NATIVE HAWAIIANS AS WESTERN TEACHERS David Kittelson Missionaries from New England's Islands during this period in which in letters, and in that which constitutes American Board of Commissioners there was an intense interest in prosperity. If the children are not for Foreign Missions arrived in pre­ learning. The Hawaiian teachers taught, ignorance must be perpetual. literate Hawai'i in 1820 intent on were poorly trained but were The children of the chiefs cannot "raising up the whole people to an extremely zealous in passing on their prosper, nor any other children.1 elevated state of Christian knowledge of reading and writing to By placing a number of legal civilization" by giving them "the their willing pupils. restrictions on the uneducated Bible with skill to read it." Within a The mission schools, by design and person, the first education laws also decade the bulk of the adult because of a lack of funds, were sought to encourage the attainment population of Hawai'i had been unable to give Hawaiians little more of Ii tera te skills: taught to read. A measure of the than the ability to read and write. By No man born since the commencement missionary teaching success, as well the middle of the 1830s the novelty of the reign of Liholiho, who does not as the eagerness of the Hawaiians to of learning waned and school understand reading, writing, geography learn, is demonstrated by the fact enrollment plummeted. Even the and arithmetic shall hold the office of that the Islands' literacy rate at that exceptionally eager students became Governor, Judge, Tax Officer, nor land time was exceeded only by those of frustrated and began dropping out of agent, nor hold any office over an Scotland and several New England school when they realized that their other (sic) man, nor shall a man who is states. teachers had little grasp of subject unable to read and write marry a wife, nor a woman who is unable to read and The missionaries next turned their matter fundamentals and were write marry a husband.2 attention to teaching the Hawaiian indeed incapable of teaching David Malo was appointed as the children and by 1831, at the peak of anything other than the essentials of first Superintendent of Public the mission's educational endeavor, reading and writing. Instruction as well as the school there were 50,732 pupils being The American economic depression agent for the island of Maui. He taught in 961 schools. which was induced by the Panic of supervised the other island school It was impossible for these few 1837 made it financially impossible agents who organized the parents in missionaries to personally instruct for the ABCFM to continue funding each community to provide for each child. The teachers instead the Hawaiian school system. teachers and schoolhouses through a selected the brightest students in Kamehameha III and his chiefs in labor tax. their classes, gave them a few hours council subsequently enacted laws in For all practical purposes, this was of extra training in the art of 1840 which established a public the very same organization­ teaching, and sent them out to teach school system. The importance teachers, curriculum and buildings­ in schools of their own. These new which the Hawaiian Kingdom which the missionaries had teachers in turn sought out their attached to education of its children established. It was a chaotic system, better pupils and sent them out to is evidenced by the introduction to A with much discord among the teach. This system enabled schools to Statute f1Jr /ht Regulation of Schools: Hawaiian administrators, the spread rapidly throughout the The basis on which the kingdom rests missionary supervisors, and the is wisdom and knowledge. Peace and tranquillity (sic) cannot well prevail in communities which were unwilling the land. unless the people are taught 10 to support the schools and teachers Independent Schools were the or in depth than they themselves had according to the laws of the third type of educational institution been taught: Kingdom. in the Islands. These were privately The teachers of our free schools are all In 1846 Kamehameha Ill supported and taught in English. natives and perhaps do as well as could reorganized the Kingdom's Occasionally some of these schools be expected. As a class they will government into five ministries, one were assisted by government not suffer in comparison with any of which was the Department of funding, either by scholarships or by other in the nation for intelligence, Public Instruction. The Islands were grants· in-aid, especially at the high industry and general excellence of divided into 25 school districts with school level. There were 18 of these character; still they are very deficient in an appointed school agent in charge schools in 1872 enrolling 675 qualifications for their high calling, not of each district's schools. students. By 1894 there were 51 so much however in regard to knowledge, as of government and skill This arrangement enabled the Independent Schools with 3,255 in training the young minds under Kingdom to administer its schools students and 158 teachers.1 them,6 more effectively, and, except for a The following is a review of the minor reorganization of the life and times of one class of If the Common School teachers' Department of Public Instruction in teachers- those of the Common educational backgrounds were 1855 by Kamehameha IV- which Schools. They were native meager, it was no less than the placed the schools under a Board of Hawaiians, ill· trained but imbued facilities, texts, salaries, in-service Education which was administered with a willingness to teach, who first training, and parental support with by its president-this sytem served stepped in to fill the educational gap which these teachers labored. the schools throughout the left by the departure of missionary Common School classes were held Kingdom. educators. Common School teachers daily from nine in the morning until There were three types of schools served throughout the remainder of two in the afternoon. Schools in the Kingdom. The Common the term of the Kingdom and originally remained open 200 days a Schools, whose courses were taught continued to provide an alternative year, dropped to an average of 165 entirely in the Hawaiian language, form of education even as official days in 1857, and then settled to 205 provided the most rudimentary type educational policy swung from days of instruction per year by of instruction for the first five instruction in the vernacular to 1888.7 Each Common School teacher grades. At one time these were the classes taught in English. was required to instruct at least 15 most numerous schools in Hawai'i, The first Common School teachers students. there being 527 schools and 19,028 hired by the Hawaiian Kingdom The course of study in the students in 1848. In 1894 there were were required to have only the most Common Schools was based on the only 18 schools where 32 students rudimentary sort of education as abilities of the students. The were being taught by 18 teachers. By well as an interest in teaching: youngest children learned to "put together letters in syllables." In the the turn of the century, the last If a man can read, write and Common School-on the island of next class students learned to use a understand geography and arithmetic, primer, pencil, and slate. At the third Ni'ihau-had been phased out. and is a quiet and moral man, and level teachers offered reading, Common Schools were successively desires a teacher's certificate, it shall be referred to as "Free Schools," the duty of the school agent to give writing, and the principles of "Government Schools," "Free him one, and not refuse.' arithmetic. Students continued these studies in the next class with the National Schools," and "Schools Until 1862 all Common School Taught in Hawaiian." addition of geography and mental teachers had been men. With the arithmetic.' The curriculum in the Select, or English, Schools, which establishment of separate common were also funded by the government, top class also included written schools for boys and girls, women arithmetic, composition, and music. were established in 1854 and offered were employed as teachers in these the first eight years of schooling Occasionally, although the schools girls' Common Schools.s were non-sectarian, teachers offered with all instruction in the English The Common School teachers language. Until 1888 there was also a lessons in "moral truths."9 were educated in either the Examinations were given quarterly tuition fee. The popularity of these missionary schools or in the schools is evidenced by the fact that to test the students' comprehension Common Schools and, consequently, as well as to spark parental in 40 years-from 1854 to 1894-the were unable to teach more broadly, number of English Schools rose from interest.10 In addition to keeping 15 to 107 and the number of numerous records relating to class students from 650 to 7,732. There work and attendance, Common were also 229 teachers in 1894. School teachers were also required to maintain records of all births, deaths and marriages which occurred in the community served by the schoot.11 11 The earliest Common School was published. Later, in 1873, Mary The most noisy and disorderly classes were held in grass huts, but Hall's geography, Tlrt World , appeared classrooms were those in Honolulu teachers also taught in adobe or as Honua Ntr. Finally, in 1887, a and Lahaina where students were stone houses with thatched roofs, translation of the Cl11"1's Prrmer of continually exposed to the riotous private homes, or under the shade of Physiology and Hygiene became available activities of visiting whaler crews.u trees: as He Bukt Ola Kino No Na Kamalii.