iMlmrnMIIUTiTtrr^^ BARRIO LIFE EDUCATION ClassIAlMt Book. f^< a 6oipglitN?_ CfiRfRIGHT DEPOSm BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION BY CAMILO pSIAS Assistant Director of Education for the Philippines and Author of "Education in the Philippines under the Spanish Regime " ; "Educational Methods and Practical Suggestions"; "The Philippine Readers," etc. Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York WORLD BOOK COMPANY 192 I WORLD BOOK COMPANY THE HOUSE OF APPLIED KNOWLEDGE Established, 1905, by Caspar W. Hodgson YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NeW YoRK 2126 Prairie Avenue, Chicago \^h'^ (9^ CopjTight, 1921, by World Book Company Copyright in Great Britain AU rights reserved JAN 2\ 1922 ©CI.A653624 PREFACE It is a matter of history that the first bill presented and approved at the first session of the Philippine Assembly had to do with barrio school education (1907). More recently, the enactment of the law appropriating thirty million pesos for educational extension further dignified the barrio school problem and gave it in- creased importance (1918). The extension program of the Bureau of Education demands barrio school exten- sion. The systematic development of barrio education is the most effective medium for increasing the percent- age of literacy in the Philippine Islands. It is also an effectual means of strengthening Filipino citizenship. In a country like the Philippines, where life is essen- tially rural, the position of the barrio teacher is one of great responsibility and importance. As I have myself lived in the midst of barrio environment and have had a great deal to do with the supervision of barrio schools, the barrio teacher has often been in my thoughts as a citizen and as a public servant. Not infrequently is he isolated, dependent almost entirely upon his measure of common sense and initiative for the solution of the many and varied problems that present themselves to him. The supervisor, either be- cause of the inadequacy of transportation or means of communication, or because the district under his supervision is too large, has not been able to give the amount of supervision which he knows full well the barrio school teacher sorely needs. It is with the idea of furnishing a companion volume for the teacher and for the supervising teacher in the Philippine school system that the present work has been undertaken. iv PREFACE Administrators, supervisors, and teachers can look into the future of barrio Hfe and barrio education with optimism. There is real encouragement in the achieve- ments in general education already attained. There is further encouragement in the knowledge that the school children of today have been instrumental in the produc- tion of superior gardening and agricultural products. There have been shown at garden exhibits, for example, upos 1.93 meters long, sitao beans 1.03 meters long, eggplants .67 meter in circumference, and some toma- toes weighing 20 ounces each. And surely it is inspir- ing to know that distributed all over the Philippines today there are some 5000 school gardens and over 100,000 home gardens, and that the yearly agricultural production of the school children amounts to more than a million pesos. I deem it the duty of barrio school education to enrich and vitalize barrio life. If the present work, a pioneer in this field, helps bring this desirable result, its appearance will have been justified. I wish to express my gratitude for the permission given me to use such parts as have heretofore appeared in periodicals in the form of articles. I wish also to record my indebtedness to the teachers and super- visory officers who looked over the manuscript and offered suggestions and criticisms. Camilo Osias Manila, 1921 CONTENTS PAGE Preface iii CBAPTEB I. Some Barrio School Problems 1 Philippine Life Essentially Rural 1 Importance of Barrio School Problem 2 Stability of Philippine Democracy Dependent upon "Average '* People 5 Occupations in Barrios 5 The General Barrio School Problem 7 Other Special Problems 8 Sources of Quotations and References 9 General Bibliography 9 II. The Improvement of Barrio Schools 10 Recent Progress 10 Room for Improvement 11 Suggested Improvements 12 Sources of Quotations and References 24 General Bibliography 25 III. Education for the Barrio Child 26 The Barrio Child's Rights 27 Economic Standards of Living 28 Educational Demands upon the Barrio Child 33 Creeds Proposed 36 The Barrio Boy's Creed 37 The Barrio Girl's Creed 38 Sources of Quotations and References 39 General Bibliography 39 IV. The Barrio Teacher and the Barrio School. . 40 A Glimpse of Barrio Conditions 40 The Barrio and Its Institution for Uplift . / 42 The Place of the Barrio Teacher 42 The Barrio Teacher's Function 43 Teacher's Qualifications Demanded 43 V vi CONTENTS CHAPTEB PAGE Shortcomings 44 Municipal Teachers' Attainments 45 Municipal Teachers* Salaries 46 Service of Barrio Teacher and School to the Community 48 Community Service to the School 52 Four Propositions 52 A Teacher's Creed 55 Sources of Quotations and References 56 General Bibliography 56 V. The Barrio School Curriculum 58 Curriculum Defined 58 Controlling Factors 59 The Philippine Elementary Curriculum 60 Primary Course 61 General Intermediate Course 62 Farming Course 62 Housekeeping and Household Arts Course . 63 Ours a Living Curriculum 63 Evolution of Our Curriculum 64 The Barrio Curriculum and Barrio Life 67 The Subjects and Some Guiding Principles 68 Hygiene and Sanitation 70 Athletics 71 Industrial Work 72 Sources of Quotations and References 75 General Bibliography 75 VI. Vocational Education 77 Social Value of Vocational Education 78 Barrio School Work, Vocational and Prevocational 79 Vocational Guidance 79 Vocational Provisions 82 Some Reasons for Industrial Activities 85 Main Objects 87 Sources of Quotations and References 87 General Bibliography 87 CONTENTS vii CHAPTER PAGE VII. Achievements of a Practical Character. . . 88 Sites and Buildings 88 Physical Welfare 91 Industrial Activities 92 Social Aspects 99 Thrift 102 Sources of Quotations and References 103 General Bibliography 103 VIII. Some Problems of Organization, Adminis- tration, AND Supervision 104 Distribution of Schools 105 Pyramidal Organization 106 Overcrowded Classes and Split Sessions 107 Disadvantages of Split Sessions 108 Promotion, Retardation, Elimination, and Ac- celeration 110 A Few Administrative and Supervisory Problems . . Ill Sources of Quotations and References 113 General Bibliography 113 IX. Standardizing Barrio Schools 114 Ends Sought in Standardizing 114 Some Precedents in Standardizing 115 Philippine Experience 118 Form for Inspection and Supervision 119 Proposed Requirements for Standardizing Barrio Schools 122 Tentative Form for Standardizing Barrio Schools . . 124 Sources of Quotations and References 128 General Bibliography 128 X. Vitalizing Agencies of Barrio Life 129 Denmark's Example: An Inspiration 129 Vitalized Schools 130 Gardening 1^1 Agricultural Clubs 1^1 Fruit Trees and Nurseries 132 viii CONTENTS CHAPTEB PAGB Food-production Campaign I34 Special Days I35 Civico-educational Lectures 136 Social and Literary Activities 137 Libraries and Reading Circles 138 Adult Schools 138 Decoration and Art 139 Conclusion and Appeal 139 Sources of Quotations and References 141 General Bibliography 141 Appendixes 143 A. Legislative Act for Extension of Free Ele- mental Instruction to All Children of School Age 143 B. Extracts from New Land Law Relative to Securing of Homesteads 145 C. Saving and Investing 149 D. Agricultural Education Bill 164 E. Barrio School Sanitation 170 Index 173 ILLUSTRATIONS A concrete one-room barrio school building Frontispiece OPPOSITE PAGE A temporary barrio school building 28 School garden at Lingsat, barrio of San Fernando, Union ... 28 A permanent barrio school building 92 A barrio schoolhouse built from voluntary contributions of barrio people 92 A typical barrio school garden 132 A boy with his poultry project 132 IS BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION CHAPTER ONE Some Barrio School Problems "No rural population has yet been able permanently to maintain itself against the lure of the town or the city. Each civilization at one stage of its develop- ment comprises a large proportion of rural people. But the urban movement soon begins, and continues until all are living in villages, towns, and cities. Such has been the movement of population in all the older countries of high industrial development, as England, France, and Germany. A similar movement is at present going on rapidly in the United States." (l) PHILIPPINE LIFE ESSENTIALLY RURAL Outside of the City of Manila and perhaps Cebu, Iloilo, and a few other large centers of population, life in the Philippine Islands is essentially rural. At the time of the publication of the 1903 Census of the Philippine Islands, there were in the Islands about 13,400 barrios, which may be regarded as the equiva- lent of villages.^ "In estimating this number, those 1 According to the Census of 1918 there were in that year 16,296 barrios, distributed among the different provinces as follows: Abra, 159 Bukidnon, 144 Cotabato, 218 Agusan, 101 Bulacan, 371 Davao, 236 Albay, 486 Cagayan, 493 Hocos Norte, 361 Antique, 321 Camarines Norte, 132 Ilocos Sur, 441 Bataan, 43 Camarines Sur, 426 Iloilo, 1310 Batanes, 19 Capiz, 510 Isabela, 249 Batangas, 552 Cavite, 171 Laguna, 581 Bohol, 460 Cebu, 880 Lanao, 283 1 2 BARRIO LIFE AND FARRIO EDUCATION barrios which are closely adjacent to one another so that several of them form practically one village or town are added together; thus the 23 barrios of Cebu which are urban and are close together have been counted collectively as the City of Cebu. In a number of cases the poblacion consists of a number of adja- cent urban barrios, and these have been added to- gether to form the village or town, to which is given the name of the municipality." (2) In 1903 nearly one third of all the 13,400 barrios of the archipelago contained less than 200 inhabitants each, and about three fifths contained less than 400 each. The barrios of less than 600 inhabitants each formed nearly three fourths of all the barrios of the Philippines. Almost one fourth of the population was found in barrios of less than 400 inhabitants each, and about three fifths in barrios of less than 1000 inhabitants each. Only 4 per cent of all the popula- tion was found in towns of more than 5000 inhabi- tants each, and between 10 and 11 per cent in towns of more than 3000 inhabitants each. There were but four towns in the Islands which exceeded 10,000 in- habitants each and 35 which exceeded 5000. The average size of the barrio in different provinces varied greatly. In 1903 the smallest average village was found in the comandancia of Dapitan, with 229 in- habitants. (3) Leyte, 969 Palawan, 132 Surigao, 146 Mindoro, 108 Pampanga, 410 Tarlac, 262 Misamis, 186 Pangasinan, 809 Tayabas, 763 Mt. Province, 563 Rizal, 203 Union, 354 Nueva Ecija, 223 Romblon, 138 Zambales, 113 Nueva Vizcaya, 153 Samar, 522 Zamboanga, 43 Occidental Negros, 442 Sorsogon, 384 Oriental Negros, 327 Sulu, 99 SOME BARRIO SCHOOL PROBLEMS 3 IMPORTANCE OF BABRIO SCHOOL PROBLEM In the United States, Betts states that "in the rural school is found the most important and puzzling educational problem of the present day." In the Philippine Islands the movement toward urban cen- ters has not as yet gone very far, and this is the oppor- tune time to discuss the problems connected with barrio life and barrio education in order that proper meas- ures may be taken to enrich and vitalize the life and education of the barrio population and in order that the undesirable urbanization of our barrio communities may be partly checked, or at least retarded. In our scheme of education the barrio communities have received their share of attention. Even the more backward tribes were not wholly neglected, as is proved by the presence of settlement farm schools and other schools among the Negritos, Mangyans, Moros, and other less advanced inhabitants. The Filipino people have given proofs of their sense of the impor- tance of the barrio school problem. The first Philip- pine Assembly consisting entirely of Filipinos approved for its first bill one that aided the construction of schools in barrio communities. That historic docu- ment is embodied in Act No. 1801, which is as follows: No. 1801. An Act providing for an appropriation of one million pesos for the construction of schools in the barrios under certain conditions. By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Legislature that : Section 1. There is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the construction of schoolhouses of strong materials in the barrios, the sum of one million pesos, from which BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION there shall be available for expenditure on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and eight, the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand pesos, and an additional two hundred and fifty thousand pesos shall likewise be avail- able for expenditure on the first day of January of each of the three years immediately following thereafter, under the following conditions : (a) All barrios belonging to a municipality that shall guarantee a daily attendance in their school of not less than sixty pupils, duly certified to by the Division Super- intendent of Schools and by the supervising teacher of the schools of the municipality, shall have the right or option to participate in the funds appropriated by this Act for the purpose indicated: provided, however. That the sum shall not exceed in each case four thousand pesos. (b) The municipality, either by making an appropri- ation from its funds or by means of voluntary contri- bution of funds, materials, or labor, shall contribute a sum not less than fifty per centum of the total amount which may be granted in accordance with this Act, and shall forward the application of the municipal council through the provincial board to the Secretary of Public Instruction, who shall have charge of, and approve the distribution of, said funds. (c) The buildings above mentioned shall be erected only upon lands of the exclusive ownership of the mu- nicipality, or which shall be donated for such end: Pro- vided, however. That the title must be in each case regis- tered in the Court of Land Registration, but the Secretary of Public Instruction may authorize the beginning of the construction work upon the filing of the application for the registration in the said Court of Land Registration: And provided further. That the drawing up of the plans and specifications and the execution of the work, and payment for the latter, shall be carried out in accordance with the laws and the regulations now in force. Sec. 2. All unexpended balance, after the completion of any of the works authorized by this Act, shall at once be covered into the Insular Treasury to the credit of this SOME BARRIO SCHOOL PROBLEMS 5 appropriation and shall not be withdrawn from it nor expended except for the purpose herein indicated. Sec. 3. This Act shall take effect on its passage. (Enacted, December 20, 1907.) The Act above quoted was amended by Act No. 1914 and again by Act 1974. On February 2, 1911, Act No. 2029 was enacted, appropriating the sum of one million pesos for the construction of school build- ings in the municipalities and barrios of the Philippine Islands under the same conditions as those prescribed in Act No. 1801, with the exception that provisions were made for a maximum allotment of P5000 for a single project and for a guaranteed attendance of 40 pupils. STABILITY OF PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY DEPENDENT UPON "average" PEOPLE The passage of the Acts above mentioned plus the constant recognition of the importance of barrio school education are proofs positive that the leaders who have to do with the future of this country are aware that the stability of democracy here in these Islands de- pends in a great measure upon the character and intelligence of the average people. The people who live in the modest homes of bamboo and nipa, the sober and industrious dwellers in more or less rural communities who compose the greater part of the Philippine population, those of the middle class, intel- ligent, happy, and prosperous, constitute the genuine strength of the Filipino people. OCCUPATIONS IN BARRIOS The people living in the barrios are engaged in various occupations. Some attend to household indus- 6 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION tries; some busy themselves with poultry or raising other domestic animals; and others devote part of their time to fishing, trading, etc. The one occupation that is well-nigh universal, however, is agriculture. In 1903 ^ there were in the Philippine Islands 815,453 farms covering an area of 2,827,704 hectares, of which 1,298,845 hectares were cultivated and 1,528,859 were uncultivated. These 815,453 farms and other parcels of land used for agriculture, classified by tenure and color of occupants, were distributed as follows: 778 to the white population, 308 to the mixed population, 813,382 to the brown population, 959 to the yellow population, while 26 farms were unknown. Classified by size and tenure, 658,543 of these same farms and other parcels of land used for agriculture belonged to owners, 14,403 to cash tenants, 132,444 to share ten- ants, 1233 to labor tenants, and 8830 were without rental. (4) It is thus quite apparent that it is necessary to give barrio school education an economic character in addi- tion to the traditional features of school work, so that it may be adjusted to the social and industrial condi- tions of the people living in barrio communities. This * Comparing the total number of farms in 1918 with that given in the Census of 1903, it appears that 1,955,276 farms were enumerated in 1918, while only 815,453 farms were registered in 1903. As regards the area under cultivation, the statistics of 1918 show 2,415,778 hectares, as against 1,298,845 in the Census of 1903. The average area of farms in 1918 was 2.34 hectares as against 3.47 hectares in 1903, which shows that in 1918 there was a greater division of property. Out of the 1,955,276 farms, 1,946,579 were owned by Filipinos, 2678 by Americans, 950 by Europeans, 1612 by Asiatics, and 3457 by other nationali- ties. In the Census of 1918, any piece of land not less than 200 square meters devoted to agriculture is considered as a "farm," while in the Census of 1903 any agricultural holding regardless of size was considered as a "farm." 1918 Census, Vol. I, p. 45. SOME BARRIO SCHOOL PROBLEMS 7 is one of the great problems of barrio school instruc- tion — to educate the children for the farm and barrio life rather than away from the farm and barrio life. THE GENERAL BARRIO SCHOOL PROBLEM The barrio school has the same general problem that is common to every school; namely, to assist in the general uplift of the individual and of society in order that the citizens individually and collectively may secure the highest and fullest measure of freedom, happiness, and efficiency possible. Barrio school edu- cation, like every other school education, must aim "to preserve, improve, and transmit the resources of society — to develop in each individual general and specific social efficiency." ^'General social efficiency means social intelligence and the power to deal effec- tively with social problems. Specific social efficiency means vocational efficiency — efficiency in a particu- lar calling." (5) Barrio school education should train for freedom, [/ making out of every pupil, if possible, an emancipated being and thus rendering him truly free — physically, morally, intellectually, and economically. An individ- ual physically weak is not truly free. A person who is a moral wreck is a slave. An ignorant citizen is not intellectually free, nor is one dependent for his sup- port economically free. Education that is adequate strives to give this threefold freedom, moral, intellec- tual, and physical. Barrio school education must strive to instill happi- ness in the men and women who are products of the barrio schools. They should be appreciative of the best interests — social, civic, aesthetic, etc. Tastes 8 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION and attitudes should be developed in order that the better nature of every citizen may be developed. Barrio school education will seek to develop indi- vidual and social efficiency. From the barrio school will come men and women who are intelligent, self- supporting, and useful. Educated citizens should not only know, but should be able to earn their means of livelihood. More important than earning one's liveli- hood, however, is living a good life. OTHER SPECIAL PROBLEMS The general barrio school problem has been briefly discussed. Many special problems connected with barrio life and barrio education present themselves. The barrio school has not only the problem common to all schools but also problems which are special, making it different from other types of schools. These special problems are conditioned by the needs, inter- ests, aspirations, and ideals of the individuals and the community that support the school. In many respects, therefore, the barrio school must be somewhat differ- ent from the town or city school. "In its organiza- tion, its curriculum, and its spirit it must be adapted to the requirements of the rural community. For, while many pupils from the rural schools ultimately follow other occupations than farming, yet the pri- mary function of the rural school is to educate for the life of the farm." (6) Some of the problems connected with barrio life and barrio education may be enumerated as follows ; Improvement of Barrio Schools Education for the Barrio Child The Barrio Teacher and the Barrio School SOME BARRIO SCHOOL PROBLEMS 9 Barrio School Curriculum Vocational Education Achievements of Practical Value Problems of Organization, Administration, and Su- pervision Standardizing Barrio Schools VitaHzing Agencies of Barrio Life Subsequent discussions will deal directly and indi- rectly with these and other problems related to barrio life and barrio education. Sources of Quotations and References Note. The numbers refer to the numbers in parentheses in the body of the text. (1) Betts, G. H. New Ideals in Rural Schools, p. ix. (2) Philippine Census, Vol. II, p. 35. (3) Philippine Census, Vol. II, pp. 36, 38. (4) Philippine Census, Vol. IV, Tables 1, 3, 4, and 5, pp. 250-279. (5) Hanus, Paul. School Efficiency. (6) Betts, G. H. New Ideals in Rural Schools, pp. 5-6. General Bibliography 1. Le Roy, James. Philippine Life in Town and Country, 2. Philippine Census, 1903. 3. Kern, O. J. Among Country Schools. 4. Betts, G. H. New Ideals in Rural Schools. 5. Betts, G. H., and Hall, O. E. Better Rural Schools. 6. Cubberley, E. p. Rural Life and Education. 7. The Improvement of Rural Schools. 8. Reports of the Commissioner of Education. 9. Monroe, Paul. Cyclopedia of Education, CHAPTER TWO The Improvement of Barrio Schools Barrio education antedates the formal establishment of public barrio schools. Throughout the period of Philippine history, the Filipino people have shown a praiseworthy interest in education. Either under the immediate tutorship of parents or under the charge of private teachers the elementary instruction of Fili- pino children was undertaken long before the Royal Decree of 1863, establishing a plan of primary instruc- tion in the Philippines, provided that "there shall be in each town ... at least one school of primary instruction for males and another for females." (l) Even in the midst of poverty many native chil- dren were given schooling, not infrequently at the sacrifice of almost the very necessities of life. It was natural, therefore, that barrio schools be provided for in the Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission creat- ing the Bureau of Education and insuring to the people a system of free public schools in the Philippine Islands. (2) RECENT PROGRESS Since the establishment of the public school system under the American administration, marked progress has been made. In 1898, at the coming of the Ameri- cans, there were 2160 public primary schools in the Islands. Under the present regime the number of public primary schools was 3924 for 1913, 3851 for 1914, 3994 for 1915, 4143 for 1916, 4288 for 1917, 4276 for 1918, 4412 for 1919, and 5280 for 1920. The greater number of these are barrio schools. It might be added that the number of intermediate schools was 10 THE IMPROVEMENT OF BARRIO SCHOOLS 11 278 in 1913, 309 in 1914, 350 in 1915, 351 in 1916, 368 in 1917, 423 in 1918, 501 in 1919, and 614 in 1920, and that the number of secondary schools was 44 in 1913, 41 in 1914, 42 in 1915, 44 in 1916, 46 in 1917, 48 in 1918, 50 in 1919 and 1920. The total annual enroll- ment in these schools was 606,597 for 1915, 681,588 for 1919, and 791,626 for 1920. (3) The greatest con- cern is the welfare of the primary pupils. The poHcy of the Bureau of Education has been to continue, and if possible increase, the number of primary schools, and to "authorize the establishment of intermediate and secondary schools only where the demand was strong and the chances for offering efficient instruc- tion were good." (4) Another sign of the popularity of the schools is the fact that annually the number seeking admittance is greater than the number which can be accommo- dated. The attitude of the barrio people toward the barrio schools on the whole has been one of willing cooperation. In some cases school sites have been donated, or paid for by the people themselves. Several buildings have been constructed without cost to the municipal treasury — materials and labor have been furnished free. In a few places there are standard buildings on standard school sites. The course of study for barrio schools is better defined now than it has ever been. The teachers are now a little better prepared, and consequently instruction has improved. ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT In spite of these and other signs of progress, how- ever, the barrio schools are still nearer to zero than one hundred per cent. There are still too many barrio 12 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION children housed in unsuitable buildings; too many buildings without proper equipment; too many schools without sites or with inadequate sites; too many structures that cannot meet the demands of modern sanitation; too many one-room schools that could better be managed if consolidated; too many over- crowded classes or classes not properly organized; too much poor instruction or inadequate interpre- tation of the curriculum; too wide scattering of barrio schools in large districts, making supervision difficult; and too httle money to carry on the work efficiently. Surely there is room, much room, for improvement. What some of these improvements may be we shall now proceed to consider. SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS 1. Better buildings. At the close of December, 1915, for the 4386 schools in operation there were only 723 permanent buildings, 383 semi-permanent buildings, and 955 temporary buildings. (5) Of the permanent buildings 344 were of standard Bureau of Education plan. It is very evident that a large majority of the schools in the Islands are inadequately housed. Vari- ous laws, such as Act No. 1275, Act No. 1580, Act No. 1688, Act No. 1801, Act No. 1914, Act No. 1974, Act No. 1954, Act No. 1961, Act No. 1988, Act No. 1994, Act No. 2029, and Act No. 2059, have been enacted that are favorable to schoolhouse con- struction, but the funds made available have been insufficient to carry out any considerable part of the building program. (6) There is need of further legislation and greater cooperation to push the building program. More and THE IMPROVEMENT OF BARRIO SCHOOLS 13 better buildings are imperative. Permanent school- houses should be preferred. Speaking of substantial and permanent structures one Director of Education quite appropriately said: There is a sense of permanency about them which is of particular value; typhoons come and go, and while other buildings in the vicinity are swept to the ground, the schoolhouse of such permanent material remains. The effect upon pupils and people is quite different in cases where the schoolhouse is destroyed by every strong wind. Furthermore, there is a great deal of time lost from school work when temporary buildings are blown down. It generally happens that a great number of buildings are destroyed in the vicinity, and that it will be impossible to secure at once the labor to reconstruct the schoolhouse. The loss of a few months is a serious thing in the school life of the pupil. It often happens that, as a temporary expedient, school is again started in some other building which is generally entirely in- adequate for school purposes. Furthermore, in the concrete building provision can be made for proper in- terior equipment and arrangement and for the protection of school supplies. Again, the permanent building lends itself to use as a social center in a way which a temporary- building cannot. The people look to it with a pride which is lacking where buildings are of poor temporary con- struction. If there were any way of assigning a money value to such advantages as these, it would be clearly shown that the considerable sums spent in permanent construction constitute a far better investment than the smaller sums which are repeatedly invested in temporary buildings. (7) In order to help solve the problem of housing the barrio schools, it would seem desirable (1) to carry out the "unit" system of construction whereby additions may be made without injury to the original structure. 14 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION (2) to have foresight in setting aside a definite sum per year in the municipal presupuestos, or budgets, for building purposes, (3) to maintain a creditable stand- ard for temporary buildings, and (4) to require the provision of a fairly decent and adequate temporary building before opening any new barrio school. 