Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1901-02-11
CRIPPLED BY TEXT BOOKS

WlPPlED DI l[Al DUUX0
The opinion of the Attorney Cen
eral that the department of Education
should control the purchase and supply
OF school books. seems to be so clearly
in the line of public economy as to def
nitely outline the policy of the Com
missioners of Education. The expert
ence of the public under the last con-
tract renders considerations of renew
ing such conditions beyond the pale
OF common sense. The arguments in
favor of entering upon a similar con
the American Book Company for school
books now on hand. The Board is re-
ported as saying that financially it is
good contract"
II may not be amiss to remind Super
intendCnt Atkinson and his Honorable
Board that all things being equal the
public deeply appreciates any effort
on their part to add legitimately to the
original sum allowed for the admins
tratiun of the Department of Educa-
ton. But when as in the present case.
| /. is to be done at sacrifice of the best
interests of education it is bad econo-
my.
1t is an open secret that the work Of
the schools has been and Is now Grip
pied because of inability to get proper
text books through the operations of
this contract. There seems to be a
very general impression that our
schools are among the best of public
schools because the primary schools of
Hawaii received one of the twelve gold
medals awarded at the Paris Expo
sltion. with rating only four or five
credits from perfect. II should be borne
in mind that this award was tribute
to the solution of the educational prob
lef for a mixed population in the
tropics. and :he success of its practical
application here.
/ Efforts to transplant the modern pub
, lie school system to the tropics have
met heretofore with varied success.
( In many places as in Cairo, Egypt.
where the children completely colaps-
ed under the strain Of long hours and
application. which the American child
ordinarily survives, the idea of Il
modern public school has been aban-
doned. The native Hawaiian, the ia
pancse. the Chinese child in the Hawa-
iian Islands responds. learns. works
surprisingly well. and the value of the
system of all countries with tropical
coloniol possessions becomes apparent.
the Asiatic and the Polynesian child
can respond to as rigid or high a course
OF study as the American child hence
| II Is that ut the best the present hetero-
gencous methods in the public schools
of Hawaii operate to distinct loss to
tho Anglo-SaXon child. w
| Il Is the Anglo-SaXon child who suf-
| fers under a contract which deprives
| him Of the best work printed on a sub
iect. or which prevents him from prose-
cutting a study because suitable text
books are not published by the COM
pany party to the contract which binds
the Department of Education to pur-
chase all textbooks used from them.
No more important question ever
comes before board Of education than
the choice and supply of textbooks,
upon which depend the effectiveness OF
the whole system.
We do not share the fears of the
Advertiser. We believe the Commits
sioners Of Education, comprising some
Of the best citizens of Honolulu. to he
far too intelligent and honest a body
and have the welfare OF the schools of
Hawaii too much at heart TO renew this
or a similar contract which is so OBJ
viously opposed to those interests
which they are working TO conserve.
ANNA AI.WARD EANES.