The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1919-04-18
1. Free Kindergartens AS A Part OF
The Public School system;

I. free hlndergartenS AS y Fart VI
The Public School System:
If we had ki~ndergartens throughout
the territory, it would be possible for
the first grade teachers to promote
more pupils.
ID Two-thirds Of the pupils in
some schools are Japanese. At pre-
sent they enter school at the age of
six years knowing at the most but a
few words of English. 1t is impossible
TO promote a large percentage at pu-
pills when so many of them are either
SLOW or haven't a speaking know
ledge Of our language.
(2) 1t is disCouraging to pupil and
teacher alike to have so few promo
tions but it is not fair to the pupil or
to the next teacher to promote them
unless they really know the first
grade work well.
2. A Manual Or Fuller outline OF
The Course Of Study:
We feel the need of a fuller and
more definite plan of the work to be
done. The work for which pupils are
to be held to account in written ex-
aminations should be indicated and
additional material for good classes
should be included. If the teachers
nave d Bttltl ulluCl StdIlulllS VI NDuN
is required of them. they will be able
to accomplish more.
8. A Reprint Of The "Rules And
Regulations, Bringing Them Up To
Date;
1t is difficult for a new teacher to
know what the rules are because they
are partly in book form and partly
scattered through the Hawaii Edu-
cational Review for the last few
years.
4. A Series Of Readers For The
First, Second, And Third Grades
Suitable To Our Conditions Here
And Now:
Teachers of training and of much
experience in the schools of Hawaii
should be able to build such a series
OF readers. Cor several years past
we heard Tumors of a new primer but
we have not seen it yet. A primer
would be but a step in the right direc-
tion.) Much of the material in the
first reader and some of that in the
second should describe life and scenes
in Hawaii. Thus in building the
child's vocabulary we would begin
with the names of things most famili-
ar to him. The vocabulary should be
suited to the needs of our children,
not TO those of English speaking chill
dren of the mainland. The children
that we are working with need very
simple, plain English, no fgurative.
The main thing that we Try to give
the pupils in the primary grades is
an English vocabulary. Many of our
pupils for one reason or another do
not go very far in school. To train
them to be good American citizens we
should teach them to read easily. If
we can do that for them they will be
able later in their lives, if the desire
AMI opportunity come, to take further
training. After their school days are
over, they can learn much if they can
read readily. The ability to read our
language will tend to give them a
better understanding of the fuller
sympathy with our American ideals.
So we need to put the stress on read
ing rather than on information in the
primary grades.
s.. Supplementary Readers:
We should have abundant material
for supplementary reading. Except
for the small part of the day that
they are under our care, many of the
children neither hear nor read any
LlSlloA' MANY Aldllllduu SCuOOl uG-
partments provide such books for
their children who come to school
with a fair knowledge of English.
How much more necessary are they
for the children of Hawaii if we would
make of them the best type of Amer
lean citizens! There is much along
this line that a teacher can do in
chart form and with cards but she
cannot afford to spend in this way
too much of the time needed for rest
and recreation if she is to go to her
classroom fresh in body and mind. So
supplementary readers should be pro-
vided by the Department. The pupils
will learn English faster if they have
new and interesting books to read
than they will if they have to go over
and over THE Bug in the Rug.
Many of the best stories in the
worlds literature might be adapted
for our young children. These story
readers should not take the place of
the STORY Hour in which the teach
er tells stories to her pupils and they