The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-03-24
LEGISLATURE
AND SCHOOLS
DR.. Rodgers Gives Some Views
Which Are Well Worth
While.

Editor Advertiser: Having been I'M
able to attend the meeting at the CAPT
toll on Monday evening | desire to Offer
through your columns a few sugges
tons concerning the present school sit
nation in this Territory. 1t viii be
understood of course that I do not pose
as an educational expert in any tech
meal sense. [ was never a professor
or teacher in any institution of learn
ing, not even q common school. | do
however, claim to possess a fair degree
of natural intelligence. [ also claim
to feel deep and abiding interest in
the subject of popular education, and
l think that a continuous experience
of over nine years in the office of the
school department qualities me to speak
advisedly concerning public school af-
fairs.
We are told from many quarters that
we are face to face with very serious
situation in school matters; that the
expense of carrying on the public
schools of the Territory has increased
and is increasing out of all kind of
proportion to the ability of the Terri
tory to meet the same, and that halt
has got to be called; that one of two
things has got to be done; either the
income has got to be increased or the
expenses have got to be reduced. We
are also told that the people cannot
and will not stand any additional taxa
ton, and that therefore the only thing
to be done is to make cut somewhere.
Four ways have been suggested in
which this cut can be made, and these
are:
u To increase the size of the
classes, or to have more pupils in one
room; that is, to make each teacher do
more work for the same pay. Incl
dentally, by this plan quite a number
of teachers could be dispensed with
and here is where the saving would
come in. So far as l can judge, this
plan has not many hackers.
(2) To reduce the number of pupils
by shortening the school age; by this
means anywhere from four to six thou
sand children could be got rid of and
the services of many teachers, possibly
from seventyfve to one hundred could
be dispensed with for a while, perhaps
permanently. This is the scheme that
appears to have the strongest backing.
1t is the one by which the largest saw
ing could be effected, but it is also
amount of hardship to individual teach
ers, and result in the greatest perma.
nent injury to the community.
(3) To reduce the teacher S pay, as
was done few years ago to meet a
temporary financial stringency. This
cut was however avowedly temporary
measure to meet a special emergency,
and was undertaken with the full I'M
that the schedule rate
should be restored as soon as the fnan-
cial situation would warrant it, which
was afterwards done. 1t is to be noted
that this reduction was part of a gem
eral cut up and down the entire appro-
priation bill, and not measure aimed
at the school department only. The
the secretary and the
office staff all shared in the cut, and in
several cases the old rates have never
been restored down to the present day.
a. 1t has been suggested that the
pupils be divided into two SHIFTS :,
half the children attending school in
the forenoon and half in the afternoon
So far as L have heard, the above
are the only measures proposed by
those who claim that a reduction of
some kind is necessary. Some OF these
proposed measures are less unreason-
able than others, but all are objection
able and one or two of them in my
opinion entirely out of the question.
None of them would be admissible I'M
less in the presence of financial crisis
much more serious than any that exists
at the present time.
Therefore, before discussing in de-
tail the merits or dement's of any of
the proposed plans let us first consider
any cut is necessary. L claim
it is not, and | would like to offer
few suggestions in support of that opin-
ion.
just here it may not be out of place
10 hSh AuW INC piCSOhC oo S"iiSN S1AAOA
gency has come about.
Is it because disproportionate
of money has been spent IN the
past on buildings and permanent i'm
In my opinion more
money has been spent on buildings in
some cases than was really necessary,
but in most, if not in all cases, this
has come out of the loan
fund and does not affect the amount
available for current expenses.
Again | would ask, have we in this
Territory an unusual or abnormal num-
Der of children in proportion to the
whole population? / think no intelli-
gent person will seriously advance such
a proposition. The last printed report
of the Department of Public Instruc-
ton is dated December 81, 1908. Ac.
cording to that report there were some
thing over nineteen thousand pupils en-
rolled in our public schools, the actual
average attendance being something
over seventeen thousand. The actual
population of the Territory at the pres
emit time is of course somewhat mat
ter of conjecture, but I do not think
we shall be much out of the way If
we estimate that the Territory is pro-
viding in its schools for about one