Among the minor crafts which may be a source of real pleasure and good taste, two are prominent: pottery and basketry. The technique, decorative possibilities, and functions of the finished products as elements in household economy and ornament place these crafts high in the list of those especially suitable for girls, though boys and adults do find them equally interesting. Pottery is so closely associated with flowers and growing things, with the decoration of fine rooms, with choice spots of color, and with those receptacles and utensils which belong to the household, that it makes a strong appeal to the feminine mind. Here is a craft which vies with textiles in age and beauty of design, and possesses even greater charm of manipulation because it is plastic. One can imagine no finer outlet for creative effort.
Lastly, there is the eternal, magnificent, womanly craft—home-making. When one stops to think that the home is the one imperishable, absolute social unit, the power which creates it must take rank with other vital forces of constructive economics. Mothers' clubs and women's organizations of divers kinds, or, rather, the individuals who comprise such societies, are continually drifting into the discussion of the worries, difficulties, and trials which attend the household. The instant household routine becomes awkward or inadequate it affects adversely each individual member of the family, and naturally the mistress who is responsible shoulders a burden. There are times when the maid leaves, or the cooking goes wrong, or the house is cold, or just a time when one gets started for the day badly. There are times when the innate perversity of humans and material things runs riot. One is led to believe that such untoward occasions, since they have been in the past, will in all likelihood continue to crop up to the end of time, though one cannot find any good reason why they should. There are homes unacquainted with any household rumble or squeak, where the domestic machinery is always in order, and flexible enough to care for sudden overloading, or absorb any reasonable shock. In many such places, devoid of servants and confined to a modest income, the mistress is ever an expert; the chances are that her daughters will be equally resourceful. Really, the only sure way to bring up an adequate number of fine, competent, resourceful wives and home-makers is to train them definitely for the profession. The girls must be made acquainted with every detail of the business which they will surely inherit. The people who would live in hotels and frankly abandon home-making themselves merely emphasize the charm of the household, because hotels have nothing in common with homes.
It seems rather strange that a business so old as housekeeping does not, and never has, applied to its development the laws of commercial enterprise. When the community or corporation state sees the need for workmen, foremen or directors, it tries to educate individuals for the purpose. The supply of competent men and women is not left to chance. Whereas, womankind trusts to a very fickle fortune, that every girl will somehow learn to steer the domestic craft and be conversant with methods of preserving family ideals. Contrast the far-sighted plans of business to fill its ranks with the casual training the average girl undergoes to fit her for the future. What is her chance of success? Is it reasonable to suppose that one who has never made a home, or even helped actively to run one made for her, can on demand "make good?" It is a lasting tribute to the inherent genius and indefatigable patience of the modern woman that she has achieved so much with a minimum of experience.
Hence, in order to properly equip one's children for a practically inevitable future, let the girls into the secret of domestic planning; let them know of costs and shopping, income and expenditure; of materials and uses; the care of possessions, repairs and cleaning; try to show them that the menu is not a haphazard combination of ingredients and foods, but a conscious selection of viands which will entice the appetite, furnish proper nutrition and accord with the season. By all means emphasize the fact that housekeeping, like any business, can be systematized so that the hundred and one activities may succeed one another in orderly procession through the weeks and months. Wash day and housecleaning should be absorbed into the domestic program, and never present their grisly features to the home-coming male, with sufficient trouble of his own.
Recent issues of the magazines have contained much discussion of the household tangle, and most of them have ended with the slogans "industrial education," "back to the kitchen," and such. Granted that girls need this training, and that schools in time will give it; granted that the social position of the servant is a source of discussion and friction; that the demands of modern living are exacting; and, finally, granting the insistent prominence of all the other economic disturbances, who is, in the last analysis, to blame? Would a business man think for one moment of handing over any department of his affairs to one not trained for the particular duties involved? Industry in every branch seeks men and women fitted to take charge of even minor matters. And when trained assistants are scarce the obvious policy is to prepare other promising workers for such special places. On the other hand, mothers too often prepare their daughters for marriage, not for home-making, seemingly blind to the fact that marriage is an inert, barren, static condition, save in the stimulating atmosphere of a fine home. How can the servant question ever be settled by untutored girls who get no closer to the domestic question than fudge, welsh rarebit and salted peanuts? The school can and does now, in all well-ordered communities, give a very satisfactory formal, technical training in domestic art and science.[E] There students learn to cook and sew; they learn a good deal about food values, dietetics and simple food chemistry, simple sanitation, etc. But the management of a real house, system and everyday routine, that fine sense of adjustment to the conditions as they exist—these essentials can only be learned in the home itself. The efforts of the school can largely supplement but never replace home guidance, experience and responsibility. Keeping house ought to be a science and art rather than a game of chance.