2. More adequate school sites. During the school year 1915-16, 3994 municipal primary public schools were in operation. For the same period there were 2174 sites, of which 71 were provincial sites, 704 were municipal central sites, and 1399 were municipal barrio sites. (8) Of these sites about one third are standard in size and adequate for the school purposes, the stand- ard being one-half hectare for a rural school and one hectare for a central school. It is deemed impor- tant that the school site be ample " (1) to display the building properly, (2) to provide for additional build- ings to accommodate industrial activities or increase in attendance, (3) to provide for gardening, (4) to provide grounds for baseball and other games, and (5) to make possible the placing of the building at a distance from other houses, thus allowing a free cir- culation of air, the maintenance of sanitary condi- tions about the schools, and freedom from noises which may disturb school work." (9) From the statistics just given, it is obvious that many schools are without sites and that some have inadequate sites. It is therefore necessary to put forth an effort for a period of years to secure more first-class sites. A first-class site is one which (1) has a minimum area of one-half hectare for every 200 pupils of the annual enrollment, or fraction thereof, up to 2 hectares for 800 pupils or more, (2) is well THE IMPROVEMENT OF BARRIO SCHOOLS 15 located and easily accessible, (3) is well drained and sanitary, (4) allows the proper laying out of athletic field and playground, and (5) has soil suitable for gardening and agricultural activities. (10) It will be of assistance in securing more adequate school sites (1) if we put forth effort to develop public opinion favorable for acquisition of standard school sites and the erection of permanent schoolhouses, (2) if we make it widely known that nothing can be done in the way of securing insular aid for permanent school building, unless there is adequate school site, and (3) if we open no new school unless there is an ade- quate school site provided. (11) 3. Better equipment. In barrio schools today hun- dreds of children sit on benches without backs or at desks not properly adjusted. Some even have to sit on the floor. There are classrooms without a table or a chair for the teacher or an aparador for objects, materials, books, and supplies. Concerted action is needed to secure sufficient desks properly adjusted to the size of pupils; to furnish each classroom with a chair, a table, and an aparador; and to have a set of the pictures prescribed in the bulletin on Good Man- ners and Right Conduct framed in wood and covered with glass. Bulletin boards and waste baskets should be included in the list of equipment to be provided. In addition to these, provision must be made for tools needed in gardening and school-ground improve- ment, equipment for domestic science, tools and sup- plies for woodworking, bamboo and rattan furniture, or other industrial courses offered. While the list is by no means complete, to have these things alone will do much to improve our barrio schools. (12) 16 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION 4. Better sanitation. It should be needless to men- tion that buildings used for school purposes ought to be spacious and sanitary. There should be proper lighting and ventilation. At least two sanitary out- houses, one for boys and another for girls, should be found in every standard school site. Flush closets and permanent outhouses are, of course, the best. Where it is not possible to have these, there must at least be semi-permanent or temporary buildings of the "pail" or "pit" type. In several provinces very satisfactory movable temporary outhouses have been devised. It will add to the beauty of the grounds if these acces- sory buildings are screened with climbing vines or judiciously planted trees. A sanitary water tank or jar with good, clean water, preferably boiled water, should be found in every barrio school. Sanitary drinking cups or individual cups should be used. Practical lessons in hygiene and sanitation are essential among barrio pupils, who should take a part in the activities to clean and beau- tify the school and premises. "One of the saddest things I saw," said Booker T. Washington, "was a young man . . . sitting down in a one-room cabin, with grease on his clothing, filth all around him, and weeds in the yard and garden, engaged in studying a French grammar." (13) It would indeed be the height of folly to turn out barrio school children learned in book knowledge but ignorant in good living. 5. Consolidation. Partly due to the natural desire of the people to have a school close to their homes, a number of one-room schools have been established. For years to come many of these schools in isolated THE IMPROVEMENT OF BARRIO SCHOOLS 17 hamlets will be a necessity. It is, nevertheless, true that much loss in school eflSciency results from the existence of an unnecessarily large number of separate httle schools which could well be combined into larger schools in more central locations. The consoHdation movement, begun in Massachusetts, after the middle of the nineteenth century, has been a great factor in the improvement of the American rural schools during the last two decades, especially in the states of the Middle West. History, it seems, repeats itself not only from age to age but from country to country. Now that the barrio schools in the Philippines are more or less in the formative stage, it would be the part of wisdom for administrative and supervisory officers to have an eye to consolidation. The idea of consolidation should be borne in mind in the estab- lishment of barrio schools in the future, especially in fast-growing communities or in localities with poten- tial possibilities of growth. The establishment of in- termediate schools or high schools, if, indeed, it is not now a problem, will surely become one in the future. Intelligent foresight is necessary in the choice of location for barrio schools, therefore. The consoli- dation idea should furnish a key to the question, making possible their future expansion. 6. Organization and supervision. Barrio schools of two grades and even of three grades under one teacher are not unknown. There are barrio schools where one teacher has charge of about 100 pupils. There are also barrio schools with classes organized under the "split session" plan. Under this arrangement a first or second grade class comes in the morning from 7 : 30 to 10: 00 under one teacher and another class of third 18 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION or fourth grade comes the rest of the morning and in the afternoon under the same teacher. It is needless to say that under these conditions the best work can- not be done. Better organization, with the size of classes regulated, is obviously necessary. We shall not at this time dwell at length on organization. We merely wish to quote what a California superintend- ent said: "We do not beheve that it is possible for a teacher to face forty different little personalities and individualities, and assume the responsibility for their mental, spiritual, and physical development, and do it successfully. It is beyond human power." (14) Many of the barrio schools are now so scattered, and some of the supervising districts are so large, that effective supervision is difficult, if not well-nigh im- possible. As a result much of what goes on in the name of supervision is nothing but inspection. Better organization and better supervision are two among the great needs of barrio schools. These will be taken up more fully under the general discussion of the problems of organization, administration, and super- vision (pages 104-113). 7. Better instruction. Mention has been made of the fact that the instruction in the barrio schools is superior to what it was a few years ago. Nevertheless, much haphazard, aimless, and ineffective classroom instruction still goes on and will go on perhaps for several years to come. Much as we may be conscious of the fact that schools exist primarily that teaching may go on, the best teaching can hardly be expected with the present poor buildings and sites in many of the barrio schools, the poor equipment, the isolation of some schools, the overcrowded classes, the low THE IMPROVEMENT OF BARRIO SCHOOLS 19 salaries paid and the consequent lack of thoroughly trained corps of teachers. The improvement of in- struction is vitally connected with the question of better teachers, and the securing of better teachers is in turn conditioned largely by the question of better pay. 8. Better interpretation of the curriculum. A sepa- rate discussion is to be devoted to the barrio school curriculum in its various aspects (pages 58 to 76); but we wish to touch here upon one phase — that which is related or should be related to the soil, plant life, and animal life which are the chief sources of wealth in the barrio and, for that matter, in the islands. The chief business of the country is farming, which deals with these. The economic needs of the country and the world must be met by the wise and intelligent handling of these. The efficiency of farming depends upon a knowledge of them and the way to handle them most intelligently and profitably. Yet such has been and is now the inefficiency of rural education that the farmers who live closest to these greatest sources of wealth often know least about them and get least out of them. The majority of these farmers do not get enough out of them to supply the bare necessities of the meagerest life, and have nothing left to contribute to the wealth of the com- munity or to supply good schools, good churches, and other necessaries for the intellectual, social, and spiritual needs of the community. Should not country boys be taught in country schools, by teachers prepared to teach them, the simple principles of the conservation, the fertilization, the tillage, and the drainage of soils, and their practical application; a knowledge of plants and plant life and their adaptation to soil and environment, how to grow them and how to handle them most profit- ably; of animals, how to feed them, how to care for them, 20 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION how best to utilize them? Health, food, raiment, and shelter — these are the elemental needs of life. They are more easily supplied in the country than anywhere else, and yet, on the whole, more poorly supplied there. How much does the country teacher know about either? Should not sanitation, food selection and preparation, canning, sewing, dressmaking, millinery, homemaking, and deco- ration have a place in the preparation of the country teacher and in the curriculum of the country school for country girls? (15) The opportunities of barrio schools to serve the agricultural interests of barrio communities are legion. Gardening is one of the industrial courses in the course of study. Garden days, fruit-tree planting. Arbor Days, agricultural clubs, cooking — these are among the agencies for agricultural betterment. Barrio school education will become more efficient if it is instrumental in enriching barrio life. School officials should consciously influence barrio communities to utilize elementary science and intelligent industry as factors in prosperity. When this is done effectively, the time will not be far distant when in substance there may be said of the Philippines what one writer said of the United States in the following hopeful words : Immobile masses of men used to die of famine while a few hundred miles away crops rotted on the ground for lack of transportation. Famine no longer threatens a country where railroads carry freight. United States laboratories and food stations are evolving cereals and condensing nutriment in their tissues. Government ex- perts are studying food for men and cattle on the Russian steppes and in half -forgotten oases of the Sahara. Mr. Luther Burbank hopes to overcome nature in the deserts of the West with the science-born thornless cactus; he THE IMPROVEMENT OF BARRIO SCHOOLS 21 doubles the size of fruits and brings new ones into being, in a few years outdistancing the pace of thousands of generations of his "master" — nature. The Secretary of Agriculture recently declared that serious crop failures will occur no more. Agriculture has become a science, our common foods grow in conquered habitats, the desert is sown, and waste land is made fertile. Unseasonable frosts, prolonged droughts and rains, torrid heat, insect pests, plant disease — all these familiar menaces he believes will soon cease to threaten the farmer. Never again will widespread famine, plagues, scarcity prices, or commercial panics be the result of defective husbandry. Stable, progressive farming controls the terror, disorder, and devastation of earlier times. A new agriculture means a new civilization. Physicians and sanitarians tell us that the recent yellow fever epidemic was the last which shall find foothold in the United States. Their knowledge of its causes gives them power to subdue it. To recall the horror that has accompanied the plague since history began is to foresee what a change in social traditions and industrial development this revolution alone will make. The food, housing, and general hygiene of the workers at Panama, for instance, can be cared for so scientifically that the canal will be dug under conditions possible fifty years ago only north of the frost line. (16) 9. More adequate funds. We come now to the most important of the improvements proposed; namely, the provision of more adequate funds. This is basic. Practically every other improvement here suggested depends upon it. There must be a very material increase in the funds available for school purposes, and the increased funds must be secured from higher taxation. The doctrine of discontent must be preached throughout the land. We must not cheapen education. The people, however, ought to be willing to make the sacrifice. More money must 22 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION be forthcoming, and it must be expended in a wiser and more sensible way. True economy is not merely reducing expenses. Rather it means securing more money and utilizing it in a better way. That our funds for general educational purposes, and particularly for barrio school purposes, are very in- adequate every educated citizen knows. Many of our children are refused admission; many of the teachers are poorly trained, and the number employed is insuf- ficient; buildings are inadequate; more sites are not secured ; proper equipment is lacking — these and many other deficiencies are due to lack of adequate funds. What are now the sources of revenue for the sup- port of municipal schools — central and rural .^^ In the regularly organized provinces municipal school rev- enues are derived chiefly from the following sources: (1) A tax of one fourth of 1 per cent on the assessed value of real property; (2) 10 per cent of internal revenue collections divided among the various munici- palities of the Islands on the basis of population as shown by the Census of 1903; and (3) transfers from general funds to school funds. The new Administra- tive Code provides: There shall be maintained in the treasury of every municipality a special fund to be known as the school fund, into which shall be paid all moneys accruing thereto by law or by appropriation from the municipal general fund. Said fund shall be available exclusively for the mainte- nance of public schools, including the construction, purchase, repair, and equipment of school buildings, the purchase of land therefor, the payment of teachers and incidental expenses, and other lawful school purposes of the municipality. (17) THE IMPROVEMENT OF BARRIO SCHOOLS 23 Regarding the division of proceeds between prov- inces and municipalities, the following provisions govern: The proceeds of the real-property tax shall be applied to the use and benefit of the respective provinces and municipalities wherein the property liable to such tax is situated. The share of a province in said tax shall be levied by the provincial board thereof, whose duty it shall be, on or before the thirty-first day of December of each year, to fix by resolution an uniform rate of taxation for the succeeding year, in an amount not less than one eighth nor more than three eighths of one per centum. The share of a municipality shall in the same manner be levied by ordinance of the municipal council thereof in an amount not less than one fourth nor more than one half of one per centum. (18) If anything approaching satisfactory improvements is to be obtained, there must be a doubling of funds. Progressive citizens can render no service more patriotic than that of working for additional taxation for pur- poses of educational extension. Legislators possessed of the qualities of statesmanship will show themselves real architects of the nation by the enactment of laws that would increase the burdens and privileges of taxation for education. Our present burden is rela- tively small. It is said that the contribution per capita to the insular government here in the Philip- pines is about P4.00. In the United States today the government receives P66.00 in taxes for every man, woman, and child in its population. In England the per capita tax is P120.00. Measured in terms of per capita cost of educating a child, or in terms of rates of taxation, the Filipino people pay comparatively 24 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION little. There is need here of a more widespread view of taxation, not only as a duty but as a privilege. A people like ours, which loves progress, must be willing to pay the price. It would improve our educational situation greatly if all municipalities were to raise their rate of taxation to the maximum now allowed by law; if the legisla- ture would enact a law raising the rate of taxation, or authorizing municipal councils to make additional levy for education; if lands were assessed more equi- tably and justly for purposes of taxation; if the citi- zens cultivated their lands more nearly in accord with scientific agriculture so that they might be more prosperous and could meet more easily their just obligations; and if all concerned were to labor for more adequate financing and intelligent apportion- ment and for greater equalization of the burdens and benefits of taxation for education. Sources of Quotations and References (1) Article 3 of Decree. See full text in Osias, C. Education in the Philippines under the Spanish Regime, pp. 105-113. (2) The School Law of the Philippine Islands, as amended by all acts of the Philippine Commission up to and including Act No. 1530, together with executive orders of the Gover- nor-General and opinions of the Attorney-General rendered prior to or on August 6, 1906, which affect the Bureau of Education. (3) Sixteenth Annual Report of the Director of Education, p. 19. 1919 figure taken from the Twentieth Annual Report of the Director of Education. (4) Sixteenth Annual Report, p. 20. (5) , Table No. 19, pp. 154-157. (6) Bulletin No. 37, Bureau of Education. School Buildings and Grounds, pp. 14-16. (7) Sixteenth Annual Report of the Director of Education, pp. 62-63. THE IMPROVEMENT OF BARRIO SCHOOLS 25 (8) Sixteenth Annual Report, Table I, p. 99, and Table XIV, p. 106. (9) Bataan Division Circular No. 7, s. 1915; Bulletin No. 37, Bureau of Education. (10) Service Manual, Bureau of Education, 1917, Ch. VI. (11) Bataan Division Circular No. 7, s. 1915. (12) Shaw. School Hygiene. Osias, C. Educational Methods and Practical Suggestions, pp. 65-70. (13) Up from Slavery, Ch. VIII. (14) Francis, J. H. High Points in the Los Angeles Plan (National Education Association Proceedings, Vol. UV, pp. 988-993). (15) JoYNER, J. Y. Rural Education {National Education Proceed- ings, Vol. LIV, pp. 269-274). ' (16) Patten, S. N. The New Basis of Civilization, pp. 15-16. (17) Administrative Code, 1916, Sec. 2238. (18) Service Manual, Bureau of Education, 1917, p. 235. General Bibliography 1. Bulletin No. 37, Bureau of Education. School Buildings and Grounds. 2. Sixteenth Annual Report of the Director of Education. 3. Service Manual, Bureau of Education, 1916. 4. CuBBERLEY, E. P. The Improvement of Rural Schools. 5. National Education Association Proceedings, Vol. LIV. 6. Washington, Booker T. Up from Slavery. CHAPTER THREE Education for the Barrio Child In a democratically constituted society, education is a grave concern. Like politics, it is everybody's busi- ness. The ideal of popular education is a beacon light to all who believe in the evil of ignorance, in the effi- cacy of instruction, and in the joy of service. Our people are conscious of the desirability of that form of social life in which interests are interdependent and interbound and where readjustment is an important consideration. We therefore will never suffer the torch of education to go out or to become dimmed. We will at all times support the cause of practical and systematic education. The devotion of democracy to education is a familiar fact. The superficial explanation is that a government resting upon popular suffrage cannot be successful unless those who elect and who obey their governors are educated. Since a democratic society repudiates the principle of external authority, it must find a substitute in voluntary disposition and interest; these can be created only by education. But there is a deeper explanation. A de- mocracy is more than a form of government; it is prima- rily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. The extension in space of the number of individuals who participate in an interest so that each has to refer his own action to that of others, and to con- sider the action of others to give point and direction to his own, is equivalent to the breaking down of those barriers of class, race, and national territory which kept men from perceiving the full import of their activity. These more numerous and more varied points of contact denote a greater diversity of stimuli to which an individual has to respond; they consequently put a premium on variation in his action. They secure a liberation of powers 26 EDUCATION FOR THE BARRIO CHILD 27 which remain suppressed as long as the incitations to action are partial, as they must be in a group which in its exclusiveness shuts out many interests. (1) THE BARRIO CHILD's RIGHTS In theory all children have equal rights and privi- leges in sharing the benefits of education. In practice, however, the child in the barrio has not so far had the same opportunity for instruction as the child in the town or city. To be sure, there is no conscious at- tempt to deny the barrio child any of the rights and privileges which are his by law, but the absence of a school in his barrio, or the inaccessibility of the nearest school, or the general deficiency of the school in his barrio, for him has been a serious disadvantage. The barrio child is entitled to as good an educational opportunity as that enjoyed by the most favored child, in town or city, attending the Philippine public school. This is not to say that the barrio school shall be an exact copy of the school in town or city. There are certain essentials common to both types of schools, and it is the barrio child's right to have these essen- tials. There are differences in environment and con- ditions, however, which should lead to some differen- tiation. What this differentiation should be will be in part indicated here and will be more fully covered in the discussion of the barrio school curriculum (page 58). It may be stated here that the barrio school ought to be just as efficient in fitting the barrio child for the life he is to live as the town or city school is in fitting the town or city child for the life he is to live. (2) It is the barrio child's right to have an opportunity to enjoy the general benefits that accrue from our 28 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION public school system. He is entitled to a good hygienic and sanitary school building. He is entitled to a first- class site where he may have ample space for outdoor work and play. He is entitled to the use of good equip- ment and to the enjoyment of art in pictures and art in the great out-of-doors. He is entitled to good sani- tary facilities. He is entitled to a school with big possibilities of growth and improvement. He is en- titled to a good teacher and good instruction. He is entitled to pursue a course adapted to his needs, interests, and capacities. And, let us not forget, he is also entitled to good, wholesome pleasure and plenty of it. In short, it is the inalienable right of the barrio child to acquire an education and to live a healthy, normal child's life. It should be said in passing that the term "barrio child" applies to a barrio girl as well as to a barrio boy. The frequent use of the masculine pronoun in refer- ring to the barrio child does not mean that the barrio girl is being discriminated against. It must be ad- mitted that the barrio girls do not seem to be getting benefit from the schools to the same extent as the bar- rio boys; the enrollment of the barrio schools shows a great preponderance of boys. However, it is a part of the writer's creed for barrio education that the barrio girl is entitled to every whit as good an opportunity as that enjoyed by the barrio boy. ECONOMIC STANDARDS OF LIVING The economic and social conditions in a community determine in a great measure the character of its school. In a community where the citizens are well- to-do and progressive, where the people have a civic Bureau of Lducalio/i, Manila, V. 1. A temporary barrio school building. ^ .^ * \i <^ > ■'■'iifc' -^pr • c«^. . . ^aHt t ii^fej^' * ' '^••^ p%i J R^HyflHUISvlf k' Ll^^rW^^^^H Bk •if: Ej^SWHEl". . mB ^^HHi^'^ ^-^ 1^ S,*'?^*] ':^"2 . , .U*|/ Bureau of Education, Manila, P.I. School garden at Lingsat, barrio of San Fernando, Union. EDUCATION FOR THE BARRIO CHILD 29 pride, where the patrons are high-minded and big- hearted — here we may generally expect a school which is a factor in making life freer, happier, and more efficient. On the other hand, in a community where the members are poor and contented, where the people are more or less indifferent to community needs and interests, where parents send their children to school to get rid of them part of the day — there you may generally look for a poor school, a school out of touch with the community. It is not getting enough helpful cooperation from the people, and it is not giving enough to make life larger, better, and more worth living. In such a community there is need of preaching the spirit of discontent. The people must be led to acquire higher tastes and a desire for better things. The standard of living must be raised. A family happy with rice and salt, content with scanty clothing, and satisfied to live in a shack, can hardly be expected to be greatly concerned about the schooling of the children. It is no disgrace to admit that most of our barrio people, the patrons of the barrio school, have not yet conceived education broadly. They do not have high expectations from the schools. They think that the schools have fulfilled their function when the children have been enrolled and have been furnished with the simplest rudiments of "reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic." They have not grasped the idea that education is a process of enlarg- ing and enriching life. The consequence is that the barrio school has not conceived its function in a broad way. The attitude of the community is reflected in the character of the school. A stream, in truth, can- not rise higher than its source. (3) The remedy lies 30 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION in elevating barrio community and barrio school standards. There must be a mutual concession and cooperation. Betts speaks of the danger in rural communities of premature aging and stagnation. (4) He says: The indisputable tendency of farmers and their wives to age so rapidly, and so early to fall into the ranks of "fogy ism," is due far more to lack of variety and recreation and to dearth of intellectual stimulus than to hard labor, severe as this often is. Age is more than the flight of the years, the stoop of the form, or the hardening of the ar- teries; it is also the atrophy of the intellect and the fading away of the emotions resulting from disuse. The farmer needs occasionally to have something more exciting than the alternation of the day*s work with the nightly "chores." And his wife should now and then have an opportunity to meet people other than those for whom she cooks and sews. Patten, in The New Basis of Civilization, (5) blocks in elementary fashion " the income graduation whereby men pass from one stage of progress to another," and he says that the relative economic levels in America look somewhat like this: $5000 Economic Leisure $2000 Economic Initiative $1200 Economic Independence $800 Economic Freedom $500 Family Continuity $300 Poverty Dissolution It is believed that if the dollar sign ($) were changed and the peso sign (P) substituted in this table without EDUCATION FOR THE BARRIO CHILD 31 changing the figures, we should have a table which would approximate the "relative economic levels" in the Philippine Islands. And the following discussion of conditions in America by the same author would prove greatly insiructive and illuminating to us as a people. The dissolution of families in large cities is well-nigh inevitable when its income falls below $500. Those which do cling together are chiefly the latest comers, intruded material which has not yet taken the pattern that their forerunners are adopting. The Italian parents, who landed in New York a year ago, send their ten-year- old boy to work instead of to school, not only because they take it for granted that he must work, but also because they do not grasp the fact that poor boys here go to school. Five years later, when mother and sisters are discomfited by their native dresses and the father wants half -holidays, — when the old social forces have weakened before the advance of new economic motives, — the ten-year-old boy may still be sent to work. But now there are complaints. "Pietro ought to study Roosevelt- book [history], but padrone is too mean," said a mother, fretfully, herself the daughter of a long line of peasants whose family standards did not include literacy. And now her family, living on a dollar a day, verges on dis- solution; it must move upward toward $500 or dowTiward, where the eliminating forces of prostitution, intemperance, and the other vices sweep it out of the reckoning. The disturbances made by the foreign influx do not threaten a permanent depression; they are but the cost of moving populations over the face of the globe and the clashing of new forces against old ones, which cannot endure outside the condition that generated them. With $500 the Americanized family can perpetuate it- seK, balanced by the juncture of depressant social instincts which arrest it below the $800 level, where men without them would be free, and the upthrusting economic motives 32 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION that would postpone the family until full nutrition were secured. If emphasis is laid, as it ought to be, on the value of the wife's home services in the $500 group, the real income will be estimated at more than the nominal one, and her influence in lifting the members into the next stratum of wants will be as evident here as it is in the succeeding divisions. The computation is based on the money wage of the head of the family and gives no equivalent to the labor services of the wife, which un- doubtedly raises the income in goods above the point commonly assigned. In comparing the workingman with the man of economic independence a fair basis of judg- ment cannot be reached unless a value be given to the unpaid duties performed by the wife, which in other grades of living are provided for from the family purse. A budget of $2000 a year will generally include an item for household services performed by a maid or occasional scrub and wash women. When the work is done by the laborer's wife, she should be credited with a similar item and her influence be noted as raising the standard of family life very much as the presence of a domestic em- ployee raises it. The man who earns $500 and is helped at home by a capable wife certainly has in her services the value of a hundred dollars. What does this have to do with the general school question.