The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-02-03
NEW WORK
IN SCHOOLS
Honolulu Teachers to
Take Up Manual
Training.

Between twenty and thirty teachers
in the Honolulu public schools have
| agreed to take up the matter of manual
| training in the public schools, in ad-
| dition to their other work. The move
ment has grown out of the following
perintendent of Public Instruction
Rabbit. prior to his recent trip to
Maui:
To the Teachers in Honolulu: The
| managers of the Boys Brigade have
offered to the Department, free of
charge, the use of the Manual Trade
School located on King street, just
beyond the railway station. The only
expense attached will be the keeping
in repair of the tools and material
used. This expense the Department is
willing to assume if the teachers are
enough interested in the work to make
it an object.
The funds at the disposal of the De-
partment will not allow the engage
ment of trained manual teacher to
superintend the work. 1t does not
seem wise to take up the work there
oolSiat VI Ice dAeii SSlipOI IiouIS
At a meeting of most of the prin-
cipals, il was thought best to send a
letter to the various teachers in Ho-
nolulu, explaining to them a little of
the plan, and to ask them to make
direct reply to the Department as to
their desire and willingness to under
take this work
The Department is we'll aware of the
ers and it does not intend to obligate
or even urge the proposed work; but
if there are teachers who are suffi-
GENTLY interested and who can afford
to give the time and energy to it, it
is certainly an exceptional opportunity
for starting the work.
As we can not hire a trained teach |
err, it will be necessary for the teach |
ers in different schools to oversee the i
work undertaken by the children. In
order that they may do this intelli- |
gently, Mr.. Pope of the Normal School |
has agreed to conduct class for teach |
ers on Tuesday and Thursday after
moons, from three to four, at the Nor |
NAL School. In this class, he will give |
teachers such instruction as will fit !
them to take up the work with students
in an elementary way.
AS soon as teachers have enough ex-
perience, classes of from ten to twelve
may be formed in different schools, and
periods arranged whereby classes may
go to the Manual Trade School for
work
Will you kindly reply to the Depart
ment at once. stating just what would
be your own views and wishes in re-
gard to this matter? Kindly bear in
mind that this is optional and not re- !,
quired; but please let us have reply
as soon as convenient.
Yours very respectfully.
(Signed) w. H. BABBITT;
superintendent of Public Instruction.
To this letter replies were received
various in character, but for the most
part favorable, and the matter was
taken up at a meeting of the proposed
class at the Normal School Thursday
afternoon. There were some nineteen
teachers present at the first meeting
but this number is expected to be in
creased at subsequent meetings of the
class. 1t will meet, by the way, every
Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, at
4:30, at the Normal School and after
of instruction and begin to get a line
on the work, they in turn will pass the
on to the pupils and the
very important educational feature of
teaching the children to work with
their hands will become regular part
of the public schools course in Ha-
wall. There has, to be sure, been some
work done along these lines already.
but nothing at all commensurate with
the Importance of the matter. The
technical training and manual train
ing schools on the mainland have at
tanned to such proportions of late years
that scholars are actually fitted for
life's battles in them, and go right
from the schools to factories
and workshops, earning better pay than
many older workmen because their
training has been so thorough