Definite Suggestions
In the "Library of Work and Play," to which the present book is the introductory volume, one will find a collection of books replete with suggestion. But these are not manuals, or courses to be followed from end to end, because children do not profit most by such a plan. The child is like a pebble dropped into still water. It communicates its energy of momentum to the surrounding fluid and makes a circular ripple, which in turn makes another and wider ripple, until the energy is exhausted. In much the same way the child, landed in the midst of a more or less inert material world, acts upon it with energy, which, however, is never exhausted, producing the results which become more and more extended. He begins in the middle of a given subject and works in all possible directions, which gives one the clue to how to make the most of books like these.[F]
If the girl has not already indicated a decided preference for some recreation or play, place at hand the books which show the possibilities open to her. It would be well for one to go over them rather carefully first in order to know what they contain. Let the girl take her leisure in searching the chapters and illustrations for the suggestion which strikes a responsive chord. Ofttimes it will be quite in order to point to chapters which have a bearing on some personal need or desire. At any rate, the book or chapters which seem to be most significant at the time should be followed up. Read over with her such a volume as "Home Decoration" or "Housekeeping." Let her discuss the plans offered and try them out in her own home. Every girl wants and should have a dainty, inspiring, beautiful room of her own, and as she grows older she also wants the rest of the house to match, so that she can entertain her friends with pride and confidence. If one will take "Housekeeping," "Home Decoration," and "Needlecraft" as texts, and select from them first those suggestions which are immediately apt in a particular home, the girl will shortly find herself looking at home problems from several different and very important angles. But it is desirable also that the study be taken up first in a very simple way, in order to tie it to real living and needs. New curtains, pillows for the porch or den, stenciled scarf, the decorations and menu for a small party, additional linen: these are some of the problems always coming up, which may be used as a beginning. And once the start is made the girl should have the chance to try other experiments along the same line. Read with her the chapter on menus and marketing, or housecleaning, and turn the house over to the daughter for a time to manage—absolutely. There is nothing in the world which children love more or which develops them more quickly than responsibility, and the mutual consideration of household affairs gives the girl real partnership in the domestic business. She may use the "Housekeeping" book as a kind of reference, to be sought when new problems in management fall to her share.
The question of home decoration is so vital that it deserves special statement. The text[G] deals with all those details of interior furnishing and embellishment which indicate taste. All of these are not equally important, nor do they interest all girls to the same extent, and in using the book one can profit most by the study of those topics which touch the individual or particular family. But everywhere there is the problem of furniture arrangement, wall decorations, color schemes, and the skilful use of flowers, pottery and textiles. Give the young people, and especially the girls, an insight into how the interior should be treated. Have them look up pertinent questions in the text and then try their 'prentice hands at creating a pleasant, restful, homelike house with the furnishings at hand plus whatever they can make or secure. Really, the book is as much a volume of suggestion for the mother, to which she can refer her daughter, as a text for the child. There is very keen interest in taste in recent years, among young people as well as parents, and the elements hitherto lacking have been (1) accessible information and (2) opportunity to "try it out." Offer that opportunity; a flat is just as fruitful a field for experiment as a house, perhaps more.
The active participation in outdoor life, nature-study propaganda and the multiplication of popular scientific (nature) literature has greatly opened another field to children—that of raising pets, gardening, etc. Here the boy or girl will readily make some choice at an early day, if there has been any contact with such things. If not, a volume of this kind[H] will be a real stimulant and inspiration, as it should be, not a lesson manual. Place the book in a child's hands, help him look over the conditions, available ground, cost, care, etc.; let him send for circulars and catalogues, or if possible visit some one interested in the same hobby and the experiment is under way with irresistible momentum. It is a godsend to any child to give him a simple, direct statement of what can be done; he furnishes the steam and imagination for future development, and father and mother comprise the balance wheel of the business. This volume and the one on "Outdoor Sports" contain a mass of information which touch the interests of practically all boys and girls at some time in their first sixteen years. When the child is old enough to launch out in any personal undertaking, old enough for even minor responsibilities, when he or she expresses the desire for possession and money, then give them books like these. Let them soak in and digest. Encourage only those requests which are convincing, but give them all the scope possible. Every child will eventually select the pastimes which are best for her though she may stumble in doing so; she will make fewer mistakes, and waste less time if she have access to books which will crystallize and guide her ambitions.