^ Much. Standards of living are defined, and education should be a great factor in influencing boys and girls, men and women, to aspire and labor for a higher standard of living. The eflScacy of the schools to assist the citizens to place themselves upon an economic plane of life above the level of poverty, yes, above the level of mere family continuity, should be considered an important measure of their efficiency. EDUCATION FOR THE BARRIO CHILD 33 EDUCATIONAL DEMANDS UPON THE BARRIO CHILD The new standards of living make new demands upon the future citizens born and reared amidst barrio environment. Education at such an age as this is not a luxury but an individual and social necessity. What, then, should the barrio child's education con- sist of? The barrio child, like the city child, should possess the minimum essentials common to rural and urban school systems. At present the education offered in barrio schools is primary education. In many of them not even the full primary course is taught. The new day, however, has dawned upon our barrio population. It is only a question of a few years before intermediate instruction will be the rightful heritage of the barrio child. Many of the present generation should yet live to see secondary instruction in junior high schools in a few of our larger and more progressive barrios. Let us consider the five needs of the child that the school must meet. (1) Confining ourselves to the present and the im- mediate future, we must admit that physical instruc- tion should be a vital part of the barrio child's educa- tion. The barrio boy or girl needs to learn to play and to enjoy. Wholesome games and sports should be taught to the barrio child to replace the "tangga," and other amusements having the gambling element which were common pastimes of childhood in the days of old. Clean recreation should drive out much of the dreary monotony of barrio environment. Well- conducted calisthenics and properly managed athletic meets should at intervals be shown for the benefit of the participants and for the entertainment of the 34 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION neighborhood. Physical instruction should include that training which fosters the formation of hygienic and sanitary habits. In short, the physical education of the barrio child should be that which is conducive to the conservation and, if possible, the improvement of health. It should make for greater physical eflSciency. (2) The barrio child's education should include prac- tical training in intellectual pursuits which will quicken his mind. He needs linguistic training; he needs to acquire the power to read and the habit of reading; he needs to possess the ability to write; and he needs number work which will identify him with the quanti- tative relations of life. The barrio child should also have some notion of the world about him, of the story of his people and of his country's past. Training in habits of good citizenship should constitute one of his priceless possessions. His academic studies will be discussed more definitely in a later chapter (page 58), where the barrio school curriculum is considered in some detail. (3) iEsthetic training is a vital part of the child's instruction. He must be schooled to abhor the evil and the ugly and to love the good and the beautiful in men and nature. His work in drawing, his school environment, his share in beautifying the grounds, and countless other agencies should assist to further his growth in aesthetic appreciation. Influences, direct and indirect, should be brought to bear so that the barrio homes may be cleaner, more orderly, and more substantial. (4) Vocational education is necessary to fit the barrio child for participation in the social life of the new barrio communities that are fast coming into EDUCATION FOR THE BARRIO CHILD 35 being. There must be training of an industrial nature to give the barrio pupils opportunity to acquire in- dustrial knowledge, industrial skill, and industrial sympathy. When barrio intermediate schools are estabhshed, — as surely they must be in a future not remote, — they must be " barrio-ized " intermediate schools. They must offer courses somewhat differen- tiated from those given in similar schools of the towns or cities. For intermediate boys of the barrios, the special farming course is best fitted. The dream of many of our thinkers, of turning the tide of youth from clerical interests into agricultural channels, will be more effectively realized when these " barrio-ized " intermediate schools with farming courses have been established and efficiently administered. For inter- mediate girls of the barrios, a modified and improved special housekeeping course should be devised. Just as the barrio intermediate courses for boys should prepare the boys for farm life and for fatherhood, just so should the barrio intermediate courses prepare the girls for home life on the farm and for motherhood. (5) It is not enough to train the barrio child for his vocation. He must also be fitted for some avocation. Training for leisure should go hand in hand with training for work. The citizen of the new order must not only have a chief life work but must have some side interests to vary his activity and to widen his area of shared concerns. The idle hands not only do mis- chief, but cause poverty. A man's vocation should be his primary concern; his avocation, a secondary matter. Nevertheless, his training nowadays is in- complete unless there is a clean, interesting, and profitable avocation to occupy his leisure hours. S6 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION The education for the barrio child, then, should make for all-round development. His schooling should ap- peal to his many-sided self. It should minister to his physical, intellectual, moral, aesthetic, and indus- trial well-being. But let us not be over-enthusiastic in our claims for barrio education. While we believe in the principle that barrio education should adjust barrio children to barrio life, we are also conscious of the fact that urbanization cannot be wholly checked. Some — perhaps many — will not be able to resist the lure of town or city life. It is inevitable and probably desirable that some be thus lured. Reac- tion may yet come, however. When the standards of barrio life are elevated, when educational opportuni- ties are more nearly equalized, the call of the farm may make itself heard. It may — who knows .^^ — prove an irresistible call, luring — yes, " barrio-izing " — some of our urban population. Meanwhile let us have faith in barrio life and barrio education, and in that faith let us labor for the " barrio-ization " of most of our barrio population and a few of our urban popu- lation. CREEDS PROPOSED President Creelman of Ontario Agricultural College gave pertinent suggestions for improving the rural school curricula before members of the National Edu- cation Association interested in rural school questions, at a meeting held in New York City. (6) At the close of his address he proposed as rural school creeds those used for Ontario country boys and girls. The creeds are sound and instructive. The following creeds patterned after them are submitted as creeds for barrio boys and girls: EDUCATION FOR THE BARRIO CHILD 37 THE BARRIO BOY'S CREED 1. I believe that life in the barrio can be made as pleasant, as hygienic, and as profitable as life in the town or city. 2. I believe that if I kill the weeds on our farm, we shall be well paid by the increased crop alone, to say nothing of the benefit to our neighbors. 3. I believe that by keeping more chickens and by careful selection of breeds I can double the output of the flock. 4. I believe that by keeping twice as many work animals and by taking better care of them we can grow much larger crops of rice, corn, and other things. 5. I believe that by keeping a good home garden we can increase, vary, and improve our diet. 6. I believe that by better selection of seeds and plants we can double our crops. 7. I believe that by planting fruit trees, keeping a good fence, and growing climbing vines, shrubs, and flowers, we shall be better contented and happier in every way and our land will increase in value. 8. I believe in good health and that cleanliness is the greatest preventive of any disease. 9. I believe that it is more comfortable and more hygienic to sleep on a bed and under a mosquito net. 10. I believe in pluck, not in luck. 11. I believe in the dignity of labor and in farming as an honorable calling, and I am glad that work and gardening are taught in school. 12. 1 believe in giving and receiving a square deal in every act of life. 38 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION THE BARRIO GIRL'S CREED 1. I believe that I can be as happy in the barrio as any girl in the town or city. 2. I believe in beautiful things, and that God's blue sky and God's green earth are a part of my inheritance. 3. I believe that I have a right to love chickens and pigs and goats and puppies as well as dolls and dresses. 4. I believe that I can take care of some domestic animals as well as my brother, who does not love them as much as I. 5. I believe in homemaking, and I may become a homemaker by helping mother and by studying the art and science of homemaking. 6. I believe in a good house, and I can help keep a good house by keeping it clean and orderly. 7. I believe I can learn to do sewing, cooking, and laundry work and do them well, and I want to learn them and do them well. 8. I believe in hard work, but also I like to play and have some fun. 9. I believe in keeping a garden of my own. I believe I would love to give away flowers and cook vege- tables which I myself raised. 10. I believe in good health. I believe our family will be in better health if I help boil the water we drink, cook better foods, make mosquito nets, and take good care of the babies. 11. I believe I have a right to live in the barrio. I don't like to live in the city and be away from my folks at home and also I shall miss my plants, the green grass, the trees, and the birds. 12. I believe in a square deal for everybody. EDUCATION FOR THE BARRIO CHILD 39 Sources of Quotations and References (1) Dewey, John. Democracy and Education, p. 101. (2) Kern, O. J. Among Country Schools, Ch. II. (3) Betts, G. H. New Ideals in Rural Schools, pp. 25-26. (4) . New Ideals in Rural Schools, pp. 29-30. (5) See pages 87-88. (6) National Education Association Proceedings, 1916, pp. 947-953. General Bibliography 1. Patten, Simon N. New Basis of Civilization. 2. Dewey, John. Democracy and Education. 3. Betts, G. H. New Ideals in Rural Schools. 4. Ayres, L. p. Child Accounting in the Public Schools. 5. Bailey, Henry Turner. Art Education. CHAPTER FOUR The Barrio Teacher and the Barrio School The barrio educational problem is inseparable from barrio life. This being so, it would be profitable to have an insight into some of the barrio conditions, in order that we may more easily understand the probable social scene of action where the barrio child is to play his part after his training in the barrio school under the direction and guidance of the barrio teacher. a glimpse of barrio conditions The practical, contented, and sturdy inhabitants of barrio communities possess those fundamental qualities observed and admired by foreigners, from time immemorial, as virtues characteristic of the Filipino race. Among them are politeness, hospitality, and loyalty to family ties. A famous European ob- server who traveled extensively in the Philippines during the Spanish rule recorded his impression of one of the Filipino traits of character in these words: "Filipino hospitality is ample, and much more com- prehensive than that practiced in Europe." (1) The same authority, Jagor, also described some of the home conditions of the people in the provinces, who dwelt in more or less rural communities. The follow- ing excerpt is quoted because the description has much that still holds true of the conditions that obtain among barrio families who are sheltered in the unassuming, but for their purposes very practical, houses of bam- boos and nipa palm leaves or cogon grass. The de- scription furthermore points out a commendable trait of the people, their cooperative spirit, as well as a 40 BARRIO TEACHER AND BARRIO SCHOOL 41 danger to which inhabitants Hving amidst such sur- roundings are exposed: Every family possesses its own house; and the young husband generally builds with the assistance of his friends. In many places it does not cost more than four or five dollars, as he can, if necessary, build it himself free of expense, with the simple aid of the forest-knife (bolo) and of the materials to his hand, bamboo, Spanish cane, and palm leaves. These houses, which are always built on piles on account of the humidity of the soil, often consist of a single shed, which serves for all the uses of a dwelling, and are the cause of great laxity and of filthy habits, the whole family sleeping therein in common, and every passer-by being a welcome guest. (2) Except in the wealthier homes, the details of house- hold belongings in the ordinary barrio home are rather simple and limited. Under a little extension shed near the entrance to the house may be seen a wooden mortar, several pestles, and a few baskets which are used when pounding rice. The stairway by which one ascends to the house is of bamboo. Within one sees about the room a long wooden bench stretched along the wall; two chairs facing one another near one of the windows; along the opposite wall one or two wooden trunks and a few tampipis; in a corner near these a "pillowstead" (unanan, Tagalog, or dayu- day, Ilocano), a framework where pillows are piled, and several rolled petates, or sleeping mats, to be spread at bedtime on the strips of bamboo with which the barrio house is ordinarily floored. In the center of the room is seen hanging a lamp; along the walls are also hanging the useful bolo, several bottles con- taining oil, and a guitar, or bandurria. In the little kitchen a stove, some earthen pots, and a carajay for 42 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION cooking, a large jar where rice is kept, and two or three jars of drinking water, each covered with a wooden plate, some wooden spoons {ado, Ilocano), coconut cups, and dippers, and perhaps a few plates, complete the hst of utensils. In the batalan may be seen a large tinaja containing water for washing, and perhaps several pots with growing plants — some edible, a few medicinal, and others decorative. THE BARRIO AND ITS INSTITUTION FOR UPLIFT From this brief description we may catch a glimpse of conditions in the ordinary community in a barrio. What is a barrio? It "may be but a little cluster of huts, located on the edge of the yet untouched forest where they will be contiguous to the planted crop; but a barrio may also sometimes be a little village in itself, with its separate school (just as it had a visita, or chapel dependent upon the parish church of the town, in Spanish times) and with a thousand or more inhabit- ants." (3) THE PLACE OF THE BARRIO TEACHER The school, then, is the outstanding institution for individual and social uplift in the barrio, and the barrio teacher is the minister for the welfare and advance- ment in the barrio community. Viewed from the educational viewpoint, the teacher's place is that of an intermediary between the child and the curriculum. The previous chapter dealt with the education suitable for the barrio child. The chapter following this is to deal with that great mass of subject matter, that wealth of chosen individual and social experience, that lies ready for the pupil to learn. BARRIO TEACHER AND BARRIO SCHOOL 43 THE BARRIO TEACHER's FUNCTION To act as an interpreter between the learner and the curriculum is the teacher's function, and this is a grave responsibility and a serious task. His is the duty to prepare the pupils for active and intelligent participation in rural life, to train them for the voca- tions of barrio life, and to offer them the advantages as well as the essentials of an education. (4) With the child the teacher is greatly concerned. Dewey wrote: "It is his [the child's] present powers which are to assert themselves; his present capacities which are to be exercised; his present attitudes which are to be realized." (5) With regard to the curriculum and its relation to the teacher the same authority said: Now, the value of the formulated wealth of knowledge that makes up the course of study is that it may enable the educator to determine the environment of the child, and thus by indirection to direct. Its primary value, its primary indication, is for the teacher, not for the child. It says to the teacher: Such and such are the capacities, the fulfillments, in truth and beauty and behavior, open to these children. Now see to it that day by day the conditions are such that their own activities move in- evitably in this direction, toward such culmination of themselves. Let the child's nature fulfill its own destiny, revealed to you in whatever of science and art and in- dustry the world now holds as its own. (6) teacher's qualifications demanded If such is the teacher's function, and it is^ what qualifications must he possess to fulfill his mission wisely? This is a pertinent question, and without going into a detailed exposition of the qualities, train- 44 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION ing, experience, and ideals a teacher should possess, we venture to answer by proposing three requisites. To discharge his duties effectively, scientifically, and efficiently, it is essential — First, that the teacher know, and know wisely and thoroughly, the subject matter; Second, that he know, and know wisely and thor- oughly, the methods of instruction; and Third, that he know, and Imow wisely and thor- oughly, the child. Efficiency in education demands on the part of the teacher a knowledge of these three factors. He must have a knowledge of the subject matter, for he cannot teach unless he knows what he is to teach; he must have a knowledge of methods, for he cannot teach unless he knows how to teach; he must know the child, for he cannot teach one whose nature he does not know. (7) To teach perfectly, one must have a perfect knowledge of these three factors; to teach properly, one must have adequate knowledge of them. The most successful teacher is he who, other things being equal, knows best the subject matter, methods, and the child, and has the greatest power and skill to apply that knowledge. SHORTCOMINGS In the light of these considerations, it is no dis- respect to the teachers to admit serious shortcomings. It is no disgrace to confess weakness and inefficiency in many barrio schools. It must be acknowledged that most barrio teachers know little about subject matter, know less about methods, and know least about child BARRIO TEACHER AND BARRIO SCHOOL 45 nature. This is not at all surprising, for even in such a progressive country as America, educators are clamor- ing for a new type of rural teachers. Here is the way the "average rural teacher" in the United States is described : Without intentional disrespect to teachers now engaged in rural service, it must, nevertheless, be acknowledged that the average rural teacher of today is a mere slip of a girl, often almost too young to have formed as yet any conception of the problem of rural life and needs; that she knows little as to the nature of children or the technique of instruction; that her education is very limited and confined largely to the old traditional school-subjects, while of the great and important fields of science she is almost entirely ignorant; and that she not infrequently lacks in those qualities of leadership which are so essential for rural progress. (8) Change the gender from feminine to masculine, and the above discussion applies exactly to the average barrio teacher of the Philippines today. MUNICIPAL TEACHERS* ATTAINMENTS Although the barrio teachers do not have as good training as we desire, their record of service, consider- ing all circumstances, is nothing short of marvelous. In common with other municipal teachers they are constantly advancing. The rapid improvement in the attainments of Filipino teachers during the last few years is good cause for optimism. The following table of progress in attainments makes the outlook in the future bright: 46 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION 1909-10 1910-11 1911-12 1912-13 1913-14 1914-15 1915-16 1916-17 1917-18 1918-19 Grade IV and under First year to fourth Above fourth year year 564 2,082 370 2,837 178 2,855 89 96 3,271 251 78 5,104 341 64 6,237 468 36 7,790 616 8,956 1,228 . . 10,530 1,223 11,838 1,623 It should be said by way of explanation that the teachers with low academic attainments have been employed as instructors of industrial work. The Director of Education, commenting upon the data given above, said: "The decrease in the number of teachers of primary attainments, the increase in those of first-year attainments, and the gain in high-school and college graduates, indicate the steady progress made in raising the qualifications of the teaching staff." (9) MUNICIPAL TEACHERS SALARIES Our inadequate finances for school purposes have retarded educational progress. The barrio school has been left stranded behind all others. Good teaching is not wholly, but it is largely, dependent upon salaries. The salary paid the ordinary municipal teacher today is hardly a decent living wage. The day is fast com- ing — and in many places, indeed, it has come — when F7.00 per week is the very lowest amount that could be considered as a living wage. Yet at the close BARRIO TEACHER AND BARRIO SCHOOL 47 of the school year 1915-16 the average monthly salary paid each of the 9138 municipal teachers employed was only F22.88. Twenty-six provinces paid an average salary below F22.88, and thirteen provinces paid less than F20.00. (10) Lately the minimum salary was raised to F30 in most provinces and to F40 in the few others. The need of devising ways and means for increasing our school finances is obvious and im- perative. The salaries of public school teachers are a matter of vital concern to the country from the standpoint of service. In the general competitive struggle the teaching profession cannot hold its own with other professions, trades, and occupations unless adequate salaries are paid. While recognizing the many defi- ciencies of the average barrio teacher for really effec- tive barrio service, all have to admit that the results obtained are truly remarkable, in spite of poor com- pensation and other hardships. The wonder is that so many young men of energy and earnestness can be attracted to such a poorly paid calling, even for short periods, and that they are willing, during their period of employment, to spend so much time and effort in study and work and service. This fact is eloquent tribute to the patriotism of the teachers and to the devotion they have to their work. But if in America it is realized, in the Philippine Islands there is greater reason to recognize, that — the rock toward which the educational ship is drifting is the financial one. You and I must educate the people to believe that it is better to save a child to himself before he runs into the reefs of his life than it is to expend money on police courts, jails, and juvenile courts, trying to 48 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION patch him up and protect society from him after he has been wrecked. The pubUc must recognize that the greatest asset of a nation is her boys and her girls, and that instead of spending too much money today on offer- ing these boys and girls a chance at their better and bigger selves, we are spending all too little. (11) SERVICE OF BARRIO TEACHER AND SCHOOL TO THE COMMUNITY The barrio school is no place for the laggard or the weak-hearted. The barrio teacher often hrs to live in isolation, culturally and professionally. If he is stationed in a more or less inaccessible place, he has little chance of professional assistance from a superior source. Only the teacher who is willing to accept the challenge of hard and trying work and who finds joy in individual and social service has a place in the barrio school. The work of the barrio teacher is, indeed, an ardu- ous one. He goes to school early to put up his black- board woi^k and to watch the conduct of the pupils in the yard, dropping suggestions here and there and inculcating lessons of good behavior as occasions arise. He teaches all the academic subjects for the grade or grades under his charge. Forty to sixty children are turned over to him at a period when they are unable to cope with the experience of the world. When they need to learn to read, he is called in; when they need to draw or write, he is at hand; when they need to cipher, he guides them through the intricacies of the process; when they are dirty or sick, he gives them help and advice. The barrio teacher handles also the industrial subjects. Often the same teacher has to teach weaving, basketry, and gardening to the boys BARRIO TEACHER AND BARRIO SCHOOL 49 and plain sewing to the girls. He must also be an athlete, able to conduct calisthenics and group games, and to participate in baseball, volley ball, or other athletic events. He stays in school late to see that the school and premises are kept clean. Outside school hours he visits the pupils in their homes to ascertain the number of fruit trees they planted or to see that the home gardens are clean and well cultivated. At night he corrects the pupils' work and writes his lesson plans. On Saturdays he attends to the repair of the building or fence, or prepares his reports. On Sundays he conducts popular meetings, holds literary programs, or delivers civico-educational lectures deal- ing with the rights and duties of citizens, the preven- tion of diseases, rice culture, corn cultivation, coconut planting, or the care of domestic animals. In his resi- dence the teacher is frequently visited, and he imparts to the simple folks, but willing learners, news of the Philippines and of the world, precautions in times of epidemics, or lessons in seed selection or poultry rais- ing. He has the good will of the people and asks their aid in constructing outhouses, repairing the school building, or beautifying the premises. Yet the very difficulty and hardness of the adverse conditions constitute a challenge to the heroic element in choice natures. The obstacles act as a dare to the spirit of conquest inherent in youth. They call for sacrifice, yet offer the opportunity for the testing of one's powers and for the winning of hard-earned victories. Man at his best is not afraid of hardship and does not look for an easy task. The spirit of conflict deeply rooted in human nature, and the impulse to try to the utmost all our powers, prompt us to measure our strength against difficulties that appear all but insuperable. It is this spirit that 50 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION explains the measure of success that has attended our rural schools even under such discouraging conditions. That the rural school has proved as efficient as it has, is a high testimony to the intelligence and resourcefulness of our young men and women who have begun their careers as rural school teachers. (12) The preceding discussion makes it plain that the service of the teacher and the school is by no means confined within the school walls. It is more than fur- thering the physical, moral, intellectual, and economic eflSciency of the pupils; it is community uplift. Upon the agricultural and industrial progress of the barrios the barrio teacher and the barrio schools are exerting a tremendous influence. One of the tragedies of the education of old was that many a farmer's child was sent to school by fond parents only to acquire some dangerous little learning and some customs and conventions which made him feel so high in his own estimation that after his schooling he could no longer stoop down low enough to touch the handle of the plow. The education of today is not for the purpose of training "ladies" and "gentlemen" who consider themselves superior to manual labor. The barrio education should educate barrio children for the farm, not away from it. In proportion as the barrio child gets an education, in the same proportion should his value as an economic factor increase. There are many evidences of the influence of the teacher and the school for economic betterment. The lessons in plain sewing, cooking, and embroidery given to girls enable them to carry on profitable activities in the home. Many parents are making garments after school models. One-piece dresses for children are BARRIO TEACHER AND BARRIO SCHOOL 51 more frequently worn. The teaching of basketry enables boys to have some secondary industry to oc- cupy their leisure moments. School-made baskets are now used to a much greater extent. "The fancy weaves used in elementary weaving exercises are beginning- to be seen in the sawali walls, ceihngs, and window shutters of homes." (13) The work in school and home gardening, the organization of agricultural clubs among boys and girls for agricultural and home projects, the fruit-tree-growing activities, the corn demonstrations and garden days, and the industrial exhibits — all these are contributing to the prosperity of our communities to an extent that only men who have been identified with the activities can ap- preciate. The barrio teacher and the barrio school also render effective service along hygienic and sanitary lines. Frequent inspection to insure cleanliness is carried on among pupils, especially those in the lower grades. In cooperation with the health officers, the barrio school facilitates vaccination among the children and the barrio teacher carries on medical inspection to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. The school out- houses are not infrequently the best models for acces- sory buildings in the barrios. The school playground affords space, facility, opportunity, and incentive for the expression of play instincts and impulses. The athletic sports aid in the maintenance and improve- ment of health. Through school instruction the ad- visability of using boiled water for drinking, mosquito net to prevent malaria, and well-cooked foods to avoid cholera, is inculcated in the minds of the people. In times of epidemic the school is the best and quickest 52 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION medium for distributing health leaflets and pamphlets and for imparting the instruction on precautions to be observed and on measures to be put into effect. COMMUNITY SERVICE TO THE SCHOOL The conferring of benefits is not, however, wholly one-sided. Progressive communities are appreciative of the service of the teacher and the school, and the people render invaluable assistance. The parents, realizing that schooling is the chief duty of childhood during school age, send their children to school. They desire to have their sons and daughters well housed, and so they help build or repair the schoolhouse. In the absence of municipal funds for the purchase of ade- quate school sites, land is in many instances donated. When additional teachers or additional desks are needed and the municipality is unable to furnish the money, the barrio people contribute. Interest in school matters is further manifested by the people in their visits to the school or to the teacher, in their presence at athletic meets or at school entertainments, or in furnishing materials and money which are neces- sary in connection with the industrial and academic classes. In these and in many other ways the members of wide-awake communities show their faith in edu- cation as a wise and profitable investment. FOUR PROPOSITIONS We venture to make four propositions, believing that they will be, if followed, contributive to the greater happiness and efficiency of the barrio teacher and to the improvement of the barrio school. We suggest the adoption on the part of administra- BARRIO TEACHER AND BARRIO SCHOOL 53 tive school officers of a fairly well-defined policy with respect to the assignment and promotion of barrio teachers. The entrance salary should be determined upon, depending, of course, upon the training and ability of the applicant, school funds available, and location of the school. An applicant for a teaching position who plans to stay at least two years in the service should be preferred. A new barrio teacher should first be assigned to a central school or a near-by barrio, so that in the beginning he may get the great- est possible benefit from the professional assistance of a good supervisory officer. After a year or so of satis- factory service, he may be made principal of a barrio school, if there is a suitable vacancy. Success as a barrio school principal should be rewarded by a suit- able salary increase, if possible, or by promotion to a more responsible position in a barrio or central school. We also submit for thoughtful consideration the question of providing a barrio teacher's house. In not a few cases barrio teachers do not long remain in their stations, because of inadequate house accom- modations. As a rule, a public servant gives and does his best when he is more or less happy personally and in a house. The barrio teacher's house should be better than the average house in the barrio, so that it may