Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-12-04
Japanese Education
in Hawaii
By Frederic j. Haakin

back by Dr. Frank Bunker and other /
representatives of the Bureau of Educa-
tion who have been studying conditions
there.
According 70 the new cens'ls 6Cnss, |
Japanese mike up nearly half of the 2b5s- I
900 qf the population IN Hawaii, and m 1
few wears they will be able % control the 1
vote Of the islands. This would not he |
such n disturbing prophecy except Tor the 1
fact that the Japanese in Hawaii, especi- |
ally the school children, are being pulled |
two waya The United States govern |
rnent is there trying TO educate them, hop !
ing that those born under the United /
States Flag will make satisfactory Arneri-
can citizene At the same time, japan
csc influence is being exerted 80 that the
children will not forget % celebrate the
Enperor's birthday or grow up IN ignor-
rance Of japanese ways and traditions
Foreign language schools, presided over
by teachers brought from Japan, are set
up all over the islands near tho territorial
public schools. japanese parents are
urged by Buddhist priests n send their
children To these schools, and be6ause tho
influence Of the priests With the older
generation i 8 very great, the parents al
most always comply Twenty thousand
children are enrolled IN over 40 Japanese
schools.
Tho children, M a f1Ile, do not wish 20
attend these schools And no wonder,
The regular public school opens az nine To
attend the foreign land first ,theref ore, they
must rise ut six or even FIVE o'ciock. They
have IN walk sometimes FIVE miles, eating
breakfnst as they 20, or leaving y out
entirely. At the oreign language seno9i
they spend an hour OF an hour and half
learning the Japanese iangusge-to SPEAK
read, and write it-snd studying history
and geography Of Japan. Instruction is
gwen in the apr owed japanese styie' the
children studying noisily and recltlng IA
parrot6ke singsong.
TWO SCHOOLS TOO MUCH.
Tired already, both in mind and body.
the pupils troop over 20 the public schc<oi
/ az nine O'Clock, 70 mt stupidity Whiis an
American teacher, OF one framed ln tne
| Hawaiian normal school, tries 70 teach
| them 10 speak English, and 20 ave hern
/ modern education
| Even after the public school rork ends ~
| Two o'clock the oriental child may not be
I AZ liberty. some of the foreign language
/ schools teach the older children IN the
morning and the younger ones after two,
/ Others insist on the attendance u 81
/ pupils at both sessions.
| The complaint made universally by
1 teachers in the public schools - the
I island. is that these children are over
/ taYsd and 40 tired that they cannot learn
I the lessons in English. Many Of them i've
/ in .Japanese colonies, and speak English
onIv AZ the public school. Others hear ~
home a pidgin English that is worse az
Foundation for the language than 10
yecabulaTy at all
Another saws, II have found in my ex-
p4rienee IN Hawaii that If any school
work "a To suffer il will be the Work Of ne
American school The children try er on sn
their efforts 10 keep up the work of both
| acboojs are often Ditiful-but the Japanese
schoolrnasrer will see that the Work of ths
Japanese school comes first
Dr. Bunker says that ii the majority q
+hese orientals were translents II Havaii,
and expected 20 return 70 Japan, there
| wo,,ld be reason in their determination
10 cling 70 japanese ties. he thinks II
| natural that those orientals whose stay
IN the Islands is TO be brlef should want
their children taught IN the language OF
their ntive country. and be advocates that
for such families private schools should De
permitted.
But the great majority OF the japanese
are not translents, but permanent resi-
dents. and their children are mostly Anerl-
can citizens. These children grow up
proud Of theirstatus as Alner1cans.and TINS
leads some people TO say that the torelgn
language schools Il left alone viii dle q
with this belief
THE PICTURE BRIDE.
ssJaDsDese men,. he says, especially
those of the old school, draw their vive'
from Japan by the picture BIRDS system
In 1919 S4I OF these picture brides lsnoes
in Hawaii, and IN the preceding yeari owe
1000 50 long ss these women come al
rect from Japan there viii ne nrst gen
erstion OF Japanese in Hawaii 20 tescn IA
children, born Americans, the customs O
the Orient.
Moreover. the foreign language schoo
system viii PERSIST until il IS abolished
because fundamentally the project \
legitimate. While use Of the Enslisi
language is growing in HAWAII, snd Eng
lish is becoming necessary 10 the japanese
in the colonies Of laborers about the suSs
plantations there is also need for the Jspa
nese tongue. To supply this need was th'
original intention Of the foreign ianguss'
school. There Is not, however, in an Amer
ican territory need for American cltIEenl
70 be taught foreign customs, ideals snC
morals. That is the Objectionable part o
the Japanese school IN hswan. lt IS no
aggressively anti-American, but il Is un
American. 1t includes in us Lessons OF
Japanese heroes an occasional story sboU
George Washington or General Grant Il
the Japanese language. But as one teach
er in the public schools says, "YOu csnno
teach American ideals in s. ioreig'
tongue
TO ABOLISH JAPANESE SCHOOLS
Because of this situation, the commls
, sion from the Bureau OF Education sdyo
Gates ia its report that the foreign Ian
pliage schools should be abolished. anC
: the Japanese language taught in the terri
torial public schools \ law 70 this etfec
Is to be proposed at the session OF th'
Hawaiian legislature which convenes IN 8
few weeks 1t is believed that once the
legislature takes up the nnstter the school,
viii DO abolished without strong oppo
. sition.
The commission suggests that the
Japanese language class should come s'
the end Of the school day, and be oper
only to those pupils who make salts
factory progress in their other studies
Once this plan is put into effect, and th'