how
few , g products are ever shown in young ladies' schools . , Professor Brodie would not teach chemistry to young men unless he could
show them substances and solutions , yet children are expected to learnand punished for not learningon a system too stupidtoo
, , , obsolete to be applied to young men . All -who have heard Mr . Shieles' admirable object-lessons at the
Peckham Birkbeck Schools , will readily understand what a difference this method of teaching makes to the pupils in exciting their interest ,
and bringing- out the powers they delight to exercise . In addition to the usual branches of education , and to these object-lessons , drawing
should also be taught with great care to all the children , and taught from nature as well as from copies . It is easier to teach drawing
than writing , if the lesson be made interesting and really beautiful ; and delicate drawings can be executed by mere childrenof leaves ,
.. , of bits of architecture , of vases , & e ., and copies be made from _engravings of more _complicated things . Pupils of twelve or thirteen
should be able , after two years' instruction , to draw the branch of a tree with its leavesso as to give pleasure to the beholder .
The drawing lesson , can be elevated into a lesson on art , and the beauties of form in antique vases and statues can be pointed out ,
and plants , flowers , and fruits be brought in illustration , aided by fine etchings .
Singing from notes and in parts must enter into the course of instructionchildren always delight in joining * together to sing ,
and very soon ; enjoy the best music . French lessons will distinguish the scholars in these schools from those who pay only twopence
n week in National Schools , and must be taught not only because it is useful to know the language of our neighbors , but also because
it is extremely desirable that children should know that there are other names for things besides those they use themselves , and
because English grammar is best acquired in connexion with that of another language . Moreover , not only is a great saving of time
thus effected , but a strong desire to learn French exists in the middle class , which must be taken into account .
In addition to arithmetic , girls should be taught to make out billsto keep accountsand to understand book-keeping . From the
very , first they should , be taught how to apply their arithmetical _knowledge , and it is of the greatest importance to teach girls
to know when and how to set about calculation . Most girls ( and all we is true of boyscceteris parihus ) are pushed forward
into rules which say they have not , the remotest idea how to apply to real life , and which they probably do not believe to be of any
practical use . For instance , not long ago I dictated this question to a -class of irls in a hihly esteemed school : "If you earn a penny a
day , how g much will you g earn in a year ? " _"Oh ! that is too easy !"
cried the children ; - —yet not half gave the right answer , and one of
Middle Class Schools For Girls. 175
_MIDDLE CLASS SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS . 175
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Nov. 1, 1860, page 175, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01111860/page/31/
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