Is Woman Better Suited than Man to Primary Teaching?

Word reached our ears of a statement by Dr. Habib Kurani on "the feminization of teaching," so we put these questions to him, given the importance this question holds for woman — and who better to enlighten us on the subject than the head of the Department of Education at the American University of Beirut? From under his hands there have gone out to the Arab world, in the last quarter-century, many hundreds of teachers of the young. His experience, then, is rich and his studies continuous, and on these two grounds he has the right to speak his word boldly.

— The Editors —

Q. — Is it true that you are among those who call for the feminization of teaching, and what exactly does that mean?

A. — I am not among those who call for the feminization of teaching, but I hold it necessary to bring woman into the teaching profession more widely and more fully than is the case today. The Arab world is in labor with a general social renaissance whose signs have begun to show through the alertness, self-confidence, drive, and ardor we observe in the educated woman of today. It is as though, now that the love of service, work, and sacrifice that lay latent in her soul has been set free, she stands poised to leap forward. It was therefore our duty — we who supervise the preparation of teachers and concern ourselves with educational affairs — to encourage woman to enter the field of education and to open before her a wider scope for serving her society through the instruction and education of the young.

Q. — Which stages of teaching accord with woman's nature more than man's? And are there personal experiences to support the theory you hold?

A. — The primary stage of education has a special importance in the child's life, because it is during this stage that the foundations of his personality are built, his moral traits take root, and his habits, inclinations, and basic tendencies are formed; this stage must therefore be given full attention, commensurate with its importance. At this stage the child needs someone who understands him truly and tends his growth with care and patience. I therefore hold that woman — whom nature has endowed with a special heart for the child and a surpassing capacity to understand his various needs — can render great services at the primary stage of education. One proof of this is that the model and experimental schools in most of the Arab countries have generally been entrusted to woman; in my many visits to the schools of the Arab countries I have found that no small part of the creative teaching is being done by woman.

That is the educational side. As for the economic side, our experience over the long years has shown that many an ambitious young man turns away from primary teaching and heads for other fields, because the material reward of the primary teacher does not meet his material needs or the needs of his dependents. It has therefore become necessary to direct woman toward service in this field. Woman's material responsibilities are as a rule lighter than man's, and her salary is often an additional income for her family's budget. And although I am among those who maintain, and advocate, equality between man and woman, and the raising of the salaries of men and women teachers at all stages of instruction, above all the primary stage, I still see that we stand before a social and economic problem to which this proposal of mine may be a partial solution at this period of educational progress in our various Arab countries.

Q. — What is the need of Lebanon and the Arab countries for women teachers, should they monopolize teaching at the primary stage of schooling?

A. — Lebanon and the other Arab countries need a large number of trained teachers, especially for the primary stage, which is the stage of compulsory education in these countries; for the scheme of compulsory schooling cannot be applied as the various governments wish to apply it unless there is a sufficient number of men and women teachers prepared to undertake this task. So we see that there are many openings for everyone who finds in himself the competence, and for everyone who has a particular desire to work in this field.

And in calling upon woman to take her part in the field of primary education I by no means intend to drive man out of it; on the contrary, I hold it a duty that we attract to work in this field everyone who is qualified for it and desires it. For at this stage the child needs a complete society, so that his growth may come out harmonious and whole; and no society is complete unless man and woman join in building it, and unless each of them shares in raising it up and tending it.