The Sandwich Island Missionaries Lay The Foundation for a System of Public Instruction in Hawaii

Abstract

Aside from conversions, one of the most notable achievements of the Congregational and Presbyterian missionaries sent to the Sandwich Islands under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the development of an educational system for the nation. A broad enlightenment program for the islanders depended upon instruction in the indigenous tongue and this, of necessity, was delayed until the pioneer teachers had learned the language and reduced it to a written form. Nevertheless, before the evangelists were well settled at Kailau, on Hawaii, and Honolulu and Waimea, on Oahu, they made a start in English. The first classes formed in 1820 used Watt's catechism and the English Bible. Although it was desirable for the king, chiefs, and their advisers and business agents to know English, teaching such a difficult language to the common people as a whole would have required an immense expenditure of time and effort. The missionaries reasoned that if the masses were to be made literate within a reasonable period they would have to be taught in their own tongue. After the first printed sheets came from the press in the Hawaiian language, on January 7, 1822, and all were able to see their own words in print, learning to read, write, and spell was comparatively easy. Furthermore, after a definite alphabet was adopted in July 1826, every Hawaiian word was spelled precisely as it was pronounced. Any person who could combine two letters in a syllable and put two syllables together could both read and spell with readiness, which meant that Hawaiian children learned to read their language in only two or three days as compared with the years American children are obliged to spend learning our extremely non-phonetic English spelling.! This was an immense advantage to the missionaries, as it unlocked in a measure the rich volume of God's word. After the chiefs beheld their language in print they began to manifest a more lively interest in education for themselves and for their children and in the establishment and maintenance of schools for their people. Moreover, following the conversion of the sagacious Queen Regent Kaahumanu and the astute Prime Minister Kalaimoku orders and assistance were given to establish schools for the common people. After the public advocacy of instruction by the highest chiefs, in April 1824, similar action came from all parts of the kingdom. Learning also received a great impulse from the personal tours of the vigorous Kaahumanu, who went all through the islands commanding the people to listen to the Kumus, or missionary teachers, and the