Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-12-01
THE GERMAN LANGUAGE IN
AMERICAN SCHOOLS.

| problems that has grown out OF Lnt
war is the problem Of the German
language in the public and private
schools of the United States. In Ha
wall, notable in Honolulu 80 or
| Kauai, there are German private
schools, and Hawaii faces the problem
of training, as American citizens, chill
| dren Of strong pro-German ancestry
Only 10 mainland cities out OF 1853 OF
%, 900 population or over teach foreign
languages below the seventh grade OF
the elementary school. In II OF these
cities German is the foreign language
taught; in three cities German, French
and Spanish are all taught in the ele-
mentary grades; in one city German.
Italian and Polish; while in the three
remaining cities the languages taught
to elementary school children arc
French and Spanish, alone or in COM
bination. In a few cities the foreign
language is taught in all grades, from
the first to the eighth; in others the
instruction does not begin until the
fifth or sixth grade. The number of
elementary school children taking Ger
man ranges from 40 in one city to o.
900 in another.
Few school superintendent favor
the teaching of German or any other
foreign language in the lower elemen-
tary school, though many Of them be-
lieve thoroughly int foreign language
study for students in higher schools.
A California superintendent says: 81
was in doubt before the war. l am be-
coming convinced now that our, pub
lie schools should teach one nation,
one language, one flag The teaching
Of a foreign language below the
seventh grade is a sentimental hold
Of the old country on Americana OF
the second generation" An Illinois
superintendent says: "The public
schools should not assist in perpetual
ing a foreign language in the home
and foreign viewpoints in the COM
munity" An Iowa superintendent is
careful to explain that German Is
taught in the elementary grades in
his schools because "German-AmerI-
can grandparents and many parents
demand it."
A typical condition is that in Balti-
more, Maryland, where the introduc-
ton of German as a subject Of instruc-
ton in elementary schools in 1874
was partly due to the fact that there
were a large number of German pri-
Yate schools In which the atmosphere
was entirely German. By the introduc.
ton of German into the public schools
the private schools were eliminated
and the children gradually came under
the influence Of American ideas. In
this city the superintendent reports
that the number Of pupils taking
German has been reduced so that now
German is taught only in few in.
stances in the seventh and eighth
grades" ..s*>
In st. Louis instruction In German
In the elementary schools was dis
continued in the SOS. In Cincinnati
agitation against the, continuation Of
German in the schools has resulted
in the reduction of the number of chill
dren studying German in the grades
from 1890 in 1867 to 1000 In 1917
Is. German has been taught in all
grades OF the elementary schools of
Cincinnati for rs years.
In a statement regarding the situa-
ton the United States bureau makes
the following suggestions: There is
general agreement among educators
and public men, both in this country
and abroad, that there should be no
interference with existing high school
and college provision for the teaching
OF German; that a knowledge OF the
German language is more important
now than 1t was before the war.
The upper elementary grades es-
pecially where organized in the jun
Tor high school, may quite properly
offer foreign languages, including
German, but educators generally look
upon the teaching of foreign Ian.
guages in the lower elementary
grades as of very questionable value"