Light in the Queen's Garden by Sandra E. Bonura

Author:Sandra E. Bonura
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: 2017-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Outside the School Gates

Pālama Settlement

Most of Miss Pope’s 1897 graduates had been together since early childhood. Kamehameha had been more than a school; it had been their home, and their classmates were like sisters. It’s not known what the girls felt at the point that their graduation sent them out into the world, but it’s easy to imagine the psychological impact of leaving a boarding school environment for the first time. Miss Pope’s feminine society was virtually isolated from the Hawaiian community in the early days. Girls returning home would probably have felt alienated as they reencountered cultural practices and beliefs so long denied to them. For those with no home to return to, this exodus from school might also have rekindled an earlier sense of helplessness. At Kamehameha, they were told what to do and when to do it. Now they would need to make these decisions on their own, something they may not have been prepared to do. The sudden loss of routine might have made them feel very vulnerable.

Though the departing girls’ feelings are unknown, Ida’s feelings about losing them were transparent. She was not ready to cut ties. She felt a deep responsibility to the girls, many of whom she had raised from childhood. This made it hard when she learned her first graduates faltered on the job market. The goal of giving them a high standard of education did not seem to be translating well into actual jobs. Curious at this point as to why her education did not adequately equip the pupils to support themselves, Ida wrote, “It would not be just to speak of the Girls’ School either as a success or a failure. Who will riddle me the how or why of any problem in three short years?”1

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