The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-11-13
SCHOOL METHODS
ARE ANTIQUATED
Charge Made by Former Tea CHI
Ell Against the Govern
ment Institutions

Editor Notwithstanding to in
formation have received from time TO
time through different channels and
various sources. / think a few words
In regard to the methods employed in
teaching the rising generation in
our public schools will not be out of
place.
First-Methods used forty years ago
by country pedagoSues should not be
tolerated today by our Board of Edu-
cation. teacher requiring a little
starting them in reading should be told
to get out at once.
A teacher requiring a child to learn
the multiplication table before giving
him an opportunity to practice it in a
real example in multiplication should
also be told to quit and do something
he knew more about.
A teacher should not try 10 keep ms
chair too warm in the school room. but
be active and around making the child
rem think he is alive. even If he feels
too lazy to moye.l Have frequent, per
Ihaps rf1tfy competitions or races in
such examples as. the practice of
which. will be beneficial to all; i. e.,
no matter how far advanced a class
may be in arithmetic. a long example
I'm multiplication. or better still. divis-
ion to see who IL the quickest and
most accurate i'm the room or class
One thing Is to do an example, and
another Is to do IL quickly and accu-
rately; and another benefit is waking
the children up and permitting them to
know what they are really capable of
doing.
Some people paid by the public as
teachers believe the work begins at 9
and closes at ?. but such is not the
case. and any real teacher knows IL:
for when a school is graded the teach
er should have small book for each
class. and at the end Of each recta-
ton the pupil should be informed just
what his mark Is: 4 correct. 31a nearly
correct. average, zig unsatisfactory.
? about One-half wrong, IL? 1? 0 fail
ure. and written lessons should be Civ
en- frequently-papers examined and
marked I'm proportion to number Of
Questions making 100 per cent perfect
twenty questions given and three
wrong would mean IL per cent Off
leaving 50 per cent the pupils correct
mark. And IL nineteen questions are
wrong. the pupil still gets 3 per cent
and not 0 or failure.
Pupils cannot figure out their credits
Il from r.. >. T.. f.. ana
Ichildren are not supposed to deal with
letters in calculations before they enter
algebra. but they do learn percentage
and should be given a practical illus
| tration of its usefulness every day in
their own lessons.
i The letter" system Is unfair and
even dishonest to the pupil. Take a
written lesson of twenty questions and
nineteen should happen to be wrong
how can he be marked except by
actual percentage, leaving him per
cent. The pupil should be shown that
he gets even the smallest fraction that
belongs to him, and any other system
Is simply a lazy and imperfect order
Iof things
i Take. for Instance, a teacher wasting
her time writing out addition and sub
traction tables and requiring the poor
child to copy the dry and useless stuff,
instead Of giving the child the real
thing I'm addition and subtraction, and
| thereby getting the child interested.
The kind OF people I have referred
To here who are drawing pay as teach
ers should be sent 20 Manila to teach.
/ for their (F1lipiaos) styles are far
enough behind the age, perhaps. to suit
such teachers knowledge and ability.
The few examples I have referred
| to, / hope. will be noticed and appre-
ciated by those who need advice, 9TH
erwise / shall make specific mention in
cases that need correction or change.
but 1 do not wish to Interfere with
persons livelihood II it can well be
avoided
| a good teacher is the greatest bless
| ing. / might say. and on the other
| hand. n poor teacher Is the greatest
curse the rising generation has to con-
tend with. CITIZEN.
Il