Men, Women, and Education
I. Early History
" Boys - only sons of wealthy families educated
classic curriculum
others might learn to read - self-taught, or day school run by local priest
" Girls - essentially non-existent education; taught skills by mother
Some upper-class girls might attend a small "finishing school" run by ladies of rank who were in a "bad way" financially.
II. Late 18th - mid-19th centuries
" Upper classes of society had no interest in promoting the cultural development of the working classes.
" The effects of the revolutionary spirit in Europe reinforced conservative attitudes that did NOT advocate the education of the people as a whole.
" The vast majority of the working class had little real interest in educating their kids.
NOTE: Some men and women called for the education of BOTH boys and girls to create responsible citizens to counter those revolutionary sentiments AND to make marriage more satisfying (more satisfying for whom?)
" Factory Acts 1833, 1844, 1867 placed growing restrictions on child labor and made education more appealing to families.
By the 1850s:
" Boys - education remained essentially unchanged for middle and upper-classes;
" Girls - education for middle and upper-classes essentially unchanged OR saw addition of basic skills for household economy
" Boys - development of day schools for local, lower-class boys focuses on 3Rs.
" Girls - some lower-class girls begin to attend day schools with boys to learn 3Rs
III. Mid to Late 19th century
Religious revival and growing female involvement in benevolence and reform lead to increased call for education of girls and young women; especially considering unmarried or widowed middle-class women often found themselves in dire financial straights
" Queen's College for Women (1848) established by some tutors from King's College, London who believed women needed an education sufficient to raise the status and self-respect of women as well as prepare them to be governesses.
tho the classes were taught by men; the female students were "supervised by ladies of rank and talent"
Education
Beale studied at Queen's College, too and excelled in math - also became a tutor
wrote a textbook of General History and books on female education
" Cheltenham Ladies' College (1841)
became Head Mistress at Cheltenham in 1858 and improved the standing of the school by expanding the curriculum to include more academic subjects
establish St Hilda's College in Oxford in 1897
Medicine
studied at Queens College London and did so well she was offered a position as tutor in math - her folks wouldn't let her do it unless she took NO pay! WHY?
1869 Edinburgh Med School allowed her and several other women to enter as medical students
1874 the school decided that in making the regulations which admitted them it had legally exceeded its powers, and therefore the students who had spent four years of hard work were not allowed to sit for final exams.
After leaving Edinburgh some of them passed their exams in France and Switzerland and eventually became doctors.
One place in Britain where they could take an exam was in Midwifery at the College of Surgeons, England. It was apparently not closed to women and if exams were passed there, would have admitted them to the Medical Register and to practice. Two women applied as candidates, HOWEVER, rather than examine them the whole Board of Examiners resigned and was not re-appointed!
wanted to be a doctor, too, and managed to get in the back door by passing exam to be an Apothecary - they changed rules immediately afterwards stop other women from taking that route
finally received formal training and passed exams in Paris
o opened the Dispensary for Women 1866 - a hospital for women in London
she married, had three kids and while her husband supported her desire to continue as a doctor - they fought over control of her $$$$
she continued to practice, and
o opened the London School of Medicine for Women with Jex-Blake abt 1880
Foreign Missions - provided opportunities for women doctors and teachers
" Countess of Dufferin's Fund 1885-1888 - a form of cultural imperialism
(named for the wife of viceroy of India)
created by Queen Victoria to provide health services to Indian women by training women physicians and personnel, establishing medical facilities, and providing female nurses and midwives.
British perceptions about Indian society were reflected by the Fund which responded to the misguided notion that Indian women would only accept the services of female physicians.
The Fund accepted the existence of purdah (the harem) although the multifaceted nature of this social institution was ignored or misunderstood.
These positions buttressed arguments to promote the medical training of English women (who would be shipped out of the way to India).
The positions also assigned blame for the poor condition of Indian women to Indian men who were, nonetheless, expected to support the work of the Fund.
British opposition to traditional forms of medicine were evident by the Fund's vociferous criticisms of Indian midwives.
The Fund was criticized in turn for relying on trained Western women instead of training native women.
John Stuart Mill - son of philosopher, John Mill - believed in parliamentary reforms including female suffrage
Radical MP 1865
Harriet Taylor - eventually Mill's wife and collaborator on issues pertaining to women
Helen Taylor - her daughter; continued to work with Mill after her mom's death
Essay on the Subjection of Women 1869
"The masters of women wanted more than simple obedience, and they turned the whole force of education to effect their purpose. All women are brought up from the very earliest years in the belief that their ideal of character is the very opposite of that of men; not self-will, and government by self control, but submission, and yielding to the control of others. Men hold women in subjection, by representing to them meekness, submissiveness, and resignation of all individual will into the hands of a man, as an essential part of sexual attractiveness."