The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-06-11
GERMAN SCHOOL
At L|HUE, kauai
Continued from Page One).

continued from rage OuGJS
this would be contrary to the promise
we have given to our German people
| and contrary as well to one of the
most important and fundamental max
inns of pedagogical science. viz, TO
begin with the known and proceed TO
the unknown, begin with the near ana
proceed to the far-a principle when
one can not set aside without consider
able detriment to good results of
school. We would deprive our school
of the great advantage of having the
children understand their teacher. We
would create the same difficulties that
our public schools have to contend with
and we would have to spend the first
years of instruction only in teaching
the children a few hundred English
words and the opening of their minds,
the development of their intellect
would be retarded; and 1 know this,
too. from experience, most Of them
would be spoiled for learning German
afterwards entirely. i have had ample
opportunity here during twenty years
to compare the two systems, and | am
fully persuaded that our method is by
far the easiest and simplest to reach
good results in the German and Eng
lish languages as well as in general
knowledge and in the forming of char
acter. Our little children being taught
first in their own language will learn
to read and to write in short time
and to speak properly, etc., and when
the proper foundations have been laid
it is remarkable how quickly they take
hold of the English language. so SINH
lar to our own, and how they like TO
learn it, and having to compare the
two languages, translating from one to
the other, they get a good insight into
the structure of both languages. 1t Is
fact, acknowledged by the American
residents of this district as well as OF
Honolulu, that the boys and girls
taught in our school have done remark
ably we'll in English, speaking at first
not so f1uently, but very correctly. The
majority of our young men have been
appreciated in this district and all over
the islands; they have grown into de-
sirable American citizens. They are
intelligent voters and jurors and a
great many of them have done very
well in their professions. The govern
ment of this Territory has laid great
stress on securing more of white pop
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. settlers. Lihue
plantation Co. has attempted more in
this line than any other plantation, be-
ginning twenty-five years ago. in 1882,
to bring hundreds Of Germans here, and
we have partly succeeded in keeping
good-sized population of white cit-sI
liens here, which, socially, politically
and in regard to business interests has
been very beneficial. The greatest help,
the strongest tie, has been the Ger
man-English school. To interfere with
this school would mean one induce
ment more for our people to leave for
the mainland, the land of the free,
where thousands of such German-Eng-
lish schools are sustained, with several
hundred thousand pupils, without in
reference from the government. |
just happened to receive a report of
the various German Lutheran SynodS
and beg leave to draw the attention of
your honorable board to the fact that
a large number of these synods are
still entirely German, viz, the Wis
consin, Minnesota Michigan Synod, the
Wartburg, the Texas Synod, the Ger
man Synod in Iowa. and all these are
their private schools just like we do,
first in German and then in English, |
and it is acknowledged that these peo-
pie belong to the best of our citizens. |
Our American policy has been to be
strict in our public schools in regard |
to the English language and not to pay
a cent towards the support of priyate |
schools, but to be liberal and tolerant /
IN regard to every private school con-
Quoted by competent teachers. / hope |
the government of this Territory will
do the same and grant US in our homes
and in our private school, which we /
have kept up at great cost for twenty !
four years for the best purpose, the
same amount of liberty and freedom
that our people on the mainland are
enjoying. Very respectfully yours,
HANS ISENBERG.
Superintendent Rabbit stated that
before the beginning of the next school
year the Board would have to consider
he question of permitting teachers to
engage in gainful occupations outside
If their school employment The mat
er had not been considered during the
past year because salaries were on so
ow basis that it was not thought ex-
'edient. But with the restoration of
iaiaries and their increase in some
'ases, the question would be forced on
ne Board whether or not they ought
n justice to the schools and the school ;
ystem to insist that teachers give
heir Whole time and effort to the work :
f the schools.
superintendent Babbitt gave an oral ,
eport of his recent tour of inspections
f schools on Hawaii and Maui He
poke of almost every school and teach
r in detail. He said he was very
luch impressed with the excellence of i
he school system. Some of the ma
erial of instruction was of an indif-
erent quality, but that could be i'm
roved, and as it was improved the
asu1ts would show
t..