have an unconscious elevating influence upon the people in the community. The teacher should live in a manner becoming his profession, so that his home life may have an influence for good in the com- munity. This proposition is not a mere dream, nor is it Utopian. It has been put into effect in many rural districts of some of the European countries and of the United States. It was tried also in a few barrios 54 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION of the Philippines. One of these experiments was conducted with a fair degree of success in one of the barrio schools under the supervision of the writer, in La Union, and will be dealt with in some detail in a later chapter (pages 100-101). The next proposition has to do with the training of barrio teachers. . We urge that at least a considera- tion of the barrio school problems, if a separate course cannot be given, be made a part of the courses in methods or education in schools giving normal or educational courses. In the College of Education of the University of the Philippines the students should acquire a clear insight into barrio life and barrio edu- cation, because this will be useful especially to those who are to go out in a supervisory capacity. In schools giving normal courses, a course in barrio school education would be profitable, especially for those who are ito become principals of municipal schools. In addition to these there seems to be a need for a professional normal course of two years' duration beyond the intermediate course, for the training of primary teachers and especially barrio teachers. The intermediate teaching courses in the past have served a useful end. The two-year teaching course here pro- posed would satisfy a positive need. It is obvious that we cannot expect a normal school graduate to be content as a barrio municipal teacher with our present meager finances. The intermediate teaching courses are now practically abolished. The two-year normal course seems to be the logical remedy. It should be stated here that the Director of Education has authorized the establishment of a two-year normal course for high schools that do not have the full four- BARRIO TEACHER AND BARRIO SCHOOL 55 year course. Such a course would be enriched by a greater emphasis on the barrio school question. Lastly, we venture to touch upon a point which may be deemed premature by some; namely, the question of teachers' pensions. The time for consider- ing this problem seriously is at hand. After legis- lative measures will have been enacted, materially increasing our funds, definite steps should be taken toward devising an equitable system of rewarding faithful employees with a record of efficient service for a period of, say 15 or 20 years. Nothing would have a tendency to attract the best men and women to the profession and to insure a greater permanency in the tenure of teachers than a satisfactory pension system which would assure to the teachers in their old age a just reward for long and faithful service. (14) A teacher's creed In the last chapter we closed the discussion of the education of the barrio child with creeds for boys and girls. To make the creeds complete we quote Edwin Osgood Grover's creed, consisting of seven "I believe's," deeming it appropriate for a teacher's creed: I believe in boys and girls, the men and women of a great tomorrow; that whatsoever the boy soweth the man shall reap. I believe in the curse of igno- rance, in the efficacy of schools, in the dignity of teaching, and in the joy of serving another. I believe in wisdom as revealed in human lives, as well as in the pages of a printed book; in lessons taught not so much by precept as by example; in ability to work with the hands as well as to think with the head; in everything that makes life large 56 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION and lovely. I believe in beauty in the schoolroom, in the home, in daily life, and out of doors. I be- lieve in laughter, in love, in all ideals and distant hopes that lure us on. I believe that every hour of every day we receive a just reward for all we are and all we do. I believe in the present and its opportunities, in the future and its promise, and in the divine joy of living. Amen. (15) Sources of Quotations and References (1) Jagor, Fedor. Travels in the Philippines, p. 79 (in Craig- Benitez, Philippine Progress Prior to 189S and The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes). (2) . Travels in the Philippines, pp. 145-146. (3) Le Roy, James A. Philippine Life in Town and Country, Ch. Ill, p. 44. (4) Cubberley, E. p. The Improvement of Rural Schools, pp. 36-37. (5) Dewey, John. The School and the Child, p. 47. (6) . The School and the Child, pp. 46-47. (7) Betts, G. H. New Ideals in Rural Schools, pp. 94-97. (8) Cubberley, E. P. Rural Life and Education, p. 283. (9) Seventeenth Annual Report of the Director of Education, p. 12. (10) Ibid., Table No. 3, p. 77. (11) National Education Association Addresses and Proceedings, Vol. LIV, p. 989. (12) Betts, G. H., and Hall, Otis. Better Rural Schools, pp. 119-120. (13) The Philippine Craftsman, Vol. IV, p. 446. (14) Prosser, C. a. The Teacher and Old Age. (15) Quoted in Kern, O. J. Among Country Schools, p. 24. General Bibliography 1. Cubberley, E. P. Rural Life and Education, Ch. XII. 2. Kern, O. J. Among Country Schools, Chs. IX, XI, and XIII. 3. Betts, G. H., and Hall, 0. E. Better Rural Schools, Part III. 4. Sixteenth Annual Report of the Director of Education. 5. Seventeenth Annual Report of the Director of Education. 6. Jessup, W. a. The Teaching Staff. BARRIO TEACHER AND BARRIO SCHOOL 57 7. Betts, G. H. New Ideals in Rural Schools, pp. 92-120. 8. Dewey, John. The School and the Child. 9. Ayres, L. p., and Ayres, May. Health Work in the Public Schools. 10. CoFFMAN, L. The Social Composition of the Teaching Force, 11. Prosser, C. a. The Teacher and Old Age. CHAPTER FIVE The Barrio School Curriculum In the previous chapter it was stated that one of the most important requisites for a teacher, if he is to discharge his duties effectively, is a good, thorough knowledge of the subject matter of instruction. The basis of the subject matter to be presented to the child is that comprised in the course of study or school curriculum. CURRICULUM DEFINED What is the curriculum.? In the broadest sense it is the sum total of individual and social experience worthy of transmission and perpetuation. The ele- mentary school curriculum is that part of this wealth of experience which is selected to be taught to chil- dren, through the agency of which these learners be- come freer, happier, and more efficient citizens. Society offers to each new generation the aggregate fruits of its own achievements. From the beginning of human history, man has been accumulating culture and civilization. Out of the daily lives of the millions of peoples of all times — out of their toil and suffering, their hopes and dreams and deeds, have come some permanent values. Some phases of experience have been tried and tested until they have been found typical and fundamental. Culture and civilization consist of these valuable and more or less permanent aspects of social experience. (1) Dr. Paul Monroe enlightens us on the question by the following clear presentation of the curriculum and its function: As interpreted from the point of view of this new mean- ing of education, the curriculum is no longer a sacred inheritance, possessing absolute and permanent validity, 58 THE BARRIO SCHOOL CURRICULUM 59 the contents of which the child must master in order to attain to an education and to be admitted to the charmed circle of the cultured. The curriculum becomes but the epitomized representation to the child of this cultural inheritance of the race, — of those products of human experience which yet enter into the higher and better life of man and which the present generation esteems to be of value to the individual and of worth to society as a whole. Such an appraisement of the values of life must change from generation to generation, if there is to be progress in life; if life in the present has any value in itself beyond mere existence, culture cannot be the same for the twentieth century that it was for the eighteenth. The formal statement of the elements of character must remain much the same; the concrete content must vary as life varies. The curriculum must present to the child in idealized form, present life, present social activities, present ethical aspirations, present appreciation of the cultural value of the past. Only as a part of present life, that is only as it touches the present life of the child through the life of society, can it call forth that interest which is essential to the educative process. Hence ... it appears that the curriculum must be adjusted constantly, though very gradually, so as to reorganize the old culture material and to include the new. The curriculum is the child's introduction to life, as schooling is the preparation for it. The curriculum, then, must really introduce to life as it is and as it should be; the school should actually prepare. (2) CONTROLLING FACTORS An adequate curriculum must necessarily take into account the child's needs, capacities, instincts, and interests. In the selection and elimination of sub- jects and topics for the curriculum the controlling factors must necessarily be (a) the psychological and (h) the sociological. Dr. Payne, in his Public Ele- mentary School Curriculum, says : 60 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION The two fundamental questions regarding the curriculum are, first, What are the needs of the civilization in which the child is to play an active part? and second, What is the nature of the child who is to be fitted to this civili- zation? Briefly, education has to do with the experience of the race and the experience of the child; the activities of the race and the activities of the child; the needs of society and the needs of the child. The curriculum must, then, provide for the sociological and the psychological aspects of human life. (3) Professors Button and Snedden enumerate eight principles which they deem applicable to the making of courses of study for elementary schools. The elementary curriculum [they say] should be: (a) related to life; (6) flexible, according to the charac- teristics of groups to be educated; (c) capable of utilizing the social and natural environment of the child; (d) ad- justed so as to provide that education which is comple- mentary to the educative influences of other agencies; (e) integrated in its final effects; (/) so detailed and flexible as to permit the teacher much freedom, while giving fullest guidance; (g) dynamic or progressive; and (h) adjusted so as to reflect local initiative and central control and approval. (4) THE PHILIPPINE ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM The Bureau of Education at present maintains courses of study in primary, intermediate, and sec- ondary instruction. In the barrio schools the primary course is now practically the only course taught. In the near future, however, intermediate schools will undoubtedly be organized in the larger and more cen- trally located barrios. We give below the skeleton outlines of the present primary course of study, the general intermediate course, the Special Farming Course, and the Special Housekeeping and Household Arts Course. (5) THE BARRIO SCHOOL CURRICULUM 61 PRIMARY COURSE {Figures in parentheses indicate the number of recitations a week! the number is five unless otherwise stated.) Grade I Grade II Grade III Grade IV Language, good Language, good Language, good Language, good manners and manners and manners and manners and right conduct right conduct right conduct right conduct Conversational Conversational Conversational Conversational English (7) English (7) English English Reading (includ- Reading (includ- Phonics Civics, hygiene ing phonics) ing phonics) Reading and sanitation Arithmetic Arithmetic Arithmetic (3) Spelling (2d se- Spelling Spelling Reading (includ- mester) Writing Writing ing phonics) Writing Music Music Arithmetic Music Drawing (3) Drawing (2) Spelling Drawing (3) Physical educa- Home geography Writing (2) Physical educa- tion Physical educa- Music (3) tion Industrial tion Drawing (2) Industrial courses: Industrial Geography courses: Boys: 8 A, 8B, courses: Physical educa- Boys: 8A, or llA, 26, or Boys: Any one tion 8B, or 26 for club work of the follow- Industrial the larger Girls: 7 or ing: 9, 10, courses: boys club work llA, 26, or Boys: Anyone Girls: 8A, or Time — 40 club work of the fol- SB, or 7 minutes daily Girls: 7 (3), 1, lowing: 5, 9, For very small 2, 4, 10, or 10, any ad- children stick. club work (2) vanced bas- seed, and peb- Time — 60 ketry, 20, 22, ble laying may minutes daily 23, 25, 26, be employed 27, 28, or club Time — 30 work minutes daily Girls: 7 (2), and any one of the fol- lowing: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, or club work (3) Time — 60 minutes daily 62 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION GENERAL INTERMEDIATE COURSE Grade V Gbade VI Grade VII Conversational Eng- Conversational Eng- Conversational Eng- lish, composition, and lish, composition, and lish, composition, and £rrammar grammar grammar Reading and spelling Reading and spellmg Reading and spelling Arithmetic Arithmetic Arithmetic Music 1 one half Writing / period each Music 1 one half Writing j period each Philippine history and government Geography Geography Physiology, hygiene and Drawmg (ID) Drawing (ID) sanitation Industrial courses: Industrial courses: Drawing: Boys: Any one of the Boys: 26 or club work Boys: (2D) following: 9, 10, llB, (4D) Girls: (ID) 12B, 15, 16, 18, 20, Girls: 6 A and 6B Industrial courses: 23, 26» or club work (lD),7(lD),andany Boys: 23 A, or 23B, (4D) one of the following: or 26, or club work Girls: 6A and B (ID), 1, 2, 4, or club work (3D) 7 (ID), and any one (2D) Girls: 6 A and 6B of the following: 1, (ID), and any one 2, 4, or club work of the following: 1, (2D) 2, 4, 21, or club work (2D) double or eighty-minute period.) FARMING COURSE Grade V Conversational Eng- lish, composition, and grammar Reading and spelling Arithmetic Agriculture Farmwork (3 consecu- tive periods daily) Drawing, carpentry, ironworking, and re- pair work on rainy days or when neces- sary Grade VI Conversational Eng- lish, composition, and grammar Reading and spelling Arithmetic Agriculture Farmwork (3 consecu- tive periods daily) Drawing, carpentry, ironworking, and re- pair work on rainy days or when neces- sary Grade VII Conversational Eng- lish, composition, and grammar Reading and spelling Arithmetic Agriculture Farmwork (3 consecu- tive periods daily) Drawing, carpentry, ironworking, and re- pair work on rainy days or when sary THE BARRIO SCHOOL CURRICULUM 63 HOUSEKEEPING AND HOUSEHOLD ARTS COURSE Grade V Grade VI Grade VII Conversational Eng- Conversational Eng- Conversational Eng- lish, composition, and lish, composition, and lish, composition, and grammar grammar grammar Reading and spelling Reading and spelling Reading and spelling Arithmetic Arithmetic Arithmetic Geography Hygiene and home Hygiene and home san- Music (2) sanitation (4) itation (3) Drawing (ID) Music (2) Philippine history Industrial courses: Drawing (ID) Music (2) 6A and 6B, (2D); 7, Industrial courses: Drawing (ID) (ID); and any one of 6Aand6B (2D); and Industrial courses: the following: 1, 2 A, 1, or 2, or 4, or 10, 6A and 6B (2D); 7 2B, 3, 4A, 4B, 27, 28, or 21, or club work (ID); and any one or club work (2D) (2D) of the following: 1, 2A, 2B, 4A, 4B, 21 or 28, (2D) OURS A LIVING CURRICULUM Professor Cubberley, in The Portland Survey, de- fines a living curriculum as distinguished from a dead one in the following words: A living curriculum, while it may be, and for the most part should be, broadly outlined on paper, has its real existence in the mind of teachers, principals, and super- visors; it is plastic and adaptable, constantly undergoing changes in emphasis of its various parts, even to the elimination of some entirely and the substitution of others, as the sympathetically studied needs of the particular children to be taught seem to require; the living curriculum ministers practically to the ever and almost infinitely vary- ing needs of boys and girls, no two of whom were made alike or destined to be made alike; the living curriculum serves as readily and as well the child whose mental processes depend on concrete things, as that one who readily grasps abstract ideas; the living curriculum serves 64 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION present needs of every pupil, whether those needs be the preparation for the next steps that will lead in due time through a college preparatory course to college, uni- versity, and a professional career, or whether those needs are for skill of hand that will enable a youth to support himself honorably, within a year, by rendering some worthy service to the community. (6) EVOLUTION OF OUR CURRICULUM The Philippine public school curriculum has under- gone a process of evolution. There have been con- stant changes in emphasis of its various parts, even to the complete elimination and substitution of entire subjects of instruction. A brief discussion of the evolu- tion of our curriculum will show that ours is essen- tially a living curriculum, not a dead one. The primary course of study as organized under the American occupation was three years in length, from the beginning to the year 1907. Fred W. Atkinson, the first General Superintendent of Public Instruction, in 1901 had the following to say with respect to the elementary subjects of instruction: The subjects of study for the Elementary Schools may embrace reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, geography, history, physiology, music, drawing, physical exercise, manual training, and nature studies. Instruction in the English language shall take first place. Teachers are forbidden to teach any study not authorized in public schools during the legal school hours. (7) In October, 1901, nature study was prescribed as an elementary school subject. The aim of the subject was "to develop in the child a love for the world in which he lives, an appreciation of its adaptation to the needs of life, the universal presence of natural laws, THE BARRIO SCHOOL CURRICULUM 65 and some acquaintance with their way of working; also a partial knowledge of how the world in which he lives may best serve him." (8) On January 31, 1907, the proposed lengthening of the primary course from three to four years was sub- mitted for consideration, by the Director of Educa- tion, to division superintendents. (9) The proposi- tion of giving greater definiteness to the industrial courses was also then taken up. After thorough dis- cussion and due deliberation the proposed changes with amendments were adopted. In General Circular No. 51, s. 1907, dated June 10, 1907, the lengthening of the primary course from three years to four years was definitely promulgated, the industrial courses took a more definite form, and the course of study for pri- mary schools was revised and briefly outlined. The first three paragraphs of the circular mentioned above are here reproduced: Experience of the past three years has clearly demon- strated the necessity of modifying somewhat the first three years of the course of study as previously outlined and of lengthening the time devoted thereto to four years. This has been made necessary by the creation of the demand for instruction along industrial lines and the desirability of making the primary course complete in itself rather than merely a step preliminary to the inter- mediate course. It is believed that the pupil who attends school with regularity and pursues his studies with fidelity will be able to complete the course as herein prescribed within the time allotted. The aim of instruction in the primary course is to prepare the child to become an intelligent, self-supporting citizen. His knowledge of English, arithmetic, and com- mercial transactions should be sufficient to enable him to transact all of the business he may have, in this language. 66 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION He should be conversant with the general rights and privileges of a citizen and the corresponding duties which citizenship enjoins. In addition to this, he should leave school with the habit of work definitely fixed and with the feeling that manual labor is eminently respectable and honorable. He should have acquired a fair knowledge of some simple trade or handicraft, and of the hygiene and sanitation of the home and village. The course should at all times take a practical trend along commercial and industrial lines, without detracting from the emphasis to be placed upon English, arithmetic, geography, and other academic subjects. The value of industrial training lies in the cultivation of a habit of work, the removal of prejudices against all forms of manual labor, the development of manual dex- terity and the mental awakening that accompanies it, and the introduction of new trades and industries, as well as the improvement of the old. (10) In 1908 three Instructors were detailed to instruct teachers to teach weaving at Normal Institutes. That same year industrial work in weaving was pre- scribed definitely for primary grades. (11) Dr. David P. Barrows, then Director of Education, in Circular No. 70, s. 1909, dated July 16, 1909, an- nounced the differentiation of the intermediate courses of study. The various intermediate courses prescribed were the general course, the course for teaching, the course for farming, the course for woodwork, the course for housekeeping and household arts, and the course for business. "The Intermediate School was separated from the Primary School Course in order to give it a distinct and practical character." (12) Director Frank R. White on December 17, 1909, in the opening paragraph of the circular entitled "Organ- ization of Industrial Instruction," stated: THE BARRIO SCHOOL CURRICULUM 67 The most important piece of work now before this oflSce is the organization, promotion, and proper super- vision of industrial instruction. For several years past various lines of industrial work have been officially pre- scribed for Primary and Intermediate grades and much has been done in all school divisions pursuant to these requirements of the Course of Study. (13) The industrial division of the General Office was also created. THE BARRIO CURRICULUM AND BARRIO LIFE We have long outgrown the day when bare literacy was considered a sufficient measure of education for the barrio population. Opportunities have become greater, and demands have become more pressing that we must go farther and see that the barrio school cur- riculum is rich enough to be instrumental in adjusting the barrio child to a freer, happier, and more efficient life. The studies should in reality "represent selec- tions and formulations of what is regarded as most important in the experience of the race, and hence most necessary to transmit for the sake of the future society." (14) Especially for those barrio children who cannot long stay in the schools it is necessary to lay stress upon those subjects that relate to life and upon the topics of each subject of study that would best minister to the successful adjustment of the barrio child to his physical, mental, moral, and social environment. There is probably greater need of emphasis upon utility in the barrio school than in any other type of school. Surely no one should take exception to any reasonable and successful movement tending to give a greater economic trend to barrio education. The school work needs to be vitalized, 68 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION the course of study needs to be enriched, and methods of teaching need to be improved in order that the pupils may see, understand, and appreciate the close relation between what is learned in school and what life requires of them outside school. THE SUBJECTS AND SOME GUmiNG PRINCIPLES This is not the place to outline the barrio school curriculum by subjects. The studies have already been indicated in the skeleton outlines of courses deemed most adequate for the barrio. A few com- ments will be given, merely to emphasize the idea that it is highly important and desirable that the curric- ulum for barrio schools be aimed directly at the con- ditions of the best barrio life in order that the most effective adaptation may be secured. The published primary and intermediate courses of study of the Bureau of Education outline in con- siderable detail the academic subjects in the cur- riculum. Pertinent suggestions to teachers also are given. These are readily accessible to the teachers of the public schools. No formal discussion of the tra- ditional subjects of study will be given here. All that we wish to say about them is that there is neces- sity of redirecting and revitalizing instruction in them; that the teachers must study the barrio child and barrio social life in order to know how to em- phasize the subjects, and topics within each subject, to the end that what is taught may function in the life of the learner and in the life of the community; and that much useless matter should be eliminated, the aims of instruction in some of the subjects should be entirely changed, and the subjects should be re- THE BARRIO SCHOOL CURRICULUM 69 duced to their proper place in the curriculum. In short, the academic studies should be taught in such a way that their natural relation to home life and farm activities is brought out. With these general principles let us touch upon civics, hygiene and sani- tation, athletics, industrial work, and agriculture. The modern view of civics may be understood from the following quotations: (15) Civics is a training in habits of good citizenship, rather than merely a study of government forms and machinery. The broadening field of instruction in civics finds its limits only in the ever-widening content of the term "citizenship." There are, in general, four immediate aims in teaching civics : To help the child realize that he is a responsible and helpful member of several social groups. . . . To awaken and stimulate motives that will lead to the establishment of habits of order, cleanliness, cheer- ful cooperation, sympathetic service, and obedience to law. . . . To emphasize the intimate and reciprocal relation be- tween the welfare of the individual and the welfare of the home and society. . . . To develop political intelligence and to prepare the young citizen for its exercise. . . . It is apparent that much of the teaching in civics is accomplished indirectly. When a child actively participates in cleaning the school and premises; when he goes to school with face washed, hair combed, and fiinger nails trimmed; when he helps construct a fence; when he assists in repairing a broken wall, bench, or gate; when he cultivates his garden in the school and at home; when a girl sews her own or her little brother's or sister's dress; when she helps boil water for drink- 70 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION ing, or cooks rice well; when a pupil conveys informa- tion to his parents or friends regarding preventive measures that should be followed during cholera or other epidemics; when he is taught to pick up a pail of water to help combat a fire; when he trims the hedge, mows the lawn, or plants a tree — when a child does these or similar acts, he is indirectly but effectively learning invaluable lessons in civics. These indirect methods, supplemented by the direct teaching of civics, are desirable ways and means of training junior citizens for intelligent citizenship. HYGIENE AND SANITATION One of the fundamental subjects to be taught barrio boys and girls is hygiene and sanitation. Health is basic. It is, therefore, imperative to teach the science of health in a practical manner in the barrio schools. The following excerpt defines in simple terms what hygiene is and tells how it differs from anatomy and physiology: (16) Anatomy, physiology^ and hygiene. In this book, we shall study the parts of the body and the way they are joined together. This is anatomy. We shall study also the work that these parts do. This is physiology. We shall study also how to take care of the body so that it will not become sick. This is hygiene. Hygiene, like civics, may be taught directly and indirectly. Proper teaching of this subject is not so much a matter of pouring in a great deal of informa- tion as a process of thinking, acting, doing, and living. The chief aim is to foster the formation of hygienic habits and to impart such knowledge of the subject THE BARRIO SCHOOL CURRICULUM 71 as will make hygienic living intelligible. It is far more important for a girl to make a mosquito net and to use it when sleeping than it is for her to know the different varieties of mosquitoes, their stages of de- velopment, and all the theories about malaria. It is more desirable that a boy dig a ditch around his home and fill up holes, in order to have proper drainage, than that he pass an examination on the subject. If actual doing accompanies as much as possible the book learning in hygiene, the fundamental aims will be more effectively realized. ATHLETICS In 1916 the United States Commissioner of Edu- cation reported that "investigations made during the year have driven home the fact that rural children are more in need of health supervision than city children." Dr. Thomas D. Wood of Columbia Uni- versity, after investigations conducted in several localities and for a number of years, was forced to conclude that "country children are less healthy than city children." The State Commissioner of Health for Oklahoma once said: "Carefully compiled sta- tistics gathered from different parts of the country show that in every health item the country child is more defective than the city child, a most surprising reversal of popular opinion. More than twice as many country children as city children suffer from mal- nutrition; the former are also more anaemic, have more lung trouble, and include more mental defectives than do the latter." The Minnesota Health Commission reports that "tuberculosis is increasing in the country because country people are not fighting it as effectively 72 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION as city people." (17) Our own sanitary commissions have found deplorable health conditions in towns where investigations have been conducted. Condi- tions in most barrios are as a rule worse than in towns. The schools should cooperate in improving health con- ditions, not only through teaching hygiene and sanita- tion, but by a more conscientious compliance with the Bureau of Education program of games and athletics. INDUSTRIAL WORK The barrio school exists primarily to assist children to meet their physical, intellectual, moral, social, aesthetic, and economic needs. Industrial arts and industrial work are a great factor in realizing this goal and consequently should have a prominent place in the curriculum. The industrial program is designed to furnish the child industrial intelligence, industrial skill, and industrial sympathy. The industrial train- ing of a child helps him, in part, to place himself upon an economic plane slightly above the plane of mere self-support. This is true directly and indirectly — directly when the vocation which the child later chooses is based upon the industrial training secured, and indirectly when the avocation he pursues is closely allied to the industrial work pursued in school. The present industrial courses are so numerous and so important that it is necessary to devote a separate chapter to them. The chapter on vocational educa- tion which follows will deal at greater length with the vocational phase of barrio education. The writer only wishes to record here now his conviction as to the necessity and efficacy of domestic science for barrio girls and agricultural work for barrio boys in the at- THE BARRIO SCHOOL CURRICULUM 73 tempt to