Difference between revisions of "Template:Nhsc-v1-193"

Latest revision as of 16:25, 9 April 2006

general American philosophy represented by these people did not support the thought of traditional Hawaiian political, economic, or linguistic systems. Those who had been incorporated into government service believed that the country owed them something, rather than the other way around. They made little attempt to use Hawaiian in carrying out their duties, and instead complained about the lack of English- speaking abilities of Hawaiians who served with then in government. Again, there was direct conflict with the originally expressed goals of the mission to retain the indigenous language, while encouraging the indigenous people to develop a Western lifestyle. The insistence that English was more suited to high government service and recordkeeping (which it actually was not) removed much authority from Hawaiian control and opened government for a greater expansion by the tiny English-speaking community.

A situation thus developed in which Hawaiian was the language of the sovereign, low-order government service and the courts, local church systems, the public education system, law enforcement, low-order internal business, blue collar jobs, and the subsistence life of the country districts, while English was the language of high-paying, upperadministration jobs, and big business. The Hawaiian reaction to this development was deep resentment toward the English speakers (who had received their positions in the first place due to the largess of the nation) and a strong movement to learn English in order to better compete with the intrusive group.

Although the missionary-centered community had overstressed the importance of English as a means to maintain their power, the importance of developing English and other foreign language skills in order to secure occupations dealing with the outside world soon became clear to Hawaiians. As early as 1839, even before the missionary community had organized its own English language school at Punahou, young ali'i were educated exclusively in English at a school designed for that purpose called the Chiefs' Children's School (new Royal Elementary). It was not until 1851, however, that a government-sponsored school in a medium other than Hawaiian was established. Even this school, the Honolulu Free School, catered primarily to mixed-blood children, many of whom already had exposure to foreign languages through one non-Hawaiian parent. By 1854, regular government schools taught through the medium of English were opened and began to compete with the Hawaiian medium schools for the Department of Education's attention. Several private schools enrolling Hawaiian students, and often employing British teachers, also appeared after mid-century. By the late 1880's, the government had sent academically talented Hawaiian youth abroad to receive educations in England, Germany, Japan, and Italy.

Leadership within the Department of Education interpreted Hawaiian interest in learning English as indicative of a desire to abandon Hawaiian altogether. This coincided with the opinion of many younger individuals in the manifest destiny of Northern European races, the rising tide of Euro-American dominance, and the inferiority and ultimate doom of Asian and Pacific cultures. Suggestions to abandon Hawaiian language in favor of English came from the English-speaking community, but not all of them agreed with the idea. There were a few left who held to the original missionary ideals, as witnessed by Reverend Lorenzo Lyons'