Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-03-05

plorable In View Of the fact that these
positions were Generosity. located IN the
schools which were pafticnlarly adsan
tageous on account OF favorable local.
ity. Course IF is expected to pro-
duce class OF local teachers who
will be able to take these upper grade
lent material for princiDalships and
other responsible positions in the de
paTtnEnt
Vocational Training.
Vocational training on the mainland
is as yet in the experimental stage.
After considerable study and reading
OF reports on the work in this line
done on the mainland, ! have come TO
the conclusion that Hawaii will do
well by working out her own saliva
tion on plans adapted 10 conditions
here, which are in many respects diff
ferent from those found on the main.
land. -
T Since September of this year mum
Der OF changes have been made in the
vocational Instruction department OF
the local system. First of all the de-
partment has insisted that the work
must be self-supporting. In the case
of a school where vocational work is
taken up de noyo, in either cooking,
carpentry or agriculture, the depart
ment furnishes the raw material need
ed and the necessary equipment. Aft.
er the school has been given this
start, it is, however, expected to suB
ply itself with raw material, paying
for this by the proceeds received from
the sale Of the articles manufactured
This has worked satisfactorily. Since
September, Honolulu has added in.
struction in carpentry in the Royal,
and Central Grammar schools and
cooking departments are being install
ed in the Kaahumanu, Liliuokalani,
Central Grammar, Royal, Kalihiwaena
and Kaiulahi schools. On the other
cooking and carpentry is also
being extended considerably. q, -,
Time Limited. TT 49, .s1s
One of the great difficulties expert.
enced at present lies in the securing
of time for this work The depart
ment began the work this fall on the
theory that. it would be best to have
the boys who desired carpentry work
do this outside of school hours as
volunteers. In the beginning results
fully justified this theory as in many
cases the shop facilities were swamp.
ed by volunteers. In the long run,
the experiment was a failure.
Many of the boys who wanted to work
and who should have had it could not:
take it because their parents required
them to come home and do work for
them. Baseballl games and other
sometimes proved too
much for the good resolutions of the.
polunteers, and at times the classes
dwindled down TO only or pupils.
1t is plain that the vocational work
should be placed under orr law of COM
pHlsory attendance. However, it would
be decidedly detrimental to the schools.
IL the hours and 10 minutes allow.
ed each day for academic work Is re-
duced. AS It is this period is shorter
than that required in most places on
the mainland and we cannot provide
the Improvement in public school edu-
cation if the time allowed for aeade-
mic work is cnt down. The only solu,
ton seems to be that the department
he authorized by law to require, in
the case Of schools where vocational
Instruction is provided. that children
above certain age. say about ~ or
above a certain grade. say the 9th
or 9Th, must remain In the school not
more than or 5 hours extra each
week.
AGE or Attainment.
This phase brings up the PROPOSE
ton ofreleasing from ordinary school
attendance children who have finished
certain school work. In other words,
will II be advantageous to allow chill.
dren, who have finished say the 5th
grade, to finish their attendance, It
they wish 1t, thus making the amount
Of education absorbed, rather than q
certain age, the governing factor for
the release of pupils? The adoption
Of some such plan may encourage pt-
pils to work harder in the lower
grades. In case such q plan should
be adopted the question arises whether
children thus released should not be
required to take the vocational instruc,
lion wherever this is available. The
table of statistics showing
The attendance and age Of pupils In
The various grades Is Illuminating
The great difficulty now encounter,
ID in the problem of extending the vo.
instruction in the schools is
he lack Of instructors. The present
system of having an ftinerant yeca-
.ional instructor on each island. GOV.