make barrio education function in barrio life. When barrio intermediate schools do spring up, as they surely will in the future, it is hoped that ef- ficient training in housekeeping and household arts will be offered barrio girls in model domestic science homes. The barrio home and barrio home life should be duplicated in somewhat idealized form. The im- provement of native foods and processes of prepara- tion and preserving of foodstuffs should be given first attention. Such activities as sewing, cleaning, decorat- ing, beautifying premises, care of babies, etc., should also receive emphasis. Where conditions are favorable, serious thought on the part of the teachers and ad- ministrators should be paid to the advisability of giving extension courses to women, young and old, in the barrio communities. It is highly desirable that the mothers be afforded opportunities for advancement, if the standard of living in barrio homes is to be raised. In Denmark smallhold schools have been established and have done much to make the lot of the small- holders more tolerable and their work more profitable. The purpose of these schools, in the language of the founder, is "to prepare leaders who shall make the life of the Danish husmand so honored and recog- nized that the young sons and daughters of these homes will gladly choose this calling in preference to city life." (18) Some such purpose should also animate those di- rectly concerned with the uplift of our barrio popula- tion in the Philippine Islands. To do this, effective training in school and home gardening and in agricul- ture is essential. Barrio pupils, especially the children 74 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION of the poor, should be instructed in intensive scientific farming and in better methods of working. The auxiharies of agriculture, such as poultry raising, the raising of other domestic animals, fruit raising, etc., should be given due attention. In this connection the following excerpt from a well- written article on "The Use of Raw Materials in Teaching Agriculture" will be helpful: (19) Because agriculture is such an important factor in the economic life of the nation, it furnishes the basis for a thoroughly national education for all who come in contact with it, viz., an education for service. Men have spent themselves without stint to enlarge the body of agri- cultural knowledge and to discover the principles of this important science for the benefit of the race. If the work accomplished by the investigator is to bear abundant fruit, it must be given by instruction to the waiting multitude. Thus the place of the teacher of agriculture has been made for him. You will agree with me when I say that today the teaching of agriculture is not all we could wish. There is something lacking in the way it comes to our young people. It interests them in a measure, but does not grip their minds with tremendous power. They like it in a mild way for the most part, where there should be the most enthusiastic love for it. The whole relation between the student and his study lacks a vital something to make it virile and gripping and real. Agriculture must be taught through its raw materials, and in the field if possible. But our teachers have learned to teach bookwise. They must learn to teach agriculture from the things of agriculture; to read in the soil the story of the creation and support of living forms upon the earth, and the work of all forces that have made them; to search out from the ear of corn its own story of its present state of perfection, with the reasons therefor; to THE BARRIO SCHOOL CURRICULUM 75 dig out the great truth of the potatoes from the pota- toes themselves; to learn to question nature's products and read correctly her answers concerning their being, Whence? How? Why? Until we do this, the greatest opportunity to teach life lessons and educate for service through service lies unused at our hand. Sources of Quotations and References (1) Betts, G. H. Social Principles of Education, Ch. X. (2) Monroe, Paul. History of Education, p. 756. (3) See pages 182-183. (4) Administration of Public Education in the United States, pp. 325-326. (5) Service Manual, Bureau of Education, 1917, Ch. U, (6) The Portland Survey, p. 128. (7) General Circular No. 3, s. 1901. (8) General Circular No. 10, s. 1901. (9) General Circular No. 11, s. 1907. (10) General Circular No. 51, s. 1907. (11) General Circular No. 100, s. 1908. (12) General Circular No. 70, s. 1909. (13) General Circular No. 135, s. 1909. (14) Cyclopedia of Education, Vol. II, p. 219. (15) Dunn, Arthur W. Civic Education in Elementary Schools as Illustrated in Indianapolis. (16) RiTCHiE-PuRCELL. Sanitation and Hygiene for the Tropics, (17) Duke, E. A. A Guide to Better Schools, p. 26. (18) FoGHT, H. W. Rural Denmark and Its Schools, pp. 174-175. (19) Welles, W. S. The Use of Raw Materials in Teaching Agri- culture. N. E. A., 1914. General Bibliography 1. Course of Study for Primary Grades, with Suggestions to Teachers, Bureau of Education. 2. Course of Study for Intermediate Grades, with Suggestions to Teachers. Bureau of Education. 3. Course of Study for the Elementary School. Western Illinois State Normal School, Macomb, Illinois. 4. The Curriculum and Courses of Study of the Speyer School, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. 76 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION 5. The Elementary School Curriculum, Horace Mann School. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. 6. Manual of the Elementary Course of Study for the Common Schools of Wisconsin. 7. Payne, Bruce R. Public Elementary School Curricula. 8. DuTTON and Snedden. Administration of Public Education in the United States. 9. McMuRRY, Charles A. Course of Study in the Eight Grades. 10. FoGHT, H. W. Rural Denmark and Its Schools. 11. Duke, E. A. A Guide to Better Schools. 12. BoNSER, F. G. The Elementary School Curriculum. 13. Meriam, J. L. Child Life and the Curriculum. 14. Dewey, John. The School and the Child. CHAPTER SIX Vocational Education "Vocational education" is a term that may be used in a broad sense or in a narrow sense. In a compre- hensive way the term includes all education which makes for any particular calling or "vocation." It is all education that makes for definite life work. In a more restricted meaning the term includes all educa- tion relating to industries and "in this sense would include instruction in industrial arts in the elementary school, trade and technical instruction designed for the industrial worker, and the professional education of the engineering schools." (1) It is all education that makes for definite industrial calling. Although, strictly speaking, all efficient education is vocational in that it fits one for a more satisfactory performance of life activities, popular usage ordinarily makes vocational education synonymous with indus- trial education, due no doubt to the fact that the direct application of knowledge and skill acquired is more easily observable and more frequently observed in the industrial vocations than in the professional vocations. Vocational education is really broader than industrial education. In our complex civilized societies, the vocations are so many and so varied that it is difficult to make accurate and satisfactory classifications of the activities in which people are engaged. Due to a lack of well- defined and commonly accepted bases of classifications, "there are some vocations that are differently classified by different persons, and there are others that are not definitely classified, or are given doubtful classifica- 77 78 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION tion." Certain writers call industrial workers those who belong to the vocations that deal entirely with materials or material things in the production of articles for man's use; commercial workers, those engaged in vocations having for their chief object the distribution of the products of the industries; and professional workers, those who deal primarily with human beings rather than with inert matter, the results of whose efforts are shown in some direct result upon the persons with whom they deal. (2) In our barrio communities education should have for its ultimate objective the fitting of boys and girls for these three types of vocations. For many years to come, however, the great majority of the barrio boys and girls will follow the industrial pursuits and their education will have accomplished much for them if it makes them skilled instead of unskilled workers. Our paupers and criminals are recruited from the army of the unskilled. In Bilibid and other well-regulated prisons the energies of the prisoners are directed along productive channels, for experience has shown that productive labor is a good curative measure for poverty and crime. If it is so, then vocational training which makes for productive labor must be a still better pre- ventive measure in our social life. SOCIAL VALUE OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION Education, to be valuable and practical, must fit for individual and social life. That training is most effective which best fits the individual for his par- ticular vocation. Our educating forces in our barrio schools should send the barrio child into the practical world with the ability and skill to use what he has VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 79 learned. His education is adequate in proportion as it succeeds in accomplishing this end. Vocational education is useful to society as well as to the individual. In discussing the social value of vocational education, a noted educator said: Society is deprived of the increased productivity which would result from developing in each and every one of its individuals the greatest amount of skill of which he or she is capable; and the scarcity of skilled workmen who can command good wages, together with the super- abundance of unskilled workmen who can command only the lowest rate of wages, furnishes a continual handicap to the increase in the efficiency of production. The result is twofold. First, the rate of production is kept down and society is the loser. Second, thousands of human beings, who might be useful and happy citizens, live and die in poverty and misery, and again society is the loser. (3) BARRIO SCHOOL WORK VOCATIONAL AND PREVOCATIONAL The school work in the barrio schools is both voca- tional and pre vocational. Most of the barrio educa- tion now and for many years to come is only primary work, and hence it may be vocational or prevocational — vocational if it helps children to fit themselves for efficient life work, and if the life work chosen is the direct result of their schooling, and prevocational if it serves only as a preparation for a more specialized vocational course, or if it serves only to furnish the basis for choosing a vocation and making adequate preparation for it. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE If this is so, the teacher's task in barrio school education becomes twofold: first, to teach the pre- scribed subjects to the children so that they may 80 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION eflPectively function, and secondly, to exercise vocational guidance. The duty of vocational guidance is a direct and necessary corollary of the vocational idea in educational theory. Vocational guidance is not mere "job hunting." It is not mere work placement, either. It does not merely "mean helping boys and girls to find work, but to find the kind of work they are best fitted by nature and training to do well. It does not mean prescribing a vocation. It does mean bringing to bear on the choice of a vocation organized information and or- ganized common sense." (4) It necessitates studying child life and social life and vocational counseling to avoid vocational chaos; it necessitates inculcating life motives to do away with vocational hoboes; it neces- sitates systematic training and sympathetic guidance to minimize and, if possible, eradicate the number of unemployed, misemployed, or unemployable. For several years the more progressive members of the administrative, supervisory, and teaching force in the Islands have carried on work in the way of voca- tional guidance. More recently the General Office coordinated the efforts within the Bureau of Educa- tion and issued instructions to the field. The im- portance of the educational step taken may be seen from the following general instructions, which are quoted in full: VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 81 BUREAU OF EDUCATION Manila, January 15, 1918 General Instructions No. 5, s. 1918 VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE To Division Superintendents : Inasmuch as special vocational intermediate courses have been established in addition to the general course, it is desirable that educational authorities exercise some vocational guidance among the pupils of the public schools in order that they may be assisted in properly selecting the courses that they should follow after graduation. Vocational guidance can properly begin with third- grade pupils in an indirect way in connection either with conversational English classes or with opening exercises. Then in the fourth grade the matter should be taken up directly with the pupils in order that they may, with the aid of teachers and parents, intelligently select the proper course after finishing the primary course. Intermediate pupils should also be given vocational guidance by means of individual conference, by cooperation with parents, and through lectures on the different courses which they may follow after graduation and on the differ- ent vocations which they may pursue as a means of earning their livelihood. In order that proper vocational guidance may be exercised, the following suggestions are offered: (a) Teachers should study the home conditions of the people, especially the home life of the families from which the pupils come, (b) Teachers should study the different pupils, deciding, if possible, what are their particular interests and capa- bilities. Pupils may be divided into groups, each group to have a teacher in charge to act as adviser. (c) In conference with parents the teachers should try to give some definite suggestions as to what would seem to be best for the children when they leave school or when they graduate. A talk on the different fields open to the youth of the country would also prove helpful. 82 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION Not many pupils, and indeed not all teachers, know that there are different vocational intermediate courses maintained by the Bureau of Education. The fact that there are a good many agricultural and farm schools where good agricultural training can be secured is not widely known. Opportunities are offered to high school graduates or intermediate graduates to work and study at Munoz or to study at Los Banos or to acquire homesteads, but these opportunities are not commonly known. Perhaps some lectures might be given or essays written in the classes in English on the available public lands of the Philippines. A few should be influenced to take a professional course in education in the Philippine Normal School or the Uni- versity of the Philippines, and one or two from each province who have graduated from the high school course may be advised to take the special course either in sten- ography or bookkeeping offered in the Philippine School of Commerce. The field open to those endowed with business ability should be touched upon. The giving of vocational guidance should receive the consideration of the educational authorities in the hope that there may be few misfits among our graduates. The problem of vocational guidance should receive particular attention during the latter part of the school year, and in the cases of pupils who will graduate from the course or are intending to leave school. The giving of vocational guidance is not a simple matter. The choice of a vocation is of supreme im- portance, and the duty of influencing a pupil's choice demands a broad knowledge of Philippine conditions and keen judgment of pupils' capacities. Bad advice is worse than none, and supervising officers should delegate the giving of vocational guidance only to those best fitted for the task. VOCATIONAL PROVISIONS The present Philippine school curriculum includes a great variety of industrial courses. The courses VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 83 oJBFered in any particular school depend upon the kinds of pupils in attendance, the community needs and de- mands, the availability of materials, and the adapta- bility of courses to local conditions. There is sufficient variety to provide opportunity for right choice. In- dustrial work is provided for boys and girls in every grade of the elementary schools. The industrial pro- visions and the industrial achievement of the public schools have won the admiration of noted educators abroad. Dr. Paul Monroe, while on his trip of in- vestigation of our public school system, said that "the industrial work in the Philippine schools is pro- ducing work of very high quality, in some respects not surpassed in any other country." The following is a list of the various industrial (5) courses ; lA Elementary em- 9A Mats — Pandan 19B Baskets — Platted broidery 9B Mats— Buri buri IB Advanced embroi- 90 Mats— Sedge 20A Slippers — Fiber dery 9D Mats — Coir 20B Slippers — Sedge 10 Colored embroidery 10 Hats 200 Slippers — Other 2A Elementary bobbin 11 A Baskets — Native 21A Hand-loom weav- lace IIB Baskets — Export ing 2B Advanced bobbin bamboo-rattan 21B Foot-loom weav- lace 12A B a s k e t s — Ele- ing 2C Filet lace mentary polangui 210 Matting 2D Other lace 12B B a s k e t s — A d- 22A Carving — Bam- 3 Tatting vanced polangui boo 4A Elementary Irish 13 Baskets — Vetiver 22B Carving — Coco- crochet 14 Baskets — Jewel nut 4B Advanced Irish 15 Baskets — Buntal 220 Carving — Wood crochet 16 Baskets — Stem 23A Woodwork 40 Filet crochet 17 Baskets — Midrib 23B Bamboo furniture 5 Macrame 18A Baskets — Coiled 230 Rattan furniture 6A Cooking stem 24 Sedge handbags 6B Housekeeping 18B Baskets — Coiled 25 Brushes and 7 Sewing fiber brooms 8A Hand weaving — 180 Baskets — Coiled 26 Gardening Soft strips strips 27 Pottery 8B Hand weaving — 19A Baskets — Platted 28 Special Hard strips pandans 28 Trade course 84 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION It is clear that in the barrio schools emphasis should be given to those industrial courses which tend to improve food, clothing, and shelter, and which result in raising standards of living.^ Even the academic subjects in the barrio school curriculum may well be given a vocational trend. If this is done, barrio education may indeed more truly meet the actual living needs of the people living in the barrio communities. To be concrete: the con- versational English may well deal with subjects related to the work animals of the field, the products of the farm, the beautiful things of nature around the home; the work in arithmetic may profitably deal with the quantitative relations of life within the experience of children in barrio communities; and geography may effectively present phenomena of nature and the earth in relation to the plants that may or may not be grown, to the animals that may or may not be raised, and to the home life of children. It is believed that some such plan would greatly vitahze the school work of children. 1 The value of articles fabricated in the schools of the Philippine Islands during the school year 1919-20 is as follows: Embroidery Plll,105.73 Lace, including Cluny, Valenciennes, filet, and crochet . 38,835 . 31 Plain sewing 479,302.28 Mats and mat products 11,308. 29 Coir mats 9,484.51 Hats 9,976.57 Baskets 120,450.63 Slippers 3,598.78 Rattan furniture 35,292.38 Municipal shop products 97,857 . 11 Provincial trade schools and provincial shops 198,435.72 It is to be noted that the output of the Philippine School of Arts and Trades is not included in the last item. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 85 SOME REASONS FOR INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES The industrial feature is a vital part of the Philippine school curriculum. Industrial courses are included for reasons which are many and valid, a few of which will be enumerated. The industrial courses furnish opportunity for utiHzing the children's constructive instincts and for controlling their destructive tendencies. From the time the child begins to pile up sand or blocks, through the ages when boys construct tools and dig caves, and men design temples, bridges, business blocks, and balloons, the constructive instinct is prominent. There is a peculiar pleasure accompanying these acts of con- struction, perhaps because one feels and perceives in concrete form the evidence of his power to do, to modify, and to change. The destructive tendency is probably only a modified form of the constructive, for it gives the same evidence of power to change. (6) Industrial work furnishes variety, and sensible variety deepens interest in school work. Indeed, variety has been said to be the spice of child life. The industrial activities, through which pupils are given a chance to manipulate, furnish the opportunity for motor education or sense training so necessary in the education of the normal child. The industrial work furnishes concrete experi- ence upon which is based much of the abstract con- cepts. "Making things . . . naturally precedes mak- ing pictures of them or compositions about them." (7) The industrial courses are efficient means of in- culcating in the minds of youth the dignity of labor. Andres Bonifacio said, "Diligence in the effort to earn means of subsistence is the genuine love for one's self. 86 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION one's wife, son, daughter, brother, sister, and com- patriot/' More directly than any other single feature of the course of study, the industrial work makes for pro- ductive work and guides youthful power along profit- able lines. It helps instill the educative and economic value of labor. In the first place [a vocational authority writes], children like to work, that is, outside of school, and these work impulses of youth ought to be organized to con- tribute to the educative process. . . . Now, on account of the war, they are aroused to a high pitch, and we ought to be able to organize them in connection with the new work opportunities for higher economic eflficiency as well as for higher social efficiency. (8) The habit of industry is formed through actual doing. The industrial activities foster this desirable habit. Of all the fortunate experience that can come to a child's early life, the habit of industry is of the greatest lasting importance. Its application to every phase of business and of enterprise is self-evident. To have learned to work and to enjoy work, to have acquired a feeling of dissatisfaction with idleness and indifference, to have attained to a condition where definite results are necessary to happiness and contentment, is a state of mind and personal being that defines opportunity as success and possibility to reality. One of the saddest experiences that many healthy children suffer is that of not having an opportunity for a normal response to their natural want for productive occupation. This want is fully supplied in country life. There is work suitable to the power and the strength of the youngest pupils, there is abundant opportunity for them to engage in productive activities, there are privileges to use judgment and to practice experiments, there is chance to study and invent, there is VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 87 abundance of service for initiative and for testing to the fullest extent, while character is developed and personality is expanded. The marvelousness of these thmgs is easily realized by those whose pupils have had such training and such experiences. (9) MAIN OBJECTS From the standpoint of the individual the chief aims of industrial education are (a) industrial intelligence, (6) industrial skill, and (c) industrial sympathy — in- telligence to mean insight into the thought process and product; skill to mean power and dexterity in production; and sympathy to mean desire to work and love for the laborer. Sources of Quotations and References (1) Cyclopedia of Education, Vol. Ill, p. 425. (2) WooDLEY, O. I. and M. V. The Profession of Teaching, Ch. I. (3) Quoted in Woodley, The Profession of Teaching, p. 224. (4) Hanus, Paul H., in Introduction to Bloomfield's The Vo- cational Guidance of Youth. (5) Service Manual and Courses of Study. (6) Bjrkpatrick, E. A. Fundamentals of Child Study, pp. 207-208. (7) , p. 208. (8) Dean, A. D. Our Schools in War Time — and After. (9) Seerley, H. H. The Country School, pp. 14-15. General Bibliography 1. CooLEY, E. G. Vocational Education in Europe. 2. Snedden, D. The Problem of Vocational Education. 3. Bloomfield, M. The Vocational Guidance of Youth. 4. GowiN, E. B., and Wheatley, W. A. Occupations. 5. Leavitt, F. M. Examples of Industrial Education. 6. Patten, S. N. The New Basis of Civilization. 7. Eaton, J. J. Record Forms for Vocational School. 8. Davis, J. B. Vocational and Moral Guidance. 9. Dean, A. D. Our Schools in War Time — and After. 10. Beckwith, H. German Industrial Education and Its Lessons for the United States. 11. Snedden, D. Vocational Education, CHAPTER SEVEN Achievements of a Practical Character One of our most important educational problems is to make the good contagious and to check the spread of the bad among our barrios. Evolutionary activities have been going on in barrio schools and barrio com- munities, but the great problem is how to spread the good and check the contagion of the bad. Efficient education aims to make changes for the better and prevent changes for the worse. To realize this in barrio education and barrio life there is need of more in- spiration and less irritation; deeper sympathy with barrio folk and less nagging of them; more treasuring of virtues and less measuring of weaknesses. The dis- cussion which follows seeks to do more supporting of high spots and less reporting on low spots. SITES AND BUILDINGS An encouraging sign of progress is found in the increase of school sites. A school having an adequate site has many advantages over one that has not, in fulfilling the functions for which it exists. An adequate school site must be ample for the following purposes : (a) to display the building properly; (6) to provide for additional buildings to accommodate industrial activities or increase in attendance; (c) to provide for gardening; (d) to provide grounds for baseball and other games; (e) to make possible the placing of the building at a distance from other houses, thus allowing a freer circulation of air, the maintenance of sanitary conditions about the schools, and freedom from noises which may disturb school work. (1) ACHIEVEMENTS OF A PRACTICAL CHARACTER 89 At the end of the fiscal year 1916 ^ there were school sites, municipal (barrio and central), provincial, and insular, exclusive of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu. Of this number 1698 were barrio school sites, with an area of 8,212,499 square meters, ac- quired by donation, purchase, or reservation. The total increase in school sites during 1916 was 303, of which 299 were municipal sites, 152 being for barrio schools. The number of municipal sites increased by 21 per cent and their area by 14 per cent. The actual area of municipal sites acquired was 203.6 hectares; that of insular and provincial sites was 28.6 hectares. The increase in the value of school sites was approximately 200,200; the percentages of increase in the value of provincial and insular, central, and barrio sites were 5 per cent, 15 per cent, and 6 per cent, respectively. The total estimated value of all the school sites is P2,501,744, and their total area is 22,378,809 square meters.^ (2) ^ There were in 1919 3647 school sites. Of these 3532 were central and barrio school sites, which are classified as follows: first class, 1521; second class, 718; third class, 1293. The remaining 115 sites are classified as provin- cial and Insular. The total value of provincial and Insular school sites is ?'1,366,833.74, and the total value of municipal school sites is ^2,736,761.37. The increase in the number of school sites during 1918 was 454, of which 367 were barrio school sites and 87 were central school sites; and of which 265 were first class, 107 were second class, and 82 were third class. The number of first and second class sites obtained during 1919 was almost double the number of first and second class sites obtained during 1918. The number of third-class sites obtained during 1919 was smaller than the number of third-class sites obtained in 1918. The number of barrio school sites acquired during 1919 was almost double the number of barrio school sites acquired during 1918. The large increase in the total number of sites was due principally to the workings of the extension program. Twentieth Annual Report of the Director of Education, p. 59. 2 1919 statistics show a total area of 72,767,801.76 square meters at an estimated value of P4,103,595.11. 90 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION There is undoubtedly much room for improvement in the housing of our public schools. Many, especially in the barrios, are housed in inadequate temporary or semi-permanent buildings, or in rented or borrowed private houses. Permanent and fairly substantial buildings have, however, been erected in various places. In many barrios temporary schools have been built by the people in spite of the lack of municipal funds. Not long ago the writer visited the division of Bulacan and learned that during the last few months the people of the province contributed P15,000 cash, besides labor and material the value of which it would be difficult to estimate. A good civic spirit was shown by the people in the barrio of Banban, Bulacan, under the leadership of the school authorities, by replacing an absolutely inadequate house with a substantial wooden school building. In another barrio, Santa Ana, the people had a community fish pond from which they used to secure money to finance their annual fiestas. One day they realized the imperative need of a decent school building. The municipality had no money available for construction purposes. The barrio in- habitants decided to lease the fish pond for a period of years and use the money, not for fiestas, but for a school building. Today their children are better housed and are doing better work in a structure which is a monument to the common sense of the community.^ ^ In 1919 there were 3432 buildings, of which 919 were classified as per- manent; 816, as mixed material; and 1697, as temporary or provisional. Of the 919 permanent buildings, 475 were constructed according to stand- ard plans and are known as Gabaldon school buildings. The increase in the number of standard-plan buildings was 16; in the number of special build- ings, 36; in the number of mixed-material buildings, 75; in the number of temporary buildings, 271. The increase in the number of all buildings since 1918 was 398, of which 362 were constructed without Insular assist- ACHIEVEMENTS OF A PRACTICAL CHARACTER 91 In Bacnotan, La Union, a few years ago, the old reconstructed school building in the central barrio was fast outgrowing its usefulness. The school and town officials had foresight and adhered to the policy of accumulating money for a permanent building fund. A temporary building was needed. Several meetings were held to appeal to the people for help. Wood, bamboo, and cogon in great quantities were brought free to the school site soon after. For three months, from eighty to one hundred men worked without a single centavo of pay to construct a new building and avoid the closing of the school, since the old building had been condemned. The only expense to the munici- pality was the payment of the services of one carpenter who directed the work, and the cost of nails. A large ten- room building was erected by the friends of the school as a labor of love, a demonstration of practical patriotism. These and other examples which could be cited are indicative of a new civic spirit, a greater consciousness of the obligations of citizenship. They augur well for the future of our schools and for civilization. They point clearly to the day in a future not distant when the people — elected and electors, governors and governed — shall cheerfully shoulder the burden of increased taxation to meet the needs and demands of an ever growing school population and of the more exacting standards of school efficiency. PHYSICAL WELFARE "The physical-culture program of the Bureau of Education has been justified by results. The young ance. Of the 362 buildings constructed without Insular assistance, 4 were concrete; 96 were mixed material; and 262 were temporary. Twentieth Annual Reyort oj the Director of Education, p. 57. 