The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1906-08-29

our language that they take going to school much
more seriously than does the average American boy
or girl They study very faithfully and very serious
~ ana the progress some of them make is remarkable
They pick up our language in an incredibly Snort
time, and some of them who arrive in our country
without being able to speak a word excepting in
their native tongue are, In year two in grades
with American boys and girls of the same age
There Is public school exclusively for Chinese
children in San Francisco and last year the children
in this school reached higher percentage in their
studies than those in any other public school in the
city having no grade higher than the seventh. In
deed, the percentage hundred. Wong Bulk
Yue, an alert Chinese boy, had higher average than
any other pupil of any grade nationality in the
city. His average was nnety-seven and the highest
average attained by any other pupil was ninetyfour
1t seemst to that the American pupils should have
taken of their hats to little Wong Buk Yue There is
one boy of but twelve years in the New York school
Tor the Chinese who speaks English almost perfectly
His name is Henry Wing, and he is a great help to
the teacher for when his schoolmates find themselves
bewildered over of American words little
Henry Is glad to act interpreter and make the
meaning clear. Two boys, named Lee Vow and Lee
Yen, neither of them twelve years DID, are already
well up in the mysteries of fractions and they can
read and write our language well the average
American boy of that age
An amusing feature of this school is the fact that
some of the little girls bring their baby brothers or
sisters with them, for the little Chinese girl must he
little mother to the baby of the family and the
baby must go where she does Happily for the school
the Chinese baby is less given crying than is the
American baby, and in a school in which all the scho
airs study aloud it matters little if baby or two does
indulge III good crying spell'' during school hours
1t can add but little to the babel already existing
But the scholars do not study aloud when the Amer
can teacher has charge, and that is always matter
OF surprise to pupils. The most alert little girl
In this interesting school is named Tom Cav al
though she is anything but a tom-boy in her man.
hers ana Is, on the contrary, what of our Amer
lean teachers would be the dearest little
thing In the world" She is good as the day is
long. Indeed refractory pupils are almost unheard
OF In the Chinese schools Absolute obedience is too
largely the rule in their own homes
Dld you know that there is no alphabet in the
Chinese language? Each one of those STRANGE hier-
ogiyphics that you see in written principal Chinese
stands for different word and the little Chinaman
mas a great deal more memorizing to do when @ at
tends schools than you have to do in YOUR American
school, His habit of memorizing is one reason WHY
ne is such quick learner. One should have q GOOD
deal OF respect for the Chinese scholar for he has
acquired his learning through tremendous amount
of faithful industry
His first day at school is an event of very oreat
consequence in the life of Chinese boy The parents
attach so much Importance to this day that ev
sometimes go to some fortune-teer in order to make
sure that they have made mistake in seecino the
gay on which the boy shall begin his educational ca
reer The child is clad in his very best clothes for
the OCCASION and he always takes with him present
Tor the teacher and i'll order to make quite sure that
success shall attend him. he burns some incense be-
lore tablet, on which the name of ConfucIus is
written Having done all this he feels that he has
started out well. All the methods of study in
Chnese school are different from ours. The children
do not use pen and ink in learning TO write 'rbov
nave instead small camel's hair brush condensed
cake OF INK, an link stone' and little vessel of
water These are the requisites for lesson in writ
ing All the strange Chinese characters are made with
the little brush, and cannot but wonder how il
Is possible Tor these little scholars to make them
twice alike