Thoughts on the Education of Girls

These are thoughts... that pass through the mind of a cultured woman of letters at whose hands we hope for every good in leading the rising generation toward liberation and light.

Much has been said about education in general, and opinions on the education of girls in particular have multiplied. We cannot decide conclusively upon a principle that must be followed or a method that must be adopted as a course without which life cannot proceed, since human nature differs from one individual to another, as it differs from one sex to another, and educators must take heed before deciding anything that will afterward become a rule to be followed. Most writers have taken up this subject — the subject of upbringing and education — from philosophers to educators to statesmen and others. Plato said in the fourth century before Christ: "The aim of education is to bestow upon body and soul all the beauty and perfection of which they are capable." Aristotle — the father of philosophy — followed him, saying: "Education is the preparation of the mind for learning as the earth is prepared for sowing." The moderns have concerned themselves with this subject as much as the ancients did, indeed more. Kant, the German philosopher of the eighteenth century, came and said: "Education is the development of all the perfections that can be developed in the individual." As for Stuart Mill in the last century, he agreed with Spencer in the early twentieth century, holding that "education is the preparation of a person to live a complete life." If we gather these sayings together, we then conclude, with Mr. Amin Qandil in his book The Principles of Education, that "education is the exertion of all the various influences deliberately chosen by those in authority in a given society, in order to help the child advance in body, mind, and character until he gradually reaches the utmost perfection he can attain, so that he may be happy in his individual and social life, and so that every act proceeding from him may be more complete, more perfect, and more beneficial to society than if he had been left without education."

Education is customarily divided into mental education, physical education, and moral education. The mental is concerned with developing the mind in all its aspects and training it systematically in sound thinking, so that it may grasp rightly the various influences and manifold phenomena that surround it, and its judgment upon them may be sound and apt. Physical education is the work of developing the body in a natural, balanced growth, strengthening it and preserving it so that it can carry out the varied tasks and the many burdens that personal and social life impose upon it, and resist the many diseases that threaten it. It was said of old, "a sound mind in a sound body," for the health of both is necessary to a person's happiness. Moral education works to temper the instincts and innate inclinations that harm society if left to themselves, by raising them to a high level and directing them toward other, wholesome ends.

There is no doubt that education, when its methods are good, yields practical results of great benefit; otherwise the opposite occurs. The cause here lies in the method of teaching, and the best method to follow is the middle way between the Latin system of education, of which the theoretical forms a large part, and the Anglo-Saxon, which leaves wide room for the practical, so that the individual grows up taking his knowledge from books in order to apply it in daily life.

And now — after this general introduction on education — let us come to what I consider suited to the nature of the girl and to the nature of life itself in the education of the girl of today, the mother — or the learned woman — of tomorrow. We notice the plain difference between the little girl and the little boy from the first year of each one's life. The girl inclines by nature to tenderness toward her doll, imitating her mother in her treatment of her younger sister or brother, while the boy at this age takes the horse or the hammer instead of the doll to play with and amuses himself with it most of his time. Thus the girl's inclination toward her natural function in life — namely, the care of the home and its members — shows itself from early childhood, just as the boy inclines toward manual work that calls especially for muscular strength. These same inclinations arise likewise in the stage of childhood proper: the girl inclines by nature to the quiet and domestic life, while the boy takes the path of work and running about, or of playing at soldiers and similar games that betoken an inclination toward strength and manliness.

This is the natural side in children; but here we come and ask: what should the schooling of girls and boys of this age be? Manual work, and theoretical instruction joined to the practical — these must occupy a large part of children's curricula.

There is nothing whatever to prevent placing boys and girls together in one common school, so that the child grows up in the habit of living with the other sex; it becomes a natural condition, with no trace of strangeness in it thereafter. Most writers and educators have agreed on this matter. The subjects of study for this stage should be common to both sexes.

As for the following stage — that is, primary and secondary studies — it is better to separate the girl pupils from the boys. Here the diversifying of curricula according to sex begins, and we multiply the subjects that suit the temperament and aptitude of each of the two sexes. In my view, a general examination should be held after the primary stage of studies, in which the girl's aptitude for the various branches of study is determined, with a view to later specialization. If she inclines toward domestic work, then the prescribed sciences should have a practical purpose and a single common aim: a simple acquaintance and general culture in the various sciences, together with a detailed study of domestic matters — varied studies in the management of household affairs, kitchen work, the raising of children, and in those things that create a happy atmosphere in the home and a spirit that endears life to those who share it with this creature who, if she wills, makes life a paradise and a bliss, and if she wishes, turns it into a hell — this creature is woman.

This is what it befits every girl, generally speaking, to follow, for she was created for this function. Yet with this we do not say that she cannot undertake other work, for there are a number of girls who set learning before their eyes, to whatever degree they can attain it. The girl is in no way inferior to the boy in degree of intelligence, nor in aptitude; rather she is more capable than he in these matters, for she who specializes and advances in her university studies masters, along with this, her work as a girl, whereas the man's efforts are confined to his own sphere alone.

There are those who say that if the girl takes up higher learning and university study she departs from the sphere of her femininity and her natural field of specialization; but this claim is refuted, for the girl has a right just as the boy has. She can exercise her rights and duties exactly as the man does, and she is half the nation: if this half is left to itself, the other half is corrupted and is no longer good for anything.

Here, then, is a strong human motive that must prevail over the feeling of all people: refining the girl and educating her as she wishes and according to her natural aptitude guarantees the nation a flourishing and a progress beyond all doubt. It is she who raises the soldiers of the homeland — is it not her right, then, to be herself one of its soldiers as well? Her right as a citizen is in no way less than the man's, and her duties are like his duties. Why then do you leave her to live with her rights curtailed and her standing neglected?

Forward, then, toward learning and high culture, that you, young woman, may occupy a lofty station, and a nation that advances ahead of other nations, and a homeland exemplary in its reality and a leader of others. Upon the shoulders of the girl falls the greatest share of the future of nations. Be worthy, then, of bearing this sacred responsibility of yours and of discharging it, and never allow obstacles to stand in your way, for the impulse of learning must overcome every hindrance and barrier.