The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-05-04
HAWAIIAN Youth anu
FIFTH COMMANDMENT
Ideas of the School, Children OF the Territory
as to FiliaI Devotion and Self
Advancement.

read before the Mothers and Teacher
Club at it's recent meeting was the fol-,
lowing, the report of the committee
which has been making original re-,
searches, touching upon the mental
characteristics of the school children
The report bears upon the Characters
tics of the various nationalities repre-
sented in the schools and is full if in
terest 1t follows:
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT IN
HAWAII.
Last fall your committee of the
Mothers and Teachers Club sent out
the following circular:
To the Teachers of Hawaii
Can we not undertake some studies
of the children in our schools? If you
will cooperate, please give your pupils
this study, following directions care
fully. Give it as an ordinary exercise
! in English and do not allow 1t to be
copied We want spontaneous and
original work, therefore we ask that
you do not allow discussion of the
question before the papers are in your
4 hands. Retain the confidence of the
children by refraining from criticism
of their views, though of course the
general question may be discussed at
sometime later.
David was a boy thirteen years old
whose father was very poor, and too
feeble to work So a kind rich man
said to David: Come and live with
me and be my son. l will give you
everything you want, and send you TO
college"
What did David say and do?
Unfortunately we gave no address to
which children's papers might be sent,
thus cutting off some returns which
otherwise would have been made
However we have much reason to
congratulate ourselves upon the spon-
taneity and originality of the fourteen
hundred papers secured through the
hearty cooperation of the following
schools: Normal, High, Grammar
grades) Royal. Kauluwela, Kaiulani,
Kaahumlanu. Maemae, Pohukaina, Pu
nahou Preparatory, Kawaiahao Sem
mary, Kamehameha Manual, Kameha-
meha Preparatory and the Kohala
Seminary.
Child study that is aimless lends it
self readily to such a burlesque as is
contained in the last number of Life,
reading as follows:
One hundred children were handed
each hot iron.
Thirty-three boys and eighteen girls
Txun ~ 1un crir nd
ten boys said "Oochi"
OF the girls who said "Ouch!" seven
had pug noses and toed in.
Thirteen boys born of foreign par
ents said "Oooch!"
But the present study is not aim
less. 1t is a carefully considered at
tempt to determine to what extent our
schools have succeeded in establish
ing one particular idea of Anglo-Saxo
civilization,-the ideal of filial devo-
| ton.
FTLIAL DEVOTION.
Our repers included answers from
go gir,-. and $50 boys. OF the total
number, As per cent of the boys and
so per cent of the girls make David
go with the rich man, generally re-
CARELESS of his fathers fate. Nov L
have all the food what / want to eat
and l will never glow hungry again.
writes a Chinese boy of thirteen
David agreed to this proposition be-
cause he knew that education was
great help to him., writes a Hawaiian
boy of sixteen. Two per cent of this
class, however, sometimes think OF
their old father, in the midst of athlet-
les and debates, of dinners of turkey,
chicken. and duck of elegant rooms
decorated with pearl and gold" They
may visit him after graduating, Find
ing him still at the same old place,
and helping him with money or medi-
cal treatment. But 90 per cent of these
Davids, though they may with sad
words bid the feeble father good-by,
or "shed tears when the father died,
do nothing whatever for his comfort
thenceforth. One boy of sixteen makes
David accept the rich mans offer, on
ly to meet the most ignominious pun
ishment for his lack of filial love, for
he enters the wrong house and is
thrown out by the angry rich man who
exclaims: "Out of my house you young
rascal, by rights you should go to Jail
tonight
Opposed to the undutiful &Davids
are those who are made to stay with
their father, and who often express
themselves with great force. Il will
not leave my only and respected par
emit declares an American girl of IA.
IF David went a Hawaiian boy writes
This life would be misspent and gloomy
for not keeping the laws of Cod and
q art-Hawaiian makes David add to
his refusal of the rich mans offer, Il
won't leave my father like a dog or
cat"
80 of the girls thus firmly refuse the
rich mans proposal.
NORMAL INTEGRITY.
strong line of the children,@13
per cent of the boys and u per cent of
the girls,-manage to preserve their