The Education of Catholic GirlsStuart, Janet Erskine
Religion
The Education of Catholic Girls
Stuart, Janet Erskine
Catholic Church -- Education; Women -- Education
life to gain a view of things as a whole, to find that nothing stands
alone, but that the details which it grasps in so masterly a manner
have their place and meaning in the scheme of the universe.
It is evident that even this elementary knowledge cannot be given in
the earliest years of the education of girls, and that it is only
possible to attempt it in schools and school-rooms where they can be
kept on for a longer time of study. Every year that can be added to
the usual course is of better value, and more appreciated, except by
those who are restless to come out as soon as possible. No reference
is made here to those exceptional cases in which girls are allowed to
begin a course of study at a time when the majority have been obliged
to finish their school life.
As the elements of philosophy are not ordinarily found in the
curriculum of girls' schools or schoolroom plans, it may not be out of
place to say a few words on the method of bringing the subject within
their reach.
In the first place it should be kept in view from the beginning, and
some preparation be made for it even in teaching the elements of
subjects which are most elementary. Thus the study of any grammar may
serve remotely as an introduction to logic, even English grammar
which, beyond a few rudiments, is a most disinterested study, valuable
for its by-products more than for its actual worth. But the practice
of grammatical analysis is certainly a preparation for logic, as logic
is a preparation for the various branches of philosophy. Again some
preliminary exercises in definition, and any work of the like kind
which gives precision in the use of language, or clear ideas of the
meanings of words, is preparatory work which trains the mind in the
right direction. In the same way the elements of natural science may
at least set the thoughts and inquiries of children on the right track
for what will later on be shown to them as the "disciplines" of
cosmology and pyschology.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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