The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-08-23

com pl6t6Q, L WOulu Ue d part VI every
place | had visited. | would teach for
time in most of the countries, and
in no other way could l more thor
oughly come into cordial relations
with the people. Through the pupils
l would have access to their homes and
could best study their home-life,
customs and religion. During vaca-
tions I would have opportunity for see
ing the more notable portions of the
country. In case did not care to teach
in several of the countries, my savings
of the past years would enable me to
sight-see and travel without being an
Garner each year.
son the 21st OF August, 1898, babe
adieu to the United States and started
for Honolulu. I reached there one
Saturday, and the following Tuesday
entered upon teaching, that ended in
June, 1900. 1t was not long before
received an appointment in the For
eign School at Hilo. In this taught
II awaiians, Portuguese, Russians,
japanese, Scotch, English and Ameri-
cans, and also Chinese classes in a
night school. The work, both day and
night, was intensely interesting.
Very soon after her arrival in
Manila last autumn, Miss Hart was
employed to teach in the public
schools. Like the finely-equipped
teacher that she is, and the woman
general that she is, also, this largely
self-made young woman insisted upon
spending two weeks, at her own ex-
pense, in looking through the city
schools before taking charge of one of
them. They were two busy weeks.
She went from school to school as a
gen eral might 60 from camp to camp
of an army, on inspection duty, just
before, marching it to battle. will
not stop to describe fully the public
schools of Manila, as they were year
ago. Their condition was too wretched
to merit description. Through these
poor excuses of institutions Of learn
ing, through schools kept in kitchens,
with half of the children sitting on
the floor; schools in sleeping-rooms,
scantily equipped with books; schools
in damp, dark. rank-smelling, gloomy
basement quarters, with ponies, pigs,
pigeons, puppies and pullets for close
neighbors schools in huts and sheds
schools with native teachers as insult
ed for their important work-or nearly
so-as furnace is for powder house
through all these went the trotter,
and it was we'll that she did, even
though she emerged with heart over
weighted and mind -perplexed. In
most of the schools she saw little at
tention given to teaching English; in
most of them she heard the pupils
studying aloud, in concert, in sing
song tone, each trying to Guido the
other in noise in all of them she saw
much time devoted to sewing and
intoxicating by both teachers and
pupils. In the past, girl pupils who
had become expert with the needle and
in repeating the catechism were deem
ed the possessors of a good common
school education, and were ready to 60
out into the world, enter factories,
become wives and mothers, and some
of them teachers in the common
schools.
Little wonder that this teacher Of
wide experience, this woman who
loves the world of humanity and would
be of service to both, halted on the
threshold for a moment land glanced
over her plans for Manila and the ma
tion's new group of islands AS she
looked, a familiar sign developed,
wired from where2 ga way will
OPEN" 1t was like a soldiers order
to advance to battle. The next day
Miss Hart took charge of school in a
dingy kitchen, where there were not
half enough seats for her pupils, and
where the smell of garlic, when cook
ing commenced. was as distressful to
the teacher as it was delightful to the
pupils.
The revolution in that kitchen dur
ing the next four weeks was 30 strik-
ing that Miss Hart was deemed too
valuable teacher to be cooped up in
such quarters, and very soon she was
made principal of the girls school in
Sampoloc district. where she had
nearly three hundred pupils, three
assistants and one of the best school
buildings in the city. The revolution
in this school has been as striking as
that in the dingy kitchen. Reading,
arithmetic, grammar, history, geo.
graphy and spelling are taught, and
all in English. It is the model public
school in the islands. 1 have never
seen an American school where there
was better order. 1 have never seen
pupils more deeply interested in their
studies. I have never noted more ra-
pid progress in any school The work
that has been required on the part of
the principal to bring about this con-
dition of things is simply mountain
GUS. Let it be remembered that it was
necessary for her to teach her three
assistants the English language and
show them how to teach it to their
classes.
I wish representative teachers, fresh
from America, could have been pre-
sent at Miss Hart's school to witness
the ceremonies on Washington birth
day. But for the brown faces and odd
apparel it might have been mistaken
for an American school, and am sure
that no one would have regarded the
ceremonies as less creditable, less en-
pertaining or less patriotic than those
observed in American schools. Those
exercises were revelation to the visi-
tors, not one of whom will ever again
doubt that the children of the islands
of this day, and the children of the
future, can be Americanized, if a