The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-07-26
T H E
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.


The Government schools throughout
the Kingdom closed their years work
last week Examinations were held in
all the schools, which may be assumed
to mark the relative advancement made
by the different grades of the school de-
partments. The result of the educa-
tional work of the past year throughout
the Kingdom has been most encouraging,
if we judge by the reports from the other
Islands and from a personal inspection
OF the Government schools of Honolulu
1t is important in speaking of our pub
lie schools that we should speak intellig-
IDLY of them. To do this it is necessary
that we should examine into the results
accomplished, and the means by which
they have been brought about. While
the limit OF newspaper article pre-
cludes a detailed examination into our
public school system, yet it may be suf-
ficient for our present purpose to point
out in a general way what the results
have been accomplished. 1t may not,
at the same time, be out of place to es-
tablish comparison between the results
OF teaching in our public school and
other schools in the Kingdom.
The work of one schools term cannot
be used as criterion for an educational
method or system of teaching. This is
especially so where the pupils of the
schools are formed of two or more
nationalities laboring under the conflict
ing disabilities of language. 1t is,
therefore, necessary, in order to Judge of
the advancement made in our public
schools, that periods of one, two or more
years. of teaching be considered. The
Board of Education has been for several
years engaged in the very practical work
of wedding the theory-bed of public
education1 and the results of our public
school system, as shown during the last
three or four years, are the best argu-
ments in favor of the course taken. The
yearly Teachers Convention held in
Honolulu is conclusive proof that the
Board of Education has allowed only the
fttest teachers in the Hawaiian Islands
to remain connected with our educa-
tional system.
The theory and pr actice of teaching
are somewhat at vari ance; and it has
always been the complaint Of old teach
ers that educational systems controlled
by Governments are likely to have too
much theory and too little practice
The general aim of all public systems
of education is to instruct the youth of
nation in the rudiments of science and
language. The first question which is
asked as test of a system of public in
struction is, "Does it educate?" That
is, does the system so educate that the
pupil can either practically use or abstract
ly transmit the knowledge the master
has impaired to him? If on the other
hand, the knowledge has been impaired
to the pupil in such a way that he can
not practically use it, as the carpenter
does his tools, or as the editor does his
pen, then indeed is the particular sys-
tenn failure and the teacher a snare for
the innocent children, who will pay
tribute in after life to the imposition of
incompetence.
The results Of the last three years of
the Hawaiian public school system, and
especially OF the year just closed, are
most satisfactory, as well as promising
for the future The different schools
cannot be spoken of separately, but the
results accomplished in the Fort-street
School may be taken as a standard
which has been supplemented through
out the Islands. In this school there
are doubtless improvements to be made
and errors to be corrected; but its ad-
vancement during the last few years has
been so marked, and it has become so
nearly the exponent of the educational
system of these Islands that it may be
fairly cited as the reflex of the present
system of instruction.
In brief outline the practical aim
of this school is to teach in the most
thorough manner the rudiments OF an
English education. The system OF
teaching is so developed that the pupil
will be able, at any time, to return to
his teacher, in a practical and convent
ent form, the knowledge he has received
during any period OF instruction. This
system is so elaborated that it reaches |