92 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION people in the public schools enjoy better health than those who do not attend." (3) The barrio teachers have been conscious of their duties as guardians of the children's health. Through care for the cleanliness of the school and premises and the observance of " Clean- Up-Week," through frequent health inspections, through instruction in hygiene and sanitation, direct and indirect, through a more adequate provision of outhouses, through outdoor activities, through the increased attention given to the details of seats and seating, lighting and ventilation, and through the program of physical education, consisting of calis- thenics, group games, and athletics, there resulted an improvement in the health conditions of at least the younger generation of our barrio communities. Better habits of hygiene and sanitation are certainly being formed. INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES There have been notable achievements along in- dustrial lines. In barrios where hat making is taught in the schools, the boys may be seen wearing hats that they themselves made, thus acquiring self-reliance and bringing about economy in the family purse. A few homes are better equipped because of skill ac- quired by boys enrolled in bamboo and rattan furniture classes. The fact that barrio children are wearing rompers and one-piece dresses is in most cases due to instruction in plain sewing. The schools have done a good deal to instill among the people a deeper sense of the dignity of labor. In Meyto, Calumpit, the barrio that won first place in the 1916 barrio efficiency contest, parents encourage pupils in their industrial work. (4) hireau of Education, Manila, P. I. A permanent barrio school building. Bureau >f Education, Manila, P. l. A barrio schoolhouse built from voluntary contributions of barrio people. ACHIEVEMENTS OF A PRACTICAL CHARACTER 93 The following is a report of a barrio teacher's achieve- ments in the province of Capiz : (5) Bayang, a small but progressive barrio in New Wash- ington, is situated on an island about three hours by "baroto" from the center of the town. The people raise rice and a few coconuts and weave "daet," a coarse buri cloth. Before the schools began using this cloth for making bags and cushions, it had been used mainly for partitions, curtains, a sort of blanket, and for purposes requiring a coarse, tough wrapping material. But when the schools began using daet as an industrial material, there was a demand for a better grade than that which was being produced. Finally it was decided to make the cloth in the school established in this barrio. The work was started, but not much progress was made until a teacher by the name of Santiago Bermuda was placed in charge of the school. He taught the bleaching of raffia with citric acid instead of with acid fruits, and thus obtained materials that were very white and pliable yet strong enough to be woven easily. He placed an improved foot loom and a hand loom in the school and set the pupils to work weaving bed, wall, and floor mats, and making cushions, handbags, and hammocks. A cloth suitable for light hats was also developed. As the articles produced were very much superior to anything previously made of buri raffia in that locality, they were disposed of readily and at advanced prices. The people became interested. The attendance grew. Soon 105 pupils were enrolled, some of whom came 2 J kilometers. Seventy- three were enrolled in the first grade. A good temporary building has been constructed. The pupils provide their own materials, with the exception of the citric acid and some dyes. The people are learning the use of the new looms and the new way of bleaching, as well as the finer weaves introduced into the school, and before long the old way of manufacturing will be 94 BARRIO LIFE AND BAHRIO EDUCATION entirely superseded by the more efficient way in all the homes in the barrio. Here is an industrial supervisor's report of industrial achievements in a barrio in the province of Zam- bales: (6) Longos, in the town of Cabangan, is a very poor barrio of a poor municipality. But in spite of its handicaps Longos has maintained a school of one teacher for more than 10 years, and during that time its people have built 8 schoolhouses. Notwithstanding the low salary, F12 per month, which the teachers receive from the municipality, Longos has generally had good teachers who have done some excellent work. During the present school year an average daily attendance of 25 boys has been maintained. Yet these mere children of the first and second grades, during the first 6 months of the present school year, made 45 baskets; fenced a yard of 300 square meters and a school garden of 347 square meters; and cleaned, planted, and cultivated the garden and 8 home gardens with a combined area of 1136 square meters. Besides, they cleaned the school grounds, kept the fences in repair, and decorated the schoolhouse with plants. The school garden is one of the best in the province, and for several years the premises have been maintained in a model condition. The industrial equipment of the boys is all furnished by the individual pupils and consists of 3 or 4 old hoes, 2 bolos, and a few pocket knives. The irrigation system for the garden consists of a few bamboo tubes for carrying water. The girls of the Longos school are even smaller and fewer than the boys. Their work consists in elementary sewing and mat weaving. Stopping at the barrio of Imugan, Nueva Vizcaya, one March day, the writer was pleased to note the clean and well-kept building and premises of a two- ACfflEVEMENTS OF A PRACTICAL CHARACTER 95 room school with fifty-eight primary boys and two industrious teachers. The academic work was as good as the ordinary, the children were courteous and happy, their industrial work was good, and they kept under good cultivation a garden of more than five hectares. Gardening activities and Garden Days in the barrios have contributed immensely toward making the barrio schools more eflScient agencies of social uplift. They have been partly instrumental in increasing, varying, and improving the diet of the people. Garden Days, formerly held only in the larger towns, have now been generally observed in the barrios and are fast becom- ing in the Philippines what agricultural fairs are in the United States. Among the features commonly represented in the Garden Day celebrations are the following: 1. Garden products from school and home gardens. 2. Farm products from farmers. 3. Seed beds in boxes to show seed testing, methods of germination, and transplanting. 4. Fruit-tree seedlings in bamboo tubes and flowering plants in pots. 5. A newly planted fruit tree, showing protection, care, and cultivation. 6. Well-selected seed palay. 7. Selected corn seed ears, and corn exhibit. 8. Shelves filled with bottles of dried seeds labeled, and properly preserved. 9. Fruits, yams, and products of quick-growing crops from all sources. 10. Garden implements, their prices, and where they may be secured. 96 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION 11. Exhibit of poultry and of animals. 12. Boys cooking some vegetable products, as- sisted by domestic science girls. 13. Teacher explaining the various features, animal and plant diseases, etc. Fruit-tree growing and nursery work have claimed the attention of administrative officers in school divisions. Some supervisory officers have made it a requirement that barrio schools having permanently owned sites keep nursery beds for the growing of properly selected seedlings and cuttings. These nurseries have served as sources of supply for carry- ing out the fruit-tree campaigns. In some divisions the local conditions have been studied and the fruit trees that grow best in the various localities have been ascertained. Definite programs of horticultural work were adopted and followed. Once a year, during Arbor Day, special effort is put forth to care for the trees and plants previously planted, to replace those that have died, and to plant additional ones. Several thousands of trees of economic and aesthetic value have thus been grown along the highways, in the plazas, in the yards of many homes, and on the school sites. The continuation and extension of the activities along these lines, so well begun, will years hence bear abundant fruitage. The corn campaign and corn demonstrations that have been conducted have made their influence felt even in the remotest barrios. These activities, which enlisted the attention and support of the schools in cooperation with other agencies, resulted in increasing the hectarage of corn, the average yield of corn from about 8 cavans to over 11 cavans per hectare, and the ACHIEVEMENTS OF A PRACTICAL CHARACTER 97 use of corn as a staple food. They have served to impress upon the pupils and farmers the necessity of seed selection, by emphasizing the following sug- gestions: (7) 1. Select and test your seed corn. 2. Select corn from stalks having two ears. 3. Select ears with straight rows. 4. Select kernels from the middle part of the ear, not from the tips. 5. Select mature corn from the field. 6. Select ears with kernels of uniform color. More people learned to judge corn properly, by the use of the following score card: No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Scores Uniformity of exhibit Market condition . . . Purity of grain color. Shape of ear Proportion of ear , . . , Butts Tips Space between rows . , Per cent grain to ear . Trueness Shape of grain , Uniformity of grains . Weight of ears Possible credits ... Credits given Value Credit 10 5 5 10 10 5 5 10 15 10 5 5 5 100 More recently the Director of Education coordinated the agricultural and allied activities and authorized the organization of boys' and girls' agricultural clubs. The members of these clubs engage in contests and projects of different kinds, among which are the rice- 98 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION and-sweet-potato-growing, poultry-raising, pig-raising, fruit-growing, vegetable-gardening, corn-growing, and cooking contests. The following statistics and esti- mates for the school year 1917-18 show in part what the Philippine public schools have achieved in agri- cultural education: (8) Farminq Agricultural schools 10 Farm schools 14 Settlement farm schools 104 Gardening School gardens 3,960 Home gardens 54,655 Improved school premises 1,768 School lawns 1,234 Tree Planting Fruit trees planted 255,369 Other trees planted 19,100 Cattle Raising Dairy cattle 16 Range cattle 60 Work cattle 125 Carabaos 147 Hog Raising School with Berkshire hogs 28 Public breeding boars 28 Hogs raised 5,900 Poultry Raising Schools with Cantonese stock 50 Poultry distributed 12,879 Chickens raised 138,120 Corn Growing (1914-15 Statistics) Boys grew corn 43,561 Girls taught recipes 8,835 Increased hectarage 46 % Increased average yield 90 % Increased production 258 % ACHIEVEMENTS OF A PRACTICAL CHARACTER 99 Home Projects Poultry projects 4,563 Hog projects 1,925 Seed-rice projects 120 Vegetable projects 64,654 Corn projects 6,731 Other farm-crop projects 2,675 SOCIAL ASPECTS In addition to the achievements discussed above, there are social activities which have in several places received their due share of attention. Athletic meets in barrios or under the auspices of barrio leagues have served to draw the people together and promote a greater feeling of fellowship and spirit of unity. They have also provided wholesome entertainment for a vast number of people who have only limited opportunities for recreation and enjoyment. Educative and educa- tional meetings in the form of literary programs, pro- grams for special occasions, and civico-educational lectures have been held in the schools, making them real social centers. These lectures have touched upon very useful and practical topics, among which may be mentioned the rights and duties of citizens, a garden for every home, the care and treatment of domestic animals, good manners and right conduct, the prevention of diseases, protection of coconut trees from beetles, rice culture, corn, etc. These gatherings have been instru- mental in bringing about greater cooperation on the part of school officials and municipal officials and be- tween teachers and patrons of the school. Partly through the agency of activities of a social nature, there is a closer relation between the school and the home. One of the problems of barrio education in a broad 100 BARBIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION sense is to provide wholesome pleasure for the barrio folk. The Filipinos are, as a people, pleasure lovers and the barrio inhabitants are no exception. Musical programs are always welcomed. Folk dancing, con- sisting of such dances as the carinosa, surtidos, and our primitive dances plus selected folk dances of other peoples, if properly taught and presented, would do much to furnish wholesome pleasure for the rural communities. In our barrio schools, the possibilities of the use of the phonograph, the teaching of songs that may be sung to guitar accompaniment, and even whistling would be in line with the idea of instilling more sunshine in the hearts of the barrio children and barrio people, and are worth considering. The problem of teacherage is an important problem in connection with barrio education. A teacher can do his best work only when his home surroundings are pleasant. Not always is it possible for the teacher to secure a satisfactory home for a boarding place. The preparation of lessons and plans for the following day is necessarily done in the evening, and it is essential that the teacher have a private room in which the work may be done quietly and properly. It is not an occasion for much wonder that barrio teachers often do not make adequate preparations for their work, that they cannot bear the strain, and that they do not long stay in their stations, as long as their home sur- roundings are not made pleasant. The suitable so- lution in most cases seems to be the provision of a teacher's home on the school site. This is not a Uto- pian dream. Cases there have been in various places, especially in the isolated districts, where teacher's homes have been provided. In a barrio of La Union, ACHIEVEMENTS OF A PRACTICAL CHARACTER 101 years ago, the people built not only a school building but also a teacher's home on a standard school site donated by the friends of the school. The teacher had an opportunity to exert an influence of far-reaching effect by leading a home life above the standard of the ordinary life found in the barrios. The teacher had a bed, used a mosquito net, decorated his room, and planted shrubs and vines around the house and also cultivated a lawn in front of it. A sanitary outhouse near by was available. There being no adequate water supply, the teacher used only boiled water for drinking purposes. In other words, he led a model sanitary life which was a practical sermon in right living among the people of the community. The Department of Mindanao and Sulu has done a good deal to make the teacher's life pleasant in iso- lated districts by providing teacher's houses. Min- danao thus offers advantages in this respect not commonly enjoyed in other divisions. Coupled with this is the fact that generally the entrance salaries for teachers who go to the Department of Mindanao and Sulu are higher, and there is the added incentive of a privilege of acquiring homesteads. Mindanao is teeming with hundreds of thousands of hectares of the best and most fertile agricultural land, and the young people of foresight would do well to avail them- selves of the opportunity offered in the South. It should be stated in this connection that not a single teacher of a public school has ever been molested. This shows conclusively that the people of Mindanao and Sulu appreciate their brother Filipinos who go there on a mission of friendship and service. 102 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION THRIFT Teachers owe it to themselves to exercise and teach thrift. "Thrift in the sense that it must be taught by our schools includes more than the mere saving of money. This is its most elemental meaning. In the wider sense it includes ability to make the most of one's environment and of one's self. It includes the ability to make a living and at the same time acquire a competence. In addition to the saving of money, the thrifty person knows how to save time. He knows how to conserve and employ his time, his money, and his resources to the best advantage." (9) Barrio teachers would be personally benefited by employing their leisure moments in avocations like gardening, tree planting, and poultry raising, besides conferring a benefit upon the pupils and the people which cannot be overestimated. Wearing clean and simple clothes; increasing food production; preserving vegetables and fruits ; drying camote and squash; dem- onstrating labor-saving devices; economical cooking; patronizing the postal savings bank — all these things suggest possibilities within the teacher's reach of leading an efiicient life and preparing pupils for life. The teacher's duty will not have been discharged ef- fectively until the pupils have been prepared to earn more than enough to feed and clothe themselves and until they have been led to form the habit of thrift, and this duty cannot be properly discharged unless the teacher is the embodiment of what he preaches. ACHIEVEMENTS OF A PRACTICAL CHARACTER 103 Sources of Quotations and References (1) Bulletin No. 37. (2) Seventeenth Annual Report, Table No. 90. (3) Seventeenth Annual Report, p. 35. (4) The Philippine Craftsman, Vol. IV, pp. 429-450. (5) The Philippine Craftsman, Vol. IV, pp. 355-356. (6) The Philippine Craftsman, Vol. V, p. 702. (7) Bataan Division Circular No. 1, s. 1916. (8) Agricultural Clubs for Filipino Boys and Girls, Organization Pamphlet. (9) Duke, E. A. A Guide to Better Schools, p. 125. General Bibliography 1. The Philippine Craftsman, Vols. I, 11, III, IV, and V. 2. National Education Association Addresses and Proceedings, Vol. LV. 3. Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 37. School Buildings and Grounds. 4. Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 31. School and Home Garden- ing. CHAPTER EIGHT Some Problems of Organization, Administra- tion, AND Supervision It has been stated that the historical order in which good schools are secured is a zigzag, like all progress, and is as follows: (1) Money (more of it and more wisely expended) Supervision (more and better) Money (more, etc.) Administration (better) Teaching (better, and more of it) Money (more, etc.) Course of study (broadened and improved) Money (more, etc.) Textbooks (more and better) Money (more, etc.) Buildings (better) Money (more, etc.) Equipment (more, and better) Money (more, etc.) Then repeat Continue to repeat to the end of time. This is an effective way of presenting the all-im- portant fact that school progress has for its solid foundation the financial basis. *'The initial move- ment, more money, and a desire for better conduct of the schools, must come from the people. Unless there is a substantial and a spontaneous effort by the com- munity to get better schools, there can be found no way for any individuals, whether private citizens or public office holders, to secure for the community better schools." The financial problem — how to secure more money, and its corollary, how it may be expended more wisely — therefore becomes a primary educational problem. Paradoxical as it might seem, 1)4 ORGANIZATION, ADMINISTRATION, SUPERVISION 105 better education necessitates greater burden; free schools, increased taxation. According to the Director of Education in his Seventeenth Annual Report, the cost of education in the Philippines is comparatively low. "Expenditures for education," says the report, "in 1915 amounted to approximately P7,430,243.90, a per capita cost based on population of P0.956, as compared with a per capita of F13.30 in the United States; of f 0.27 in Java; of Tl.lO in Formosa; and of P0.42 in the Federated Malay States and Straits Settlements." (2) DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOOLS The proper distribution of barrio schools is a problem which merits thoughtful study and careful investiga- tion. Heretofore it seems that local initiative has been the chief determining factor. Barrio schools have been established where they have been requested, or where the people were willing to provide sites or erect buildings, and where funds permitted the employ- ment of teachers. Local initiative and popular clamor and desire are, to be sure, exceedingly important and should not with impunity be disregarded. However, is it not the part of educational statesmanship to ex- ercise foresight and establish schools, not necessarily in barrios where people ask for them, but in centrally located barrios or those with possibilities of growth.? Is it not the part of wisdom to control and guide popular desires, even at the risk of inviting adverse criticism, and to establish schools only where they should be and where they ought to be? Does it not pay to map out a district, province, or section, study the topography of the region, determine the distribu- 106 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION tion of population, know the distances between the town and each barrio and between the barrios, and on the basis of such a study decide with insight and fore- sight where barrio schools should be established? Surely all will agree that it is necessary to have a well- defined plan and policy in the extension of barrio schools and the establishment of new ones. As in sanitation, prevention is better than cure in barrio education. PYEAMIDAL ORGANIZATION In the organization of classes teachers and prin- cipals have been at times myopic. Schools there have been where there were first, second, and fourth grade classes but no third grade, or where there was but one class of each grade. An arrangement like either of these is indicative of a lack of foresight. Far-seeing organizers provide for the continuity of classes. They look far enough ahead and plan for the future. They see to it that there is some sort of py- ramidal organization of classes, as it were; that is to say, ordinarily in a barrio school there should be a greater number of pupils in the first grade, fewer in the second, fewer in the third than in the second, and fewer in the fourth than in the third, and so on. Just what the exact ratio should be it is difficult to say. Certainly in a barrio school of four teachers, it would be better to omit the establishment of a fourth-grade class of from 7 to 10 pupils one year if by so doing it would be possible to establish an additional third - grade class of from 15 to 25 pupils, or a second- grade class of from 30 to 40, or a first-grade class of from 40 to 50, and thus insure the continuity of classes. In central schools as in barrio schools this ORGANIZATION, ADMINISTRATION, SUPERVISION 107 pyramidal organization should prevail. The central schools should be organized with a due regard to the enrollment of barrio schools which may serve as ''feeders" to the higher classes. The ratio of pupils to be enrolled in the different grades may be de- termined at least approximately by a study of the retardation and promotion in the various grades, together with the growth of the population. Before leaving the question of organizing classes, a few questions may be asked that may prove suggestive for the future. Do supervisory officers study with their teachers before school opens Forms 140, Yearly Class- room Reports, or Forms XVIII or XVIII-A, with a view to having tentative lists of pupils for the different classes or sections.? Are the ratings of the preceding year being used as much as possible as aids in as- signments of pupils to the classes or sections to which they belong .f^ Is there any conscious attempt to regu- late the size of classes, the number of classes of each grade, so as to assure continuity of classes.? OVERCROWDED CLASSES AND SPLIT SESSIONS In the early days the teachers were confronted with the problem of securing pupils to attend schools. Now, and this is in itself a healthy sign, conditions are exactly the reverse. Not how to get pupils to school, but how best to deal with those who may and may not be admitted, is the problem. Due to the excessive number of pupils desiring admission to the public schools, and due to lack of sufficient accommodations, teachers, and money, many classes are overcrowded in many places. Partly as a temporary remedy the "split session" scheme was adopted in places. 108 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION By split session is meant the practice of having a first-grade or second-grade class come to school from 7:30 till 10:00 in the morning under one teacher and another class of third or fourth grade come the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon under the same teacher. Ordinarily the first-grade pupils under the split-session arrangement do not come to school in the afternoon, while the second-grade pupils come part of the time in the afternoon. For the last few years war has been waged against overcrowded classes and split sessions. As a result, fewer schools now have split sessions. The Director of Education in 1916 prescribed the maximum num- ber of pupils permitted to attend each class in the elementary and secondary schools. The limit was rather high, but nevertheless the desirable goal to work for was indicated. "If it were possible," the Director stated, "at the present time to fix ideal standards for attendance, this office would definitely prescribe that the highest number of pupils in any primary grade should be forty, in the intermediate, thirty, and in the years of the secondary course, twenty- five." (3) DISADVANTAGES OF SPLIT SESSIONS It is apparent that split sessions are undesirable. Under the split-session plan the course of study cannot possibly be followed. The course of study for primary grades, page 5, for example, prescribes that in the first grade 1300 minutes per week be devoted to the dif- ferent activities. According to the split-session plan only 750 minutes are allowed first-grade pupils. It is thus apparent that under the split-session plan only ORGANIZATION, ADMINISTRATION, SUPERVISION 109 one half the required time is being enjoyed by the first-grade pupils. It is therefore evident that under the split-session plan the course of study cannot be followed. From the pedagogical standpoint split sessions are a menace to the efficiency of the school system, be- cause no ordinary mortal can properly handle two classes of different grades averaging about 50 to 60 pupils, have blackboard work put up, correct pupils' papers, prepare lesson plans, and conduct good recita- tions. It is also harmful for the pupils of the different grades, because pupils of different ages and sizes are compelled to sit at the same seats. Consequently, this anomaly exists: either the seats are too high for the small pupils, or they are too low for the larger pupils. It should be borne in mind that we are try- ing to work for properly adjusted school desks. The existence of split sessions makes it impossible to carry out the blackboard work required of teachers. Those who have seen model classes are aware that the sizes of letters used by the teacher and pupils for the different grades vary and that the distances between the lines on the papers and on the blackboards also vary for different grades. It is also an administrative and financial waste for pupils to be compelled to attend classes under the split-session plan, because it is obvious that if pupils attend only half of the time required by the course of study, the vast majority of them cannot finish the work of the grade in one year. The two-division program recommended in the Course of Study for Primary Grades, in the "Sug- 110 BARRIO LIFE AND RARRIO EDUCATION gested Daily Programs for Primary Schools" and again in General Instructions No. 18, s. 1917, cannot be carried out under the split-session plan. It is also diflScult to maintain the best order and discipline under the split-session arrangement. From all points of view, therefore, the best educa- tional interests demand that the split-session plan be minimized and in the future it should be completely eradicated. PROMOTION, RETARDATION, ELIMINATION, AND ACCELERATION The problems of promotion, retardation, and ac- celeration are still far from being clearly understood. It is known in a general way that among the main causes of low promotion, retardation, and elimina- tion are split sessions, overcrowded classes, unfavorable school environment, ineffective classroom instruction, inadequate supervision, poor transportation and roads, and poverty of families. It is not definitely known, however, to what extent each is responsible, nor is it known what percentage of failures is due to each of the causes. What may best be done to improve our percentage of promotion and the system of grading and promotion.'^ What changes should be effected to enable a greater number of pupils to finish each grade on the average of one school year.^^ What are the most efficacious remedies to minimize retardation and elimination.'^ How may the normal age of children for each grade be determined.'^ How much departure from the normal age should be allowed within the same section or class .