The development of the child / by Nathan Oppenheim.

  • Nathan Oppenheim
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The development of the child / by Nathan Oppenheim. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ing that the occupation could not possibly be of much importance. Therefore, it is quite remarkable that, in the matter of the most vital trust which can be reposed upon a human being, thoughtful and conscientious persons should not long ago have recognized the neces- sities of the case, and after recognizing them insisted upon a proper provision for answering them. The facts that women are from the beginning designed especially for the profession of maternity, that by following it they best fulfil all their physical and mental functions, and that the paramount value of this work is plain and clear, make the claims of this vocation upon our respectful consideration exceedingly strong. So long as this is true, the conclusion must follow that the main part of the preparatory training of girls, even though the present customs and ideals be thereby wholly altered, should be formed upon what the requirements of the main work in her life dictate. When the premi- ses are once admitted, it is nothing less than wanton neglect and stultification to deny in any part the inevi- table conclusion. The change in the educational life of woman here indicated is so radical from what is now in vogue, that one may be apt to think it chimerical, that women will always insist on having a large decorative .element in their training. To set the doubt at rest one need merely call to mind the changed standards of customs and living which have occurred in the last few years. u