THOUGHTS ON THE EDUCATION OF DAUGHTERS 1787
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT
Mary Wollstonecraft wrote her first book with the career of schoolteacher behind her and that of governess about to begin. The view she takes of education however is far from the narrowly professional: it begins in the nursery, in relationships with parents, and is as much concerned with the development of the whole person as any book on the subject published today: whenever a child asks a question, it should always have a reasonable answer given it. Her book is an early contribution to the debate on education fostered by Locke and Rousseau and highlighted through the 1790s. Significantly it is the first such work to take as its subject the education of women.