St Ignatius College - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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ARE THE FILIPINOS EDUCATED? 17 is required to take up agricultural and industrial trainingg for, the child educated as a citizen in the fullest meaning of the term and trained as an agriculturist or a skilled crafts- man is the real product and the demand of the present indus- trial age. To illustrate, the Bureau of Education recently issued a bulletin on plain sewing for the elementary grades- a course intended to train the girls to make clothes for them- selves and for their little brothers and sisters and others at home. The effect of this course in the brief period during which it has been in operation is remarkable and is most gratifying. It can be seen upon the streets of the cities and towns, in all parts of the Islands. While the boys, at prac- tically no expense and with the simple knowledge which they can acquire in the primary grades, are able to furnish their own home with furniture which is attractive and comfort- able-a great step forward in the improvement of home standards. The progress in public education has been made possible by absolute executive control over a single complete system with continuous public support and a loyal corps of teachersg and, because the government has profited by Spanish ex- perience, studied the desires and needs of the Filipinos, made economic and educational surveys, consulted foreign countries having similar conditions, followed the best educational tra- ditions, and made hrst-hand experiments. The cost of public education per capita of total population is 30.495 the post per pupil Cbased on average monthly enroll- mentj is 57.24. The total number of public schools is 4,200 The annual enrollment is 600,000, and the average daily at- tendance is 460,000. There are 530 American and 9,400 Filipino teachers. The director of the Bureau of Education and the president of the University of the Philippines are now Filipinos. It should be borne in mind that the above figures do not include the private schools and universities which are mostly the Spanish institutions reopened. By the order of

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16 THE IGNATIAN The following tabulation by the Bureau of Education sets forth the unit system of education, in which each unit completes the school training for a definite station in life: No. The Units of CCourses years What is this person good What is he worth as a completedl in for? citizen? school F1533-gary, 1 A literate laborer A literate citizen Primary 4 Intelligent worker The boy is educationally well-qualified for franchise. The girl is trained in the care of the home Intermediate 7 A well schooled person, The boy is educationally trained for a good station qualified for local leadership. in life The girl is a good house- keeper and will make a real home Secondary 11 Educated and fitted for Qualified for leadership in an efficient, intelligent ca- political, social, economic, reer and domestic affairs Uniersity 13 Fitted for the highest po- Educationally quafiied for the to sition, professional, com- highest office the people have 17 mercial, or industrial to give for national leader- ship in political, social and economic affairs Some features of the public school system are: Grade courses-primary, intermediate, secondary, and universityg balanced curriculum-academic, vocational, physicalg dif- ferentiation of work for boys and girlsg specialization in the intermediate grades. To meet the needs of pupils who will probably receive no education beyond the four grades of the primary course, practical instruction in hygiene and sanitation, training for citizenship, moral education, education in home-making, in- dustrial and vocational education, and physical training are given. Upon the hypothesis that individual economic independence is the basis of citizenship, every pupil in the elementary grades

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18 THE IGNATIAN the government they have adopted the standard plan of studies, and have taught English side by side with Spanish so that their graduates at least understand the English lan- guage, though they may not speak it fluently. According to the World Almanac of 1916, compiled from statistics furnished by the United States Census Bureau, illiteracy of all over 10 years of age prevails in the following countries in the appened percentage: Philippines, 55.5 per cent, Portugal, 68.9 per cent, Bolivia, 82.9 per cent, Bul- garia, 65.5 per cent, Argentina, 54.4 per cent, Brazil, 85.2 per centg Chile, 49.9 per centg Greece, 57.2 per cent: Guate- mala, 92.7 per cent, Russia, 69 per cent, Roumania, 60.6 per centg Serbia, 78.9 per cent. Today, after more than thirteen years of public education, more than 80 per cent of the adult population must be able to read and write. Dr. R. McDill, of Milwaukee, for thirteen years a resident of the Islands, first as an army officer and second as a university professor, on April 9, 1913, in an address to the Milwaukee Press Club, said: As a race, the Filipinos are conservativeg their decisions are arrived at only after a careful consideration of every phase of a question. They are clever lawyers, and their jurists are notably impartial, up- right, and profoundg the decisions reviewed by superior courts compare most favorably with those of the American members of the bench. Senator F. Shafroth, who has made two visits to the Islands, during the discussion of the Philippine Bill in the Senate, said: In a speech I delivered in the House of Representatives 14 years ago, after a visit to the Islands, I made this statement: 'The general impression exists among many Americans that the Philippine people are savages ...... When I iind behind the prescription desks of the numerous drug stores of the Islands. even when kept by Americans and Englishmen, Filipinos compounding medicines, taken from