“And ploughboys,” added Cresswell.
“And singers,” said Mary Taylor.
‚ÄúWell, now that‚Äôs just my idea,‚Äù said Mrs. ¬ÝGrey, ‚Äúthat these schools should furnish trained servants and laborers for the South. Isn‚Äôt that your idea, Miss Smith?‚Äù
“Not exactly,” the lady replied, “or at least I shouldn’t put it just that way. My idea is that this school should furnish men and women who can work and earn an honest living, train up families aright, and perform their duties as fathers, mothers, and citizens.”
‚ÄúYes‚ÅÝ‚Äîyes, precisely,‚Äù said Mrs. ¬ÝGrey, ‚Äúthat‚Äôs what I meant.‚Äù
‚ÄúI think the whites can attend to the duties of citizenship without help,‚Äù observed Mr. ¬ÝCresswell.
‚ÄúDon‚Äôt let the blacks meddle in politics,‚Äù said Dr. ¬ÝBoldish.
“I want to make these children full-fledged men and women, strong, self-reliant, honest, without any ‘ifs’ and ‘ands’ to their development,” insisted Miss Smith.
‚ÄúOf course, and that is just what Mr. ¬ÝCresswell wants. Isn‚Äôt it, Mr. ¬ÝCresswell?‚Äù asked Mrs. ¬ÝGrey.
‚ÄúI think I may say yes,‚Äù Mr. ¬ÝCresswell agreed. ‚ÄúI certainly want these people to develop as far as they can, although Miss Smith and I would differ as to their possibilities. But it is not so much in the general theory of Negro education as in its particular applications where our chief differences would lie. I may agree that a boy should learn higher arithmetic, yet object to his loafing in plough-time. I might want to educate some girls but not girls like Zora.‚Äù