Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1883-06-09
TEXTBOOK UNIFORMITY.

1t has long been felt among those intimately
and professionally interested in the public
schools, that their usefulness would be con-
served by the adoption of a series Of textbooks
to be used uniformly by uniform grades. Mr..
Edward F. Adams, representing the New
York publishing houses of A. S. Barnes &
Co. and Ivison, Brakeman, Taylor & Co., has
been recently in Honolulu, endeavoring to
secure the adoption by the board Of education
of a series of textbooks taken from the very
full lists Of the two houses named. To pro-
mote the perfectly legitimate scheme in hand,
Mr.. Adams made certain written and specific
propositions to the board OF education. In
substance, this proposition was an agreement
to furnish text books at reasonable figure,
taking IN exchange, as part payment, the new
books kept in stock by the board Of education,
and secondhand books in possession Of pupils
the new books being exchanged according
to wholesale value the old ones being taken at
half their wholesale cost. The board Of edu-
cation very properly submitted the proposition
to committee Of teachers. The text book
question is always an important one, to
teachers, to pupils and to parents. There are
a great many good text books and great
many poor ones. In the United States, rival
publishing house have fairly flooded the land
with competing series Of everything educa
tional, from acoustics to zoology, and ranging
in quality from excellence, through indifier
ence, down to worse than worthlessness. II
has come to be the judgment Of teachers OF
these islands that American text books ough
to be used here. This judgment is properl,
based upon the intimate historical, social ant
mercantile relations between this kingdom ant
the United States which justifes a system o
educational usage conformable to the prepon
derant foreign element This being granted
il is first essential that the best among educa
tional text books should be chosen. There
after, 1t is clear that these best text book
should be used in all the public schools, ac
cording to their grades. Now that II has beei
decided to make text books uniform, careful
the comparisons ought to be made; and sucl
textbooks in present use retained as are foun,
to come up TO the required standard Of excel
lence. When the desired uniformity Is at
,aned it ought to be preserved. The espens
J Of buying school books for large family is b
! no means trfing one. With uniform serie
this expense is not necessarily Augmented b
the frequent changes Of residence incident 1
the lives Of many actively engaged on ,hes
islands. So far as VIC can Judge. the com
mittee appointed by the board of education |,
arrange this importan, matter is representaiiv
: and capable. Messrs. Mackintosh, Scott
Hill and Pratt. Mrs. Hendy and Miss Brick
wood ought to combine the patience, iriell
gence, judgment, tao, and eonscientiousnes
: requisite to this imporan, task. II Is to b
hoped that nothing will be done in hurr,
No, only the books Of the two houses mer
toned ought to be examined. but those Of iaa
; dozen other American horses. The school
have waited 50 long for uniformity that the
can afford to wai, little longer fos the sake
being right before they 60 ahead.