The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-01-26

he Instruction II has hld the support
and APPRECIATION Of che department NJ
All times and ita work IL an expression
u the department Several Of the IN.
purvising principals have repeatedly IN
the last two years asserted that th0y
prefer for assistants our own trained
teaehcrs A short time ago one Of our
best principals declared that ~ be had
all Honolulu trained teachers he could
have an ideal school. One who has had
a long experience here both in govern
ment and private schools and who has
lately returned to the Islands, OK.
pressed pleasure at the progress noticed
in the government schools and remark.
ed, "This speaks well for your normal
and government school work. I"
The Normal School trains teachers
how to carry out the course of study
and the department stands behind the
Normal School and the curriculum.
What, then, can the conduct of super
vising principals be called who openly
oppose the requirements of the depart
mentf Every man has a right to his
opinion. He has a right to disagree
in council but in the field he should
work loyalty according to directions.
What would happen to n captain who
openly opposed the orders of his gem
eral in the field, whatever might be his
sentiments, or to a plantation luna
who ridiculed the managers directions
and system of cultivationf
Not Perfect, Perhaps.
am not trying to prove that this
department or any official in it thinks
that our educational system is perfect
or does not need revision and modifica-
tions, neither can it be said with JUS
tice that the department is not aware
of the defects, in our educational sys-
TEN nor has taken any steps to remedy
these defects. We recognize that our
present system meets the needs of only
a small proportion of the children of
this Territory. In order to remedy
this an act was prepared by this de-
partment and presented to the last leg
islature, extending the compulsory
school age to eighteen years,
with the object in view of establish
ing such vocational or industrial
schools as would better meet the needs
of the boys and girls and from which
they would go out with an ability to
earn their living and with taste for
work. This law also forces a boy who
has arrived at the age of twelve years
and has not progressed beyond the
fourth primary grade to attend an in
dustrial or vocational school. Plans
are now being made for the establish
ment of an agricultural school on this
island where the boys will cultivate
cane under expert supervision and will
make the school as nearly as possible
self-supporting. 1t is the aim of this
to establish such schools
wherever practicable and also indus
trial or trade schools in the city and
other large centers. for boys and girls
Of twelve years of age and over. When
these schools are made available to
children in all parts of the Territory
then all youth up to seventeen years
Of age must go to school or be profit
ably employed, if the law be enforced.
Simple and Practical.
The course of study in these schools
will be simple and correlated with the
work SO it must of necessity be prac-
tical. OF course these schools will
necessitate changes in our present cur
riculum and will be long step in ad-
vance of our present system.
In conclusion I wish to say that it
is not quite fair to blame the educa-
tional system for the attitude of boys
and their parents in regard to labor
because the state of affairs deplored
by these critics is largely due to the
social and economic conditions of this
-ich Territory.
II. H. GIBSON,
Inspector of Schools.