Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-01-27
JAPANESE HERE
REALIZE VALUE
OF EDUCATION
Study Of English, They Find,
is Indispensable For Pro-
!. gress in America
By NICHE IANAKA.

In a country where people from
many nations are gathered together
to enjoy the inestimable blessings
which America offers. many Japanese
think il just that the American prin-
cipses and the American language
should be supreme. They are full or
gratitude that the broad-minded oil
tn s country are giving the rising gen.
Grafton every opportunity to assim-
ilate American ideals. They think
that with the American and Japanese
ideals combined, the Hawaiian.born
Japanese should become the kind OF
citizens who leave the world a little
better than they found it..
The welfare and happiness Of chill
dren is the first consideration OF ala
Japanese. To the Japanese mind the
question of how TO make children good
has been solved in Japan, but In Ha-
wan Is still one. of the problems
the Japanese are trying to work out.
The Hawaiian-born Japanese have q
great deal more to learn in order that
they may be the most intelligent, the
most law-respeeting and the most pa
triotic Of American citizens. To ex-
press their respect and love In re-
turn for all liie benefits and offers
received, the Japanese wish to teach
their children to give their dearest
possessions, their heads and their
hearts, to america. -
Encourage English Study
The Japanese have come to realize
that English Is absolutely indispens-
able, and so are encouraging the study
of Ii They appreciate the difficulties
encountered by the public school
teachers in handling so many nation
alities, each with different language
and popularity Of pronunciation. In
the previous generation when 1t was
difficult to obtain the services of for
eign teachers, the immigrants learned
no English prior to emigration to the
United States. Now they are so old
that their vocal organs are inflexible,
and they think 1t is necessity for
children TO be familiar with the Japan
ese language to make communication
between themselves and their off
springs possible. This, however, will
not be necessary for the coming gen.
erations as English will then be the
common means of intercourse. Eng
lish has recently become part of the
curriculum in the higher schools of
Japan.
The japanese are gradually chang
ing their method OF writing from
characters which originated with the
Chinese and are substituting for that
a phonetic system which win make
the recording Of. the japanese Ian
guage much simpler. The number Of
characters now consists OF more than
1000 and the new method would re-
duce it to Is.
With the Japanese teachers and
mothers at home the girls study the
tea ceremonial. flower arrangement
and other arts to cultivate moral quail.
tiles such as courtesy, purity and re-
pose of manner which help to make
them ideal women. The fathers do
their part by teaching the. BOYS the
principles Of "bushido'' tliteralIy
meaning military-knight-ways, a code
of moral principles which knights were
instructed to observe).
The Y. W. c. Al. and the Y. NJ. C. A.
stand foremost among the many
agencies at work for the American
fzation and social uplift of the young
japanese. Every effort is made prop
Herly to train the girls and boys for
the, duties of citizenship: to create In
them respect for honest and efficient
public service and to interest them
actively in the work of making Ha-
waii a better, greater and more beau:
tifui country In which to live