^ What should be done with the very dull ORGANIZATION, ADMINISTRATION, SUPERVISION 111 pupils? with the very bright pupils? Is it not desir- able to accelerate the brighter pupils? If so, how may it best be done? These and related questions are among the unsolved problems of education. A FEW ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPERVISORY PROBLEMS Along administrative and supervisory lines there are many problems awaiting further study and investiga- tion. A few of these may be mentioned in the form of queries: Can there be found a better basis of school taxation that will be more welcomed by the people and will increase funds for educational problems? How may regular increase of revenues be secured, an increase which may be in a measure proportionate to the regular annual increase of the number of pupils and to the necessary extension of educational work? What improvements are necessary in the manner of providing sites and buildings for the barrio schools that they may be more speedily provided and that they may be adequate for the needs of the future? What may be done further to make the barrio school a more effective social center? What additional re- sponsibilities and obligations may safely be given to the school as a social institution without unduly im- pairing its efficiency in the performance of the func- tions peculiarly its own? From what duties may the school be freed in order that it shall minister more effectively to individual and social needs? How may the administration of barrio education — academic, physical, vocational, social — be carried on in order that the education received may function more ef- fectively in the barrio home? What possible and de- sirable activities may be carried on profitably under 112 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION the auspices of the barrio school to reach the adult population? To these and many more problems which are more or less administrative in character may be added supervisory problems that are equally complex and manifold: Is the redistricting of provinces feasible and necessary to secure closer, more frequent, and more efiPective supervision of barrio schools? What is the desirable size of a district for purposes of su- pervision? To what extent do the availability of transportation and the condition of roads affect the effectiveness of supervision? Educationally, what is the desirable unit of supervision? What method or system should be adopted by district supervisory officers in order to maintain a proper balance among their mani- fold duties — clerical, reportorial and routine, ad- ministrative, inspectorial, and supervisory? What is the basis of distinction between these main duties? Is it not desirable that the fundamental difference between inspection and supervision be consciously recognized by the supervisory officer? How may the supervisory officer make his visit of the greatest value to the barrio teacher and the barrio school? How should his time be arranged and allotted so that the barrio schools get their proportional share of super- vision of the extensive, economical, and professional type? What attitude should the supervisory officer take, and how should he deal with the barrio teacher so that he may be looked upon not as a spy but as a genuine friend and helper? What standards should be used to measure results and progress in barrio schools? How should measurement of results and progress be carried on? How should criticisms be ORGANIZATION, ADMINISTRATION, SUPERVISION 113 offered in order that they may encourage greater achievements on the part of pupils and teachers? These by no means form an exhaustive list of super- visory problems, but they are among the most urgent and vital ones. In connection with the problems of supervision, the following special points are deemed essential: (4) 1. That the duty of a supervisory officer ordinarily is to make good better, and bad good. 2. That real supervision, not mere inspection, is to be exercised. 3. That all supervisory officers insist on progress to be made week by week and month by month, and 4. That in the course of their supervision they actually measure results and ascertain the work that is being done and the progress that is being made. Sources of Quotations and References (1) Chancellor, W. E. Our Schools: Their Administration and Supervision. {2) Seventeenth Annual Report, p. 50. (3) General Instructions No. 29, s. 1916. (4) Syllabus on Philippine School Supervision. General Bibliography 1. Bachman, Frank P. Problems in Elementary School Ad- ministration. 2. Ayres, Leonard P. School Organization and Administration. 3. DuTTON and Snedden. Administration of Public Education in the United States. 4. FoGHT, Harold W. Rural Denmark and Its Schools. 5. Hodges, W. T. Impcrrfant Features in Rural School Improvement. 6. Betts and HL\ll. Better Rural Schools. 7. Cubberley, Ellwood P. The Portland Survey. 8. Chancellor, W. E. Our Schools: Their Administration and Supervision. CHAPTER NINE Standardizing Barrio Schools Progress among barrio schools in the past has been in spots more than in streams. This is due to several factors, but chief among them is the lack of a well- defined set of points and principles to serve as a basis for all to work. It is not the contention, of course, that there should be fixed points for which to work for all time. When the points to be considered are fixed, the schools are in danger of becoming fossilized. Whatever may be the points proposed as a basis for standardization, they must be changeable, depending upon changing conditions, in order that educational work may be progressive. There must be also dynamic principles behind the measures or standards, to give life to school work. ENDS SOUGHT IN STANDARDIZING The movement for the standardization of barrio schools which is here urged has for its chief object to make definite the desirable lines of progress leading school officers and progressive patrons of the school to think together, plan together, and pull and push together. To standardize schools means to urge balanced progress. This is done by measuring the efficiency of instruction, by increasing the number of children and adults benefiting by school activities, by aiding in the adjustment of school training to social life, by minimizing, and if possible eliminating, waste, and by setting up definite objectives. lU STANDARDIZING BARRIO SCHOOLS 115 SOME PRECEDENTS IN STANDARDIZING In West Virginia a score card was adopted for use among county superintendents. The efficiency score card provided for rating country schools is as fol- lows: (1) Pcnnts 1. Grounds 10 2. Building 15 S. Light and ventilation 8 4. Decorations 8 5. Water supply 10 6. Equipment 22 7. The teacher _27 Total possible 100 County superintendents rated as Class A those schools scoring between 90 and 100 points; Class B, those between 80 and 90; Class C, those between 70 and 80; Class D, those between 60 and 70; and Class E, those below 60. In a county in Pennsylvania years ago a scheme of standardizing was begun which resulted in raising the standard and in the improvement of many one- teacher schools in the county. The following is a brief description of how the scheme worked: (2) There are 350 one-teacher schools in the county. The standard set is high. The scoring is done by the super- intendent. A four-page circular is put into the hands of each teacher, setting forth 50 minimum requirements for the standard school. The teacher and the organization count 75 points, the physical equipment, including build- ing, grounds, sanitary arrangements, etc., 25 points. Most of the 350 one-teacher schools have come up to the requirements and have received diplomas. The names of these schools are published in a monthly bulletin issued by the county superintendent. 116 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION In many counties in Oregon, wall posters are supplied to the schools, containing a list of standard school points. When the county superintendent visits the schools, he determines in what points the school is satisfactory and places a silver star on the poster before the point. When the school has been awarded a star for each point on the poster, it is given a pennant bearing the words, "Standard School." The list is as follows: (3) Flag — Must be flying in good weather Schoolhouse — Properly lighted and ventilated Conditions of schoolroom — Attractive One standard picture — One new picture during the year unless four good ones are already in room Drinking water — Either fountain or tank and individual cups Outbuildings — Sanitary all the time Walks — From road to house; from house to outbuildings Grounds — Drained; attractive; flowers on grounds or in rooms Spelling contests — Every pupil entered Discipline — Good order at all times Satisfactory work — On part of both teacher and pupils Attendance — Average, 95 per cent for year School board — Teacher's monthly reports must show at least one hour's visit by one or more members of the board each month Teacher — Attending at least 50 per cent of teacher's institutes and subscribing to at least one educational paper In several states of America, either at the initiative of state educational departments or under the leader- ship of county boards of education or of county super- intendents, considerable activity has been displayed in STANDARDIZING BARRIO SCHOOLS 117 late years to improve the physical conditions of the rural schools. (4) One plan in general use, which has been successfully tried by several county superintendents, is as follows: First, the authorities fix a definition of a "standard," "superior," or "improved" school. They then prepare score cards on which the schools may be rated; and a banner, diploma, or plate is awarded to each school whose score is sufficiently high. In many cases the scheme con- cerns itself not alone with the physical conditions of the school, but also with the teacher, the course of study, the program, and with special features of instructional work. In 1911 some such plan was inaugurated in Illinois by the state department of education. Two types of rural and village schools are recognized, "standard" and "superior." The state department awards a plate bearing the words "Standard School" or "Su- perior School" to the school reaching the desired standard. The school receiving it is privileged to in- stall the plate on the front of the building, where it may easily be seen by passers-by. A school is approved and the plate is awarded only after a personal in- spection by a representative of the state department of education. The plate may be recalled at any time if the school falls below the standard requirements. The representative of the state department makes visits for the purpose of determining whether schools are or are not entitled to recognition, upon the invitation of the county superintendent. The following main points are considered: yard and outhouses, the school- house, furnishings and supplies, the organization and the teacher. Each of these points is subdivided. The * standard school' is one * which has all that a 118 BARRIO LIFE AND PARRIO EDUCATION school must have to be a good school.' A 'superior school' is one * which has everything that a school should have to make it the best school.'" In Alabama a scheme similar to the Illinois plan has been adopted. There schools are also approved as "standard" or "superior." They are scored on a percentage basis, a maximum of 20 per cent being al- lowed on buildings and grounds, 24 per cent on equip- ment, 26 per cent on vitalizing agencies, and 30 per cent on administration. The points considered differ somewhat from those given on the Illinois require- ments. Any school scoring 100 per cent is designated "standard" and is awarded a special diploma by the State department of education. Should a school make a total of 120 points, by grading on any or all of the items considered on the score card, it is entitled to a diploma as a "superior school." Schools graded below 100 per cent on the standard school basis are ranked as Grade A, B, or C, and as "scrub" schools if their rank is below 60 per cent. The scoring is done by the State supervisor of rural schools if practicable; otherwise by a local committee appointed by the State superintendent of public instruction. PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE In some divisions or districts there have been at- tempts more or less to standardize schools by direct- ing the attention of the force to certain definite points to work for. At the beginning of the school year 1916-17, supervision in the Division of Mindoro was systematized. This was done by leading the super- visory officers to become conscious of the fourfold main divisions of their work and outlining in some detail the duties incidental to the work of supervi- STANDARDIZING BARRIO SCHOOLS 119 sion. (5) This was followed by the adoption of a division form for inspection and supervision which served to control effort in the direction of improving certain definite features. The division form was mimeographed on a sheet of paper about 8 by 10 inches, one side of which was filled by the several points which are indicated in the copy of it given below; the other side was left blank for supervisory officers to write in it the helps and suggestions given to teachers and schools visited. One copy was left with the teacher or school concerned, one was for the supervising teacher, and one for the division office. The following is a copy of the division form in question: Form for Inspection and Supervision District School or Teacher I. General Information: (Use "Y" for "Yes" and "N" for "No" in blanks.) 1. Site: adequate ; free from weeds ; free from papers and rubbish ; fenced permanently ; temporarily ; permanent improvement plan made ; approved ; lawn Bermuda grass, any ; kept ; mowed ; walks, laid out ; paved with coral ; cement ; used ; hedges, violet ; hibiscus ; trimmed . 2. Building and rooms: clean ; adequate ; hy- gienic . 3. Equipment: Desks, sufficient ; adjusted aligned ; cared for ; Blackboards, framed ; of proper heights ; four in each class ; ruled, single line ; with indelible pencil ; of prescribed distances ; Teacher has chair ; table ; aparador ; Program accurate ; posted _\ framed in wood with glass ; Waste basket, one in each room ; used by pupils . 120 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION 4. Outhouses: one for girls ; one for boys ; screened with vines ; used ; pit system ; pail system ; fly proof ; kept sanitary . 5. Forms, reports, and records: Form I, neat ; up-to-date ; accurate ; Form II, and 24 or 48 kept daily ; accurately ; Forms 151, 152, 153, satisfactory ; Forms 100, 101, satisfactory ; Forms 137, 138, satisfactory ; Reports, records, correspondence, filed ; systematically . 6. Attendance: punctual ; regular ; continu- ous . 7. Decorations: G. M. & R. C. pictures, complete ; framed in wood with glass ; properly put up ; Potted plants used ; Good pots and tripods used ; Choice orchids hung ; large pictures, framed in wood with glass used . 8. Discipline: Formation of lines orderly ; unnecessary noise made ; mechanical movements automatized ; pupils' places definite ; known and followed ; girls march first ; Voice, in class, moderate; Teacher's ; pupils' ; Discipline based upon fear ; interest in work ; respect of authority ; love of order . 9. Athletics: Schedules posted ; followed ; every- body engaged in athletics ; Regular practice carried on . 10. Industrial: Courses prescribed followed ; everybody has work ; materials ; tools necessary . 11. Academic: Course of study known by teacher ; Copy easily accessible ; Texts sufficient for pupils ; Supplies sufficient ; properly cared for . II. Some Points for Supervision of Classroom Instruction Aim: Definiteness, adequacy, clearness. Aim of recita- tion" conducted and aim in lesson plan compared. Was it realized? STANDARDIZING BARRIO SCHOOLS 121 Subject Matter: Organization. Suitability as related to aim. Adaptability to grade and pupils. Relation to texts, outlines and course. Methods: Relation to subject matter and aim; kind of procedure; nature of question and answers. Teacher: His strong points and weak points. Help and Suggestions Given. (Write on the back of forms in triplicate.) Supervisory Officer's signature It will be noticed that the first part of the form mentions a good many matters of general character which supervisory officers should pass upon in their visits, filling out the blanks with the appropriate letters as directed in the form. With teachers, principals, and supervising teachers making note of the points needing improvement, a greater degree of cooperation can be secured to effect such changes as tend to im- prove conditions. The second part of the form has to do with supervision of instruction. From the very nature of the case, it is necessary to mention the main points in general terms. In the exercise of supervision, the supervisory officer must be guided by certain educational principles, and this being so, it is not pos- sible to put down very specific points, to be followed in every recitation. Certain points, however, are emphasized, namely: that in both the academic and industrial activities the aim, subject matter, and method should be the three important points to receive atten- tion. The teacher's strong and weak points should also be considered. If the suggestions given, together with the several points taken ud, were studied and acted upon in our schools, especially in the barrios, concerted action could be taken to effect improvement. (6) 122 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION During the same school year, systematic effort was put forth in the Division of Pangasinan to secure greater efficiency in school work. In a circular issued early in the year, certain special features were emphasized, although conscious effort was made to maintain a proper equilibrium among the various phases of school work. Competition was carried on among the various elementary schools, including the barrios. Certain well-defined bases were specified, among which were academic work, industrial work, athletics, school buildings, school grounds, hygienic conditions and ethical conditions, school libraries and other activities, support of the school by the community, improvement of the schoolhouses by the community, industrial museum, property reports, and office work. Later in the same school year a more detailed efficiency score card was issued, giving a maximum credit of 35 points to academic work; 20 points to industrial work; 10 points to athletics; 12 points to school buildings, equipment, and grounds; 5 points for hygienic and ethical conditions; 8 points to the school library; 4 points to various school activities; 6 to property reports and office work. The best schools in each district were then rated by the division office. The general average for each school rated highest in each district was then found, and the winners were thus determined. PROPOSED REQUIREMENTS FOR STANDARDIZING BARRIO SCHOOLS On the basis of a study made of American and Philippine experience, a plan is here proposed as a basis for standardizing barrio schools. As fundamental principles of standardization the following are con- STANDARDIZING BARRIO SCHOOLS 123 sidered: (a) sites and buildings, (6) equipment, (c) organization, instruction, administration, and supervi- sion, (d) vitalizing agencies and miscellaneous points. There will undoubtedly be difference of opinion as to the special points that should be included in the standardization card and also in the distribution of weights. As stated in the first part of this discussion, it is not desirable that the points be absolutely fixed and unchangeable. At certain stated periods when there is a shifting of emphasis and as certain conditions become more or less settled, it is undoubtedly wise to change the points and perhaps revise the distribu- tion of weights. Nevertheless, the writer feels that the proposed requirement for standardizing is worthy to be tried. Experience with it will undoubtedly lead to improvement of the plan. It is proposed that the barrio schools in each dis- trict or in each province be placed in competition, having for a competitive basis the points indicated herein or such additional points as the particular local conditions may seem to warrant. It is suggested that a plate or a diploma be awarded to a barrio school fulfilling the requirements, bearing the words "Model School," "Standard School," or "Superior School." If these terms are not acceptable, the schools may be ranked as Class C, Class B, Class A, or as third class, second class, or first class. The school to be classified as model school, or as Class C or third class, should secure at least 85 to 90 points; the school to be classi- fied as standard school, Class B or second class, should secure a rating of at least from 90 to 95 points; and the school to be classified as superior school. Class A or first class, should secure a rating of 95 points or over. 124 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION Tentative Form for Standardizing Barrio Schools I. Sites and buildings — 10 points .... (Select only 10 items) 1. Site: adequate, first class 2. Site: permanent plan, improvement, cleanliness 3. Building adequate 4. Building: safety, strength, and con- struction 5. Building: clean, painted, in good re- pair 6. Two outhouses provided 7. Outhouses: clean, sanitary, screened 8. Good walks provided 9. Good strong fence 10. Sufficient trees planted and cared for 11. Lighting and ventilation of building . 12. Cleanliness and beauty of premises . . II. Equipment — 10 points (Select only 10 items) 1. Desks: sufficient, clean, and adjusted (required) 2. Desks: alignment and arrangement . 3. Teacher's chair and table 4. Aparador 5. Blackboards: at least four in 1 class, 6. Objects for teaching 7. Pictures, properly framed and hung . 8. Mottoes and programs, properly framed and hung 9. Globes, maps, charts 10. Library 11. Water deposit with clean artesian well water or boiled water 12. Care and filing of circulars, instruc tions, forms 13. Place and shelves, or care of property III. Organization, Instruction, Ad- ministration, and Supervision — 70 points Points allowed 10 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 1 70 Points given D.S Supv P or T Average STANDARDIZING BARRIO SCHOOLS 125 Tentative Form for Standardizing Barrio Schools — Continued 10. Classes of proper size Pupils properly classified and graded Pupils furnished with texts Course of study studied and followed Lesson plans satisfactory, up-to-date Teacher: (12) Personality and character. , Training and experience .... Knowledge of subject matter Teaching methods Use of English Influence on pupils Influence on community .... Attitude to co-workers and criticisms I. Quality of work as a whole . Blackboard work: neatness, suit- ability Discipline Academic Aim: definiteness, adequacy, suitability Subject matter: organization, suitability as related to aim, adaptability to grade and pupils, relation to texts, outlines, a. b. c. d. e. /. 9- h. course Method : Organization, relation to subject matter and aim, kind of procedure, nature of questions and answers Industrial work a. Courses prescribed followed and suitable b. Work and materials for every pupil c. Pupils' understanding of work and processes d. Pupils' skill in work c. Pupils' love of work /. Proper tools used Points allowed 2 2 1 1 3 12 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 20 7 10 1 1 1 1 1 1 Points given D.S. Suvp P orT Average 126 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION Tentative Form for Standardizing Barrio Schools — Continued g. Speed of work h. Quality of work i. Disposition of products .... j. Industrial English 11. Athletics a. Schedule prepared, posted, and followed b. Everybody takes part and ex ercises regularly c. Clean, wholesome spirit d. Teacher participates in pupils' games Athletic courtesy Use of English Attendance: punctuality, regularity, continuity Care of books, supplies, and other property /• 12. 13. IV. Vitalizing Agencies and Miscel laneous — 10 points (Select only 10 items) 1. Agricultural clubs 2. Food-production activities 3. Nurseries and fruit-tree campaign . . . 4. Musical organizations 5. Social and literary societies 6. Parents' meetings 7. Indoor decoration 8. Outdoor aesthetics: hedges, flowers, roses, lawn, climbing vines, or chids, potted plants, etc 9. Reading circle 10. Special days: Arbor and Bird Day, Rizal Day, Garden Day, Health Day 11. Civico-educational movements. . . 12. Better-baby contests 13. School contests Total Points allowed Points given D.S. Suvp. P orT Average STANDARDIZING BARRIO SCHOOLS 127 It will be noted that in the above form there are six columns. The first column contains the items con- sidered; the second column contains the maximum points allowed; the third column allows the points given by the Division Superintendent or his authorized representative; the fourth column allows space for points given by the supervising teacher; the fifth column allows space for points given by the principal or teacher; the sixth and last column allows space for the average. The rating awarded may of course be in terms of units or fractions. It is not expected that each and every point will be rated by three dif- ferent persons. It is, however, desirable that each item considered be rated by at least two different ones. In running a competition among barrio schools in a district or province, the following suggestions should be borne in mind: A careful plan should first be pre- pared; the enthusiasm of supervising teachers, prin- cipals, and teachers should be enlisted; the objects should be explained, special emphasis being given to the desirability of raising our barrio schools to a higher plane; the details should be worked out and submitted for discussion to a committee of representa- tives from the districts or schools concerned before definitely launching the campaign; equal opportunity as far as possible should be given to all ; the method of scoring should be made clear so that it may be uni- formly applied; and an impartial judge or committee should be selected to render the final decision in order that the competition may be fair, just, and reasonable. It may also be advisable to agree upon the terms or classification to be used; the method of financing the diplomas or plates to be awarded, and the way they 128 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION are to be awarded. It should be clear to all that a pennant, diploma, or plate awarded may be recalled if the school falls below the standards set after secur- ing the symbol of recognition. If the plan herein outlined is carried out properly; if the standards set are high and the method of rating strict; if the symbol of recognition is awarded on the basis of real merit, then the movement for standardiz- ing barrio schools will result in increasing the efficiency of barrio education and enriching barrio life. Sources of Quotations and References (1) Commissioner of Education Report, 1913, Vol. I, p. 172. (2) Ibid. (3) Ibid., p. 174. (4) Discussion of recent tendencies in Commissioner of Education Report and in Duke's A Guide to Better Schools. (5) Division Circular, Mindoro, No. 20, s. 1916. (6) Division Circular, Mindoro, No. 21, s. 1916. (7) Division Circulars, Pangasinan, No. 44, s. 1916; No. 50, s. 1916; No. 4, s. 1917; No. 16, s. 1917; No. 19, s. 1917. General Bibliography 1. CuBBERLEY, E. P. Rural Life and Education. 2. Betts and Hall. Better Rural Schools. 3. Bachman, Frank P. Problems in Elementary School Ad- ministration. 4. McMuRRY, Frank M. Elementary School Standards. 5. Cook, Katherine M., and Monahan, A. C. Rural School Supervision, Bulletin, No. 48, 1916, U. S. Bureau of Edu- cation. 6. Hodges, W. T. Important Features in Rural School Improve- ment, Bulletin No. 25, 1914, U. S. Bureau of Education. 7. U. S. Commissioner of Education Report, 1913, Vol. I, pp. 157-210. 8. U. S. Commissioner of Education Report, 1914, Vol. I, pp. 99-125. CHAPTER TEN Vitalizing Agencies of Barrio Life We are fast learning to take the right outlook on barrio life. Our barrio inhabitants must learn that agricul- tural life can be complete in itself. The barrio farmers and their families are not now as much as formerly subject to witty lampooning or ridicule. The farmer as a factor in our national life is fast coming into his own. "With the conquest of the soil came new, hitherto unknown powers." Education blazed the path. Education, too, shall enable the farmer's son or daughter to "walk with kings nor lose the common touch." Denmark's example: an inspiration The example of Denmark with her population of about 3,000,000, sixty-one per cent of which may be classed as rural, should be a great inspiration to us. "Taken as a whole, nature has treated Denmark in a stepmotherly fashion so far as riches of soil are con- cerned. The fact that the country is producing great crops from the land is not because of any fresh, virgin fertility or other natural resource, but because of the application of a broad, general intelligence to the work of building up a naturally meager soil, forcing it to produce more and more." This much handicapped country, with a raw and inhospitable climate the greater part of the year, has waged a mighty war against nature. "7n less than two generations a poorly ordered agricultural system has been changed to the best on the European continent." Read her great achievement as expressed in the amount of annual exports: (1) 129 130 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION In 1881, just before cooperative enterprise among the farmers had begun to be felt, the net export in the three farm staples — butter, bacon, and eggs — was valued at $12,010,000. In 1904 it had increased to $68,070,000, and only eight years later had reached the surprisingly large sum of $125,000,000. Such figures as these can be explained only in a rapidly growing knowledge of agri- cultural production and a scientific handling and marketing of the products — all of which has come to the people through a system of schools peculiarly adapted to rural needs. Ponder long on Denmark's record! Ponder longer on what we could do and should do with our popula- tion, four times that of Denmark, with a country blessed with natural resources untold, and with soil in fertility unexcelled! VITALIZED SCHOOLS A new barrio life is dawning. Conditions are rapidly changing, necessitating readjustments. The barrio school has been for some time the most eflScient social institution in barrio communities, and if it is to hold this enviable position it must be vitalized. The barrio school needs a new and better-paid teacher, more ef- fective teaching, and expert supervision which has for its primary object the increasing of teaching power and teaching effectiveness. It needs a school official deeply sympathetic with, and interested in, child and community life. The vitalized barrio school must be consecrated to the service of child development and community uplift. We shall now pass in rapid review some of the vitalizing agencies of barrio life and barrio education. VITALIZING AGENCIES OF BARRIO LIFE 131 GARDENING Gardening for boys and cooking and plain sewing for girls are the most important industrial courses for barrio children. The primary object of gardening is to help elevate the standard of hving and to increase, vary, and improve the diet of the people. The barrio school must help the farmer to obtain greater returns from his labor. Our farmers are among the hardest- working and most frugal elements in our population, but much of their labor goes for naught through lack of proper knowledge, skill, and tools to obtain the largest returns from the labor expended. It is safe to state that they could increase their products and profits manifold with little or no additional labor if they would put into practice the simple lessons of proper seed selection, stock breeding, irrigation, and cultivation. "And the most natural and effective way to put the farmer into possession of the scientific knowl- edge and skill required is through the rural school." (2) AGRICULTURAL CLUBS In 1916 agricultural clubs for Filipino boys and girls were organized. (3) These clubs provide op- portunity for boys and girls in our public schools to enroll in one of the following contests: vegetable- gardening contest, hog-raising contest, chicken-raising contest, corn-growing contest, fruit-growing contest, and cooking contest. These activities are encouraged primarily as home projects, and pupils doing satis- factory work and meeting the requirements are given credit. The policy has been not so much to enroll the greatest possible number of members in these clubs as to enroll only those who are likely to make a 132 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION success of the projects undertaken. An additional in- centive was given last year when club uniforms and club pins were recommended for use among club members. New clubs are established only as efficient supervision and efficient work can be assured. Last year the club boys in fruit growing planted 27,592 fruit trees. Other boys planted 83,524 fruit trees. The following statistics in hog raising and poultry raising for the year 1917-18 will be of interest: Hog raising: School with Berkshire hogs 28 Public breeding boars 28 Hogs raised 5,900 Poultry raising: Schools with Cantonese stock 50 Poultry distributed 12,879 Chickens raised 138,120 FRUIT TREES AND NURSERIES There are other features of barrio school activities that promote agricultural development. Practically every division has a