The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-11-20
Pamphlet on Education Being
Sent Abroad.
PREPARED BY AN EXPERT
An Auspicious Beginning-Com
sorry System Independent
Schools-Creat Interest.

tiOn in the Hawaiian Islands," is being
sent broadcast by the Foreign Office.
The work is ga Brief Statement of the
present condition of the public and
private schools of the Republic" DR..
c. T. Rodgers, Secretary of the De-
partment of Public Instruction, pre-
pared the paper Following is the in-y
PRODUCTION: 4
1t was a fortunate thing for the
cause of education in these Islands
that so large a proportion of the earl
ier white settlers came from the most
intelligent and substantial of English
speaking people. Many of these men
identified themselves thoroughly with
their adopted country and took active
and leading parts in guiding the infant
state on it's course from barbarism to,
civilization, and in devising civil po-
licy and social order to replace the
aboriginal feudal despotism. In moth
ing is the wise foresight and breadth
of view of these men more manifest
than in their having made early, and,
in proportion to the limited resources
of the country at the time, liberal pro-
vision for education; the education,
not of small or favored few, but OF
the whole people,
- In 1922, about two years after the ar
rival of the first Christian teachers.
the first spelling book was published
This may be regarded as the begin
ming of systematic popular education.
In 1841 school was established by the
A mn nrfn arf0 T.
the vicinity of Honolulu. This school
| originally intended by the missionar-
| les for their own children has develop
ed into what is now known as Oahu
College. AS early as 1843 the school
work of the Islands was considered OF
| sufficient importance to be organized
as department of the Government
| and put in charge of cabinet minis
| ter.
Within ten or twelve years from the
| advent of the first missionaries, schools
had become general throughout the
| country. The seminary at Lahaina>
| luna, on Maui, was started in 1881, and
still exists as Government school,
combining academic instruction with
Industrial and manual training. A
| Government reformatOrv school was
| founded in 1865 and in the same year
an Act passed the Legislative Assem-
| bly, constituting Board of Education
| and organizing the public school sys-
tenn of the country on lines so well
chosen as to have served their pur-
| pose fairly well without any radical
changes almost to the present time A
little over year ago. the Legislature
| again raised what had been for some
| 30 years bureau of the Government,
| to the rank of an Executive Depart
ment, making the Minister of Foreign
Affairs eX-Officio Minister of Public
Instruction. and associating with him
! six Commissioners, the Minister and
Commissioners together constituting a
| Board having full control of all public
educational interests.
| It will be seen from the above that
| the interest of the leading men of Ha-
| waii and of the Government as such in
! the cause Of popular education has no,
been at all of a spasmodic or fitfu
kind, but has represented a settled po
licy, pursued Systematically and per
sistently for over half a century.
AS a result of this policy, we fint
education in the Hawaiian Islands to
day to be universal, compulsory am
free The law makes it obligatory up
on all children between the ages o
) six and fifteen years to attend schoo
regularly unless excused for sickness
or some other equally valid cause. an
makes no distinction as to race, colo
or class. It is entirely optional wit
parents and guardians whether chill
dren be sent to public or independen
schools. but to school they must gt
and that with at least a reasonable dc
, gree of regularity.
: The theory being that the Govern
ment is responsible for seeing that a
children within its jurisdiction receiv
a certain amount of education. it fol
lows logically that the Governmer
: should see to it that all schools in th
5 country are in proper hands and caps
, BILE imparting the instruction required
The Government does not undertak
to exercise direct control over privat
or Independent schools. but no sue
: school can be established without con
3 plying with certain statutory require
) ments and obtaining formal author
: zation from the Department Of Publ
Instruction. A person wishing to ope
| a school must make application
: writing, furnishing satisfactory ev
2 dence as to moral character an
[ scholarship, and have the same accon
| panied nv netitiOn for such a SchO,