One of Chesterton's hammer points in 'What's wrong with the world' is that education should have an appropriate objective. Merely copying aristocratic educational institutions for normal people is not useful: a new focus is needed. The same goes for 'female education': Chesterton resents the 'new idea' that consists of 'ask what was being done to boys and then go and do it to girls'.
As a modern reader, this viewpoint is rather puzzling, or even repugnant. Old class distinctions are not regarded as important anymore, and though we may admit that boys and girls are different, we give them essentially the same education. What remains is Chesterton's underlying point: we still need to think about the appropriateness of the education we give to our children. How will they best be prepared for their future?
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