The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-02-02
SCHOOL MATTERS
Meeting at High School Last
NIGHT.
PROF. SCOTT AND NEWSPAPERS
Able Addresses by People
Who Teach the Young.
Prof. HOSmer and Inspector Gen
eral Townsend Tell of Duties
of the Teachers.

President John F. Scott presided al
the meeting of the Honolulu Teachers
Association, held in the High School
building, Emma street, last evening
More than hundred teachers and
others were present. At o'clock Mr.
Fl. S. Townsend, Inspector General OF
Schools, was introduced to the audi
ence, during his remarks he said:
Ladies and Gentlemen:-It has been
said in one of the local papers that the
purpose of this meeting is to enter
tain the public. Now, so far as the
public is present, l sincerely hope it
will be entertained, but L am not here
for the purpose of entertaining. | am
here to talk business, and you are here
for business, L take it. 1t gives me
great pleasure to meet with you, as
you are gathered together for the pur-
pose of completing your organization
for the purpose of pursuing your
courses of study in education. And |
congratulate you upon your work, from
which so much of pleasure and profit is
to be derived.
The difficulties which the teacher has
TO meet in this land are greater than
those met with by the teacher of any
other land in Christendom. This re-
suits from the fact that the work of
the teacher is more than merely con-
Veying a certain amount of informa-
tiCn; 1T is the development of moral
character. 1t is the business of the
teacher to contribute his part towards
realizing all the latest possibilities
locked up in the personalities of his
pupils. But the school is only one
factor in the product of character
Environment, society, and the home all
exert their influences. But in this land
the school can expect little help from
any of these sources. In our land we
have an abnormal percentage of the
lower elements in society. This is
against the development of high and
strong moral character. And the home
is not a strong coadjutor in the work
of bringing out all the potential good
in children.
Yet difficult as the work is, it is not
less glorious. We are to build up a
noble civilization here in the Pacific
where the East and the West meet
And this gives dignity and RESPONSE
bility to the teacher. What or who
can take his place. To meet and dis
charge the duties devOlVed upon us we
need enthusiasm. And what will so
increase our enthusiasm as contact
with one another, and the discussion
together of these subjects? We need
lofty ideals. Yet how easy it is for
us TO fall into the notion, as we are
dealing with percentage or fractions,
that it is our chief duty to convey a
certain amount of information on
these topicsi How easy it is for us TO
fall into the way of teaching arithme-
tic and geography. and drawing, in
stead of teaching children! We need
deeper devotion. And "as iron sharp
eneth iron''-we need insight In this
we must get our chief results from
careful, hard study. But is it not bet
ter to trust to experience for insight
into our peculiar problems? If it were
a question of how to convey a certain
amount of information this plan would
not be wholly bad. But as the develop
ment of moral character is our aim,
how long will it take to try a single ex-
pertinent? And how many experiments
will it take TO establish the truths
these problems? What of
the material used in unsuccessful eX-
periments? No, we cannot afford to
trust to experience alone. Let us get
all the light we can from our own ex-
perience, and the experience of our
But let us not shut our
eyes to the light of history-esp specially
the history of philosophy and peda-
gCgy. 1 need do no more than name
as all agree that it is of
vital Importance. Let us not shut our
eyes TO the light offered by sociology,
ethics or philosophy. From all of these
methodology derives certain laws,
which it arranges into systems of in
struction and discipline
F'ifty-three years ago the Legisla-
ture of the State of New York invesri-
gated the then novel claim that teach
ers ought to be taught to teach. They
sent a committee TO Massachusetts to
investigate the matter, where the ex-
pertinent was in progress. They report
ed favorably, and an appropriat on of
SO 900 was voted to establish the nor