fruit-tree campaign going on, and the barrio schools play a prominent part. In these campaigns division superintendents plan the * A very marked advance in animal husbandry was made during 1919. The school farms were better supplied with work animals than ever before. All animal projects have thrived. This feature of the school work has done much to improve the livestock of farmers residing in localities where schools are located. The extent of the animal-husbandry work undertaken is shown by the fact that on March 31, 1919, there was a total of 111,556 chickens at 860 schools; a total of 4826 hogs at 313 schools; a total of 250 heads of range cattle at 9 schools; and a total of 360 carabaos and bullocks at 123 schools. During the year 1919 public school pupils raised and disposed of 243,268 chickens and 10,504 hogs in addition to the chickens and hogs kept for breed- ing purposes at the schools. Practically all the meat consumed by pupils who are subsisted on school farms is raised by the pupils themselves. Twentieth Annual Report of the Director of Education, p. 40. VITALIZING AGENCIES OF BARRIO LIFE 133 work for the division, study the fruit trees or plants most suitable for cultivation in the different localities, and encourage all the students — and require a certain number — to engage in this work. The Arbor Day activities of course are eminently agricultural in their nature, and this annual festivity has been broadened in its scope in recent years through the action of the Governor-General, who annually issues a proclamation making Arbor Day a general festivity for the people of these Islands. For the last few years, in connection with the observance of Arbor Day, emphasis in the planting of trees was placed in the following order: (1) First emphasis should be given papayas, bananas, and all trees the fruit of which will increase the food supply of the people. (2) Next, emphasis should be given such shade trees as have an economic value, due to the commercial value of the wood or seed. (3) Of third importance should be those shade trees which are also ornamental. Nurseries are necessary adjuncts to the fruit-tree campaign. In the care and cultivation of school nurseries emphasis is placed upon the propagation, distribution, and planting of trees possessing economic value. During the school year 1916-17, 1114 schools had nurseries, more than 95,000 fruit trees were dis- tributed, more than 255,000 fruit trees were planted and cared for by pupils, and more than 190,000 trees of all kinds were growing in school nurseries at the end of the school year. (4) 134 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION FOOD-PRODUCTION CAMPAIGN The gardening work, the agricultural club activities, the cultivation of nurseries, and the fruit-tree campaign are all activities carried on in schools that contribute toward the general food-production campaign. Our schools, during the school year 1917-18, were asked by the Director of Education "to double the area of school and home gardens and at least to double the production." Commenting on the response the Di- rector said, "Reports recently received indicate that these results are being attained and in a number of cases surpassed." (5) While the educational phase is held to be the first essential in this movement, the economic phase also is given due attention. The estimated value of garden- ing and agricultural products for the school year 1919-20 is as follows: Gardening P633,000 Settlement farm schools 165,554 Farm schools 56,086 Agricultural schools 119,505 Agricultural clubs 364,656 Total Pl,338,801 The campaign for better and greater food pro- duction is a patriotic and necessary movement. It is a movement that should be kept up vigorously and indefinitely. In this great and important task the barrio schools should play an active part. In addition to the work definitely outlined for them, they should assist by serving as a medium of information to adults, by lectures on agricultural subjects, and by demon- VITALIZING AGENCIES OF BARRIO LIFE 135 strating, through Garden Days and alhed activities, improved methods of farming, poultry, and animal culture. SPECIAL DAYS One special day, Garden Day, has already been re- ferred to. The barrio school can widen the scope of its influence through the observance of other special days. Among these may be mentioned Arbor Day and Bu-d Day, Health Day, and Rizal Day. The annual celebration of Arbor Day and Bird Day fur- nishes an excellent opportunity for barrio people to get together and to think and learn about the eco- nomic and aesthetic value of trees, plants, and birds. We are not generally conscious that "birds are a great aid to man in his battle against insects. Were it not for the birds, those insects which destroy fruits, grains, and trees would be far more abundant than they now are. They can be made less abundant if the insectivorous birds are encouraged and protected. Birds are the farmers' friends." (6) There should be a celebration dedicated to improvement of health and sanitary conditions. A national Health Day at least once a year would be a great blessing to the country. On such occasions one or two matters should be given prominence each year. A Health Day devoted to en- couraging the use of boiled water for drinking purposes, where there is no pure artesian well-water supply, and to the improvement of outhouses would work wonders in the Philippines. Rizal Day is of course widely observed, and rightly. The people become one in the observance of December 30, because they direct their thoughts to the life and virtues of their greatest national hero. Rizal Day programs are, like every- 136 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION tiling else, becoming more practical. In 1917 one of the prominent features of the Rizal Day celebration in Manila was the Better Babies' Contest. Certainly there is no single feature that is more in accord with the spirit of Rizal than this, which makes for the re- duction of infant mortality, for the improvement of children, and for the strengthening of the race. CIVICO-EDUCATIONAL LECTURES The Philippine Legislature, in Act No. 1829, pro- vided that "in each municipality of the Philippine Islands, where possible, principally in the barrios of the same, popular civico-educational lectures shall be dehvered in any of the dialects of the locality." (7) The lectures shall treat of the rights and duties of the citizen, the Municipal Code and Provincial Government Act, the organization of the Central Government, of knowledge or popular notions of certain common crimes, and of any laws which are important in the judgment of the Director of Education, as well as of industry and commerce, especially the mining industry, manufacturing, the breeding and care of animals, and the care and irrigation of plants and trees; and in addition of a varied knowledge of geography and history. (8) Teachers and other persons qualified have served as lecturers. Among the subjects of lectures prepared are Good Citizenship, Good Manners and Right Con- duct, Agriculture and Other Industries as Honorable Vocations, Rice Culture, Corn, Coconut Beetles, A Garden for Every Home, Care and Treatment of Domestic Animals, The Care of Children, and Pre- vention of Diseases. VITALIZING AGENCIES OF BARRIO LIFE 137 SOCIAL AND LITERARY ACTIVITIES As it exists at present, the barrio community offers very limited opportunities for social mingling in neighborhood groups. There is danger of social mo- notony and stagnation. "The nature of the work both in home and in field, the insistent and pressing toil during the greater part of the year, and the isolation of the farm, all tend to an unvarying sameness of life and experience." (9) Unrelieved routine is deadening. The barrio school must see and feel its obligation, in the absence of other institutions, to undertake the task, to relieve this monotony and prevent mental, social, and moral atrophy. This it can do in part by providing greater opportunities for literary and social gatherings and entertainments. School contests — academic, industrial, athletic — have a great drawing power, and school patrons, if invited or informed, attend and enjoy these contests where children whom they know take part, and per- haps other children from the town and other barrios. Literary and social programs on some evenings or on special days would be a source of profit and enjoy- ment to our barrio communities, and they would also serve to strengthen the position of the barrio school as a social center. Musical organizations may be formed, consisting of school children or outsiders, to enliven these entertainments and perhaps give modest concerts on Sundays or holidays, or to furnish music for some social gatherings. Parents' meetings, properly organized and conducted, also would serve a good purpose in bringing parents together and in forming a closer relationship between parents and teachers, thus closing the gap between the school and the home. 138 BARMO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION LIBRARIES AND READING CIRCLES Much has been done in the past in the direction of encouraging teachers and pupils to acquire the reading habit. The development of libraries in the barrio schools is the next logical step. Meanwhile the ad- visability of organizing barrio reading circles should be carefully considered. These circles may from time to time hold meetings which even illiterate adults may attend. For the benefit of these barrio adults some of the members may be assigned to read or sum- marize orally some of the more important news and events. Activities of this nature would in a measure serve to give many barrio folks a peep into the world of events of which they are now more or less ignorant. ADULT SCHOOLS In this connection an extension activity of the barrio schools designed to meet the adults may be men- tioned, the organization of adult classes especially for the illiterates. Once a week on some evening, or twice a month, the busy teacher may hold classes for them, to teach very elementary lessons in the three R's — "Reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic." From time to time teachers of central schools may be invited to help in these classes. If these classes accomplish nothing more than to teach men now illiterate to write their names and candidates' names, they would serve a useful purpose in assisting to secure a clean ballot and a cleaner body politic. VITALIZING AGENCIES OF BARRIO LIFE 139 DECORATION AND ART One of the many things that would bring greater contentment in barrio hfe is improvement in indoor art and decoration and landscape gardening. ' The inartistic devices consisting of unsuitable pictures, shabby and poorly placed objects, withered leaves, festoons of gaudy colors, and unattractive artificial flowers, now so common in barrio home and school, should be replaced with more appropriate decoration. A limited number of portraits of heroes, and other good pictures well framed and suitably placed, if brought into the homes and school, would help a great deal. Ours is a country with unlimited possibilities for beautifying. Outdoor art and landscape gardening must be given attention. There should be a greater activity put forth in the cultivation of lawns, hedges, roses and other flowers, and decorative plants. Out- houses, fences, and houses that now are eyesores could be made attractive by the use of climbing vines, shrubs, and trees for screening purposes. In all this question of outdoor art, cleanliness, neatness, and orderliness are paramount. CONCLUSION AND APPEAL Barrio schools must tend toward the practical; yet we must realize that there is culture in agriculture, in manual labor, and in the practical subjects that concern us daily. What makes our country great? The products, the human products, of our public schools. 140 BARRIO LIFE AND BARRIO EDUCATION Not high-raised battlement or labored mound, Thick wall or moated gate; Not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned; Not bays and broad armed ports, Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride; Not starred and spangled courts, Where low-browed baseness wafts perfume to pride. No! Men, high-minded men. With powers as far above dull brutes endued — In forest, brake, or den — As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude; Men who their duties know. But know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain. The field of barrio education offers unlimited oppor- tunity for the young man or woman who takes barrio teaching seriously. Barrio education demands barrio leadership. The teacher must give himself unstintedly to his work, withholding nothing of time, personality, or effort in the service of his school. The problem of barrio life and barrio education is a national problem. We must bear in mind the words of that great leader and prophet, Woodrow Wilson, in expressing his faith in the common people and common schools: We overlook the fact that the real sources of leadership in the community come from the bottom. We must see to it that the bottom is left open; we must see to it that the soil of the common feeling, of the common conscious- ness, is always fertile and unclogged, for there can be no fruit unless the roots touch the rich sources of life. And it seems to me that the schoolhouses dotted here, there, and everywhere over the great expanse of this nation will some day prove to be the roots of that great tree of liberty which shall spread for the sustenance and protection of all mankind. VITALIZING AGENCIES OF BARRIO LIFE 141 Sources of Quotations and References (1) FoGHT, H. W. Rural Denmark and Its Schoolsy Ch. I. (2) Betts and Hall. Better Rural Schools, p. 26. (S) Organization Pamphlet, Agricultural Clubs for Filipino Boys and Girls. (4) Table 18, p. 145, Eighteenth Annual Report of the Director of Education. (5) Eighteenth Annual Report of the Director of Education, p. 50 (6) Bulletin No. 50, Bureau of Education, p. 43. (7) Act No. 1829, sec. 1. (8) Act No. 1829, sec. 3. (9) Betts and Hall. Better Rural Schools, p. 246. General Bibliography 1. Kern, O. J. Amxmg Country Schools. 2. Betts and Hall. Better Rural Schools. 3. CuBBERLEY, E. P. Rurol Life and Education. 4. . The Improvement of Rural Schools. 5. FoGHT, W. H. Rural Denmark and Its Schools. 6. Duke, E. A. A Guide to Better Schools. 7. Carver, T. N. The Principles of Rural Economics. 8. Wilson, W. H. The Church and the Rural Community 9. Bailey, L. H. The Country-Life Movement. 10. . The Training of Farmers. 11. Davenport, Mrs. E. Possibilities of the Country Home. 12. Carney, Mabel. Country Life and the Country School. 13. MoNAHAN, A. C, and Wright, R. H. Training Courses for Rural Teachers. 14. Eighteenth Annual Report of the Director of Education, APPENDIX A FOURTH PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE) Third Session ) H. No. 142S (No. 2782) An Act Appropriating the Sum of Thirty Million Seven Hundred and Five Thousand Eight Hundred AND Twenty-four Pesos for the Extension of Free Elemental Instruction to All Children of School Age Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Legislature assembled and by the authority of the same: Sec. 1. There is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of thirty million seven himdred and five thousand eight hundred and twenty-four pesos, or such part thereof as may be necessary, for the purpose of extending the facilities of free elemental instruction to all the children of school age of the Archipelago. Of this sum there shall be available for investment on the first of January, nineteen hundred and nineteen, the sum of seven hundred and thirty-five thousand pesos; on the first of January, nineteen hundred and twenty, the sum of three million nine hundred and nineteen thousand pesos; on the first of January, nineteen hundred and twenty- one, the sum of six million three hundred and ^ve thousand four hundred pesos; on the first of January, nineteen hundred and twenty-two, the sum of eight million seven hundred and ten thousand four hundred and forty pesos; and on the first of January, nineteen hundred and twenty-three, the sum of eleven million thirty-five thousand nine hundred and eighty-four pesos. The sums so appropriated shall be in addition to the sums appropriated in the annual appropriations for the Bureau of Education and shall be expended with the approval of the 143 144 APPENDIX A Council of State. The unexpended balances at the end of each one of the aforesaid years shall revert to the general funds of the Insular Treasury. Sec. 2. This Act shall take effect on its approval. Approved, December 6, 1918. APPENDIX B The following provisions of the New Land Law, Act No. 2874, "An Act To Amend and Compile the Laws Rela- tive to Lands of the Public Domain, and for Other Purposes," are quoted for the information of teachers who may wish to secure homesteads or who may wish to assist persons in securing homesteads: Chapter III, Forms of concession of agricultural land Sec. 11. Public lands suitable for agricultural purposes can be disposed of only as follows, and not otherwise: (1) For homestead settlement. (2) By sale. (3) By confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles: (a) By administrative legalization (free patent). (6) By judicial legalization. Chapter IV, Homesteads Sec. 12. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands or of the United States, over the age of eighteen years, or the head of a family, who does not own more than twenty-four hectares of land in said Islands or has not had the benefit of any gratuitous allotment of more than twenty-four hectares of land since the occupation of the Philippine Islands by the United States, may enter a homestead of not exceeding twenty-four hectares of agricultural land of the public domain. Sec. 13. Upon the filing of an application for a home- stead, the Director of Lands, if he finds that the application should be approved, shall do so and authorize the applicant to take possession of the land upon the payment of ten pesos, Philippine currency, as entry fee. Within six months from and after the date of the approval of the application, the applicant shall begin to work the homestead; otherwise he shall lose his prior right to the land. 145 146 APPENDIX B Sec. 14. No certificate shall be given or patent issued for the land applied for until the land has been improved and cultivated. The period within which the land shall be cultivated shall not be less than two nor more than five years, from and after the date of the approval of the appli- cation. The applicant shall, within the said period, notify the Director of Lands as soon as he is ready to acquire the title. If at the date of such notice or at any time within the two years next following the expiration of said period, the applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands by affidavits of two credible witnesses, that he has resided in the municipality in which the land is located, or in a municipality adjacent to the same, and has cultivated the land continuously since the approval of the application, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated or encumbered, and that he has complied with all the requirements of this Act, then, upon the payment of ten pesos, he shall be entitled to a patent. Sec. 15. At the option of the applicant, payment of the fees required in this chapter may be made in annual install- ments. These payments may be made to the municipal treasurer of the locality, who, in turn, shall forward them to the provincial treasurer. In case of the delinquency of the applicant, the Director of Lands may, sixty days after such delinquency has occurred, either cancel the application or grant an extension of time not to exceed one hundred and twenty days for the payment of the sum due. Sec. 16. If at any time before the expiration of the period allowed by law for the making of final proof, it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands, after due notice to the homesteader, that the land entered is not under the law subject to homestead entry, or that the home- steader has actually changed his residence, or voluntarily abandoned the land for more than six months at any one time during the years of residence and occupation herein required, or has otherwise failed to comply with the require- SECURING OF HOMESTEADS 147 ments of this Act, the Director of Lands may cancel the entry. Sec. 17. Before final proof shall be submitted by any person claiming to have complied with the provisions of this chapter, due notice, as prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, shall be given to the public of his intention to make such proof, stating therein the name and address of the homesteader, the description of the land, with its boundaries and area, the names of the witnesses by whom it is expected that the necessary facts will be estabhshed, and the time and place at which, and the name of the officer before whom, such proof will be made. Sec. 18. In case the homesteader shall suffer from mental alienation, or shall for any other reason be incapacitated for exercising his rights personally, the person legally represent- ing him may offer and submit the final proof on behalf of such incapacitated person. Sec. 19. Not more than one homestead shall be allowed to any person; but if a homesteader has made final proof as provided in this chapter and is occupying and cultivating all the land applied for and the area thereof is less than twenty- four hectares, he may apply for an additional homestead on an adjacent tract of land, provided the total area of both parcels does not exceed twenty-four hectares, and with the understanding that he shall with regard to the new tract or additional homestead comply with the same conditions as prescribed by this Act for an original homestead entry. Sec. 20. The cancellation of a homestead entry not due to any fault of the applicant shall not be a bar to his apply- ing for another homestead. Sec. 21. If at any time after the approval of the appli- cation and before the patent is issued, the applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of the Director of Lands that he has complied with all the requirements of the law, but cannot continue with his homestead, through no fault of 148 APPENDIX B his own, and there is a bona fide purchaser for the rights and improvements of the appHcant on the land, and that the conveyance is not made for the purposes of speculation, then the applicant, with the previous approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, may transfer his rights to the land and improvements to any person legally qualified to apply for a homestead, and immediately after such transfer, the purchaser shall file a homestead application to the land so acquired and shall succeed the original home- steader in his rights and obligations, beginning with the date of the approval of said application of the purchaser. Any person who has so transferred his rights may once again apply for a new homestead. Every transfer made without the previous approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be null and void and shall result in the cancellation of the entry and the refusal of the patent. Sec. 22. Any non-Christian native desiring to live upon or occupy land on any of the reservations set aside for the so-called *' non-Christian tribes" without applying for a homestead, may request a permit of occupation for any tract of land of the public domain open to homestead entry under this Act, the area of which shall not exceed ten hectares. It shall be an essential condition that the applicant for the permit cultivate and improve the land, and if such culti- vation has not been begun within six months from and after the date on which the permit was granted, the permit shall ipso facto be canceled. The permit shall be for a term of five years. If at the expiration of this term or at any time theretofore, the holder of the permit shall apply for a homestead under the provisions of this chapter, including the portion for which a permit was granted to him, he shall have the priority; otherwise the land shall be again open to disposition at the expiration of the five years. For each permit the sum of five pesos shall be paid, which may be done in annual installments. APPENDIX C The Government of the Philippine Islands Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Bureau of Agriculture CIRCULAR NO. 77 SAVING AND INVESTING HOARDING MONEY IS NOT THRIFT. THRIFT IMPLIES THE WISE USE OF MONEY BOTH IN SPENDING AND SAVING The rural credit movement attempts to organize coop- erative associations in each municipahty which will develop into village banks. There are (on December 1, 1919) 410 incorporated associations with over P600,000 capital, paid in by over 50,000 shareholders. In many cases shares were bought by public spirited persons who do not intend to borrow but who wish to help a worthy institution in its early struggles against indifference, prejudice, and ignorance. The small farmer needs money to carry on his business. His security does not command the confidence of capitalists and the transactions are usually for such small amounts that only local money lenders will take the trouble to make these small loans, imposing whatever terms they choose on the helpless borrowers. Small loans have been made by rural credit associations since their organization in October 1916 but in every associ- ation many requests cannot be met for lack of funds. It is the policy of the Government to keep these associations absolutely independent and self sustaining. The organizing staff is being maintained by the Government in order to create and maintain interest by explaining the purposes and methods of cooperation. While grateful for the help given by many public spirited men to organize and advance this new idea it must be frankly stated that rural credit cannot 149 150 APPENDIX C as yet be classed as a popular movement in the sense of being " by the people and of the people." The cooperation of educated young men and women is sadly lacking. The false modesty of not working in this movement until regu- larly appointed is all wrong. Every man, woman, and child is hereby appointed as a "committee of one'* to understand rural credit and then to explain it to everybody — every- where, until* real local interest in their own progress is developed in every community. This is real cooperation. There are three ways open for these associations to in- crease their working capital: (1) by selling more shares, (2) by borrowing from capitalists and banks, and (3) by receiving deposits from members and non-members. Every effort is being made to sell more shares but the small farmers have no surplus money, in fact all are borrowers and the capital they have paid in represents a sacrifice. Borrowing for agricultural purposes from mercantile banks is next to impossible, owing to existing rules. Capitalists can loan all the money they have on city real estate directly under their observation. Therefore each association must seek to create depositors to enlist the money now unused and urge people to become thrifty and invest their savings in agriculture. — This is the way to solid success. The following pages clearly explain the theory and practice of saving and of putting the savings at work to do good: "Thrift lies at the very foundation of material success. It is the companion of saving, full brother of frugality, first aid to prudence and economy. The nations of the world that have prospered owe their progress to thrift, because the sum of small savings forms the unshakable fabric of national credit. There is a big difference between saving and hoarding; when money is saved and employed for a definite purpose, it becomes the most constructive agency of human progress. The money that a miser puts away at the bottom of a trunk is inert wealth, and accomplishes nothing save the SAVING AND INVESTING 151 selfish gratification of its owner. To be useful, and to perform the best function of saving, money must work so that it will make more money. The moment you put your funds, no matter how small, out to labor in safety, you become an investor, because your capital is earning something. The great fortunes of the United States originally grew out of small accumulation of savings. It was these that provided the nucleus which was available at the supreme moment when opportunity knocked at the door. In addition to thrift, the average man and woman must also be taught the value of money, which is just as important as the saving sense. If people realized the value of money, they would be much less extravagant." "An old philosopher remarked ruefully after he wasted his small fortune: 'You never know the value of money until you ain't got any more.' At a time of soaring prices, the average man naturally regards the question of saving as somewhat humorous; but as a matter of fact, every man and woman who earns any sort of wage can save, if he or she only has the desire to do so. Spend less than you earn; buy for cash; and keep some account of what you earn and spend. Unfurl these maxims from the very mast head of your life and you are not likely to know want or care. More than this, they mean, when properly followed, a competency of some kind for old age, or at that time of hfe when disease, accident or other mis- fortune removes the means of earning a livelihood. It is not the amount of money that you save, but the fact that you have begun to save, that invests the whole act with a certain moral influence, which properly encouraged becomes stronger and stronger all the time. The way to save lies through order. Apply the same intelligent effort to your money that you expend on the time, energy or material with which you work. The only way to save successfully is to keep constantly 152 APPENDIX C at it. It IS very much like exercise. A man who exercises violently one day and then remains idle two weeks is at a disadvantage, rather than at an advantage, when he starts to exercise again. You can very easily get the saving habit. Instinct is strong in the human race. All it needs is proper encouragement. Nothing so helps to fix the habit of thrift and saving as to have a definite rule set down for yourself. This is where the Postal Savings Bank and Rural Credit Deposits come in. Many people have found it a good rule to ask themselves when they receive their pay, 'How much of this can I save?* in all likelihood some part of it can be spared to swell the savings account. It is a little understood fact that money really works. Many people never become prosperous, simply because they do not understand this important fact." A peso is hke the proverbial acorn. If you plant it right and leave it alone, the results are sometimes amazing. When Benjamin Franklin said that " Money can beget money and its offspring can beget more," he was merely telling what compound interest does. It is possible for every one to deposit some money with rural credit associations, by adopting a system of setting apart that portion of his or her income which can be spared, and by considering this as money saved against the day of need. The following quotations will help you to a right decision: The way to material success in life is simple. The man who sets a straight course and refuses to deviate from it; who lives on less than he makes, is bound to build up a comfortable fortune to retire on when his business days are over. — S. W, Straus. If you want to succeed, save. This is true not so much because of the value of the money which the young man who saves accumulates, but because of the infinitely greater value the system and organization which the practice of saving introduces into his life. This result of the saving SAVING AND INVESTING 153 habit is not generally nor properly appreciated. — Marshall Field. The saving of money usually means the saving of a man. It means cutting off indulgences or avoiding vicious habits. The little difference between what you earn and what you spend is power. It often measures the distance between success and failure. — 0.