The Eugenic Marriage, Volume 1 (of 4): A Personal Guide to the New Science of Better Living and Better BabiesHague, W. Grant (William Grant)
Science
The Eugenic Marriage, Volume 1 (of 4): A Personal Guide to the New Science of Better Living and Better Babies
Hague, W. Grant (William Grant)
Eugenics; Hygiene; Marriage
So long as human nature is as it is, we must meet conditions as they exist.
We know as parents, and some of us know as physicians, that a task easily
performed by one individual, without any apparent harmful results, will tax
the capacity of another individual to the very utmost. Any educational
system which does not recognize this law, is vicious. Yet such is the
system in vogue to-day in America. We must adapt the burden to the
endurance of the pupil. The administration of an educational machinery must
solve this problem from the individual standpoint.
In the departmental work in our public schools there seems to be no system.
Each teacher prescribes home work without any knowledge of what others of
the same grade do, and without any apparent consideration in favor of the
individual pupil. The result is that the total amount for each night is
absurdly in excess of the capacity of the ordinary, or for that matter the
extraordinary, pupil. This engenders nervousness and irritability, and is
contrary to the ethics of education,--the fundamental law of which should
be the preservation of good health. We must have regard for the physical
and mental health of each pupil, and as the capacity of each pupil is
different, the system is committing an egregious wrong by sacrificing the
weaker instead of adapting the burden according to the strength and
endurance of the bearer.
THE HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM FALLACIOUS.--Even the high schools do not seem to be
wisely availing themselves of their opportunity from the eugenic or
economic standpoint. According to the report of the Commissioner of
Education of the United States the percentage of pupils studying some of
the more important subjects in the year 1909-1910 is stated as follows:[30]
Latin, French and German 83 per cent.
Algebra and Geometry 88 " "
English Literature 57 " "
Rhetoric 57 " "
History 55 " "
Domestic Economy,--including
sewing, cooking and household
economies 4 " "
If only barely four per cent. of the girls in our high schools are studying
subjects which directly contribute to their efficiency as home-makers, what
are the prospects for worthy parenthood in the light of the fact that
seventy-five per cent. of all women between the ages of twenty and
twenty-four are married?
The function of the high school, so far as girls are concerned, is to
conserve health, to train for domestic efficiency and motherhood, and if
necessary for economic independence. It must also furnish the stimulus for
mental culture and direct a proper aspiration for social enlightenment. The
curriculum should include biology, hygiene, psychology, home beautifying,
the story-telling side of literature, music and a few other studies tending
to make woman more like woman than she is to-day. When we have this,
teaching for mothercraft will be more nearly realized.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account