Better provisions

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Part of The Philippine Craftsman

Title: Better provisions
extracted text: BETTER PROVISION FOR DOMESTIC-SCIENCE WORK IN TAYABAS. By Paul J. Morgan, Supervising Teacher, Atimonan, and Lloyd Pollard, Supervising The ideal domestic-science building is a suitably constructed house which shall typify, as to distribution of apartments and materials used, the better class of Filipino homes, and which shall at the same time permit the demonstration under the most favorable conditions, of every phase of the subject of house keeping and household arts. The type of building erected during February, March, and April, 1916, in connection with the intermediate school plant at Atimonan, approximates the standard above mentioned; that in Lucena, while of more expensive design, has been modified to meet the necessities of a combined domestic-science and shop building; hence while the interior facilities will be very satis factory for domestic-science work, the resemblance to home conditions will be less evident than in the first case. The class of building to be erected in these places was also determined in a measure by the school funds available—ample in Lucena and limited in Atimonan—and by the further fact that suf ficiently trained school labor was available in the latter munici pality. THE DOMESTIC-SCIENCE BUILDING, ATIMONAN. While the domestic-science work in the Atimonan Intermediate School has steadily improved for a number of years, this subject has been conducted in houses which were rented and which were otherwise unsuited for the purpose. Two years ago the work was conducted in a building far from the intermediate school building; during the past year, although the house was near, it proved unsatisfactory because of a poor roof and poor division of rooms. These unfavorable conditions led to the build ing of a domestic-science house on the school grounds in Atimo nan. A plan was therefore made for a building 24 by 48 feet, which should have wooden posts set in concrete. A nipa roof was used because there was not sufficient money to purchase iron roofing. The framing for the roof, however, was constructed so that the roofing could be changed later. The building in Atimonan is intended to be a model Filipino 143254----5 219 220 THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN house and is divided into a parlor (sala), a dining room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and water-closet. As the trade course is given in the Atimonan Intermediate School, there were sufficient tools on hand and there was a competent teacher to oversee the work. The materials for the building were ordered and received on time, so that actual construction work began on February 25, 1916. After the building was once started, the pupils took great interest in it, and the work progressed so rapidly that the build ing was finished on March 31, 1916, with the exception of hang ing the doors, and some slight inside work. The posts are of yacal, the roof of nipa, two sidewalls of tanguili, and the other two of sawali; the floor is tanguili laid on Domestic-science building. Atimonan. This building was erected in a little more than two months, at a cost of about P800, by pupil labor under the direction of the principal of the school shop. # lauan sleepers 2 by 8 inches by 16 feet. The partitions and ceiling are of sawali, while the framing material is made of lauan planks 2 by 8 inches by 12 feet, and the rafters are of lauan 2 by 4 inches by 8 feet. The total cost of the building, including the paint and doors, was approximately 1*800, but nothing was paid for labor. The pupils became so interested in the work that they often devoted overtime to it; at times the teachers were even obliged to take the tools away from the pupils to prevent too strenuous effort on their part. The erection of the building is considered a success from the standpoint of economy and of durability. Furthermore, this work in actual construction has not only been a great incentive to the pupils but it has also given them a DOMESTIC-SCIENCE WORK IN T AY ABAS 221 practical insight into building construction which they would have gained in no other way. The work, in fact, has proved so successful that it is intended during the school year 1916-17 to construct a building 24 by 96 feet for the use of the primary classes. It is also .intended to do most of the work with pupil labor. As there is no ma chinery in the Atimonan school shop, the work will progress somewhat more slowly than it would otherwise, but it is believed that even without machinery it is much cheaper and more satisfactory to erect the necessary school buildings with pupil labor than to use outside labor, provided there are sufficient tools available and a competent teacher to take charge of the work. DOMESTIC-SCIENCE AND SHOP BUILDING, LUCENA. The Lucena Central School has a yearly enrollment of 688 pupils in Grades I to IV, inclusive, with a yearly enrollment of 75 boys and 52 girls in the fourth grade. Heretofore it has been necessary to use one of the classrooms for the domestic-science work and another for the shop. It was apparent at the opening of the past school year that arrangements should be made for the construction of a domestic-science and shop building in order to provide for the increased attendance. Due to the shape of the school grounds, the only logical location for it would be at the rear of the central school, far enough back to provide sufficient space for the enlargement of the school building and yet not so far back as to encroach on the athletic field. This made it necessary to locate the building over a deep ravine which consequently had to be tiled and filled in. The pupils carried 222 THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN in over 400 cubic meters of earth, laid the tiles and filled in the ravine. The next difficulty that presented itself was the plan for the building. The shop should not be too neai’ the domestic-science department and there was need of a passageway through the building to the athletic field. The railway stations in this country suggested the possible solution of the problem. Work was begun on the building on November 20, 1915, and it was finished on March 31, 1916, under the supervision of the Bureau of Public Works. The building is 60 feet long by 30 feet wide with an 8-foot pas sageway through the center, the domestic-science department being divided into two rooms by a partition running lengthwise of the building and connected by a double door. There is a concrete sidewalk 4 feet 2 inches wide, running completely around the building, with a concrete gutter 10 inches wide to carry off the surface water. The frame work is made entirely of first-group lumber, while the siding, ceiling and partitions are made of good second-group lumber. The floor is made of concrete and the roof of corrugated galvanized iron of the best quality. The do mestic-science department and the passageway are ceiled, while the shop is not, in order to provide for the storing of lumber overhead. In the front room of the domestic-science department a reenforced concrete table for native stoves and a washbasin DOMESTIC-SCIENCE WORK IN TAYABAS were constructed. The roof is provided with gutters connected with pipes leading to the concrete gutter around the walk. These are connected with pipes leading to the tiles in the ravine. The shop has a floor area of 780 square feet, while each room of the domestic-science department has a floor space of 390 square feet. The building is painted inside and out with a good quality of oil paint. The building is especially well lighted, there being 20 windows in the shop and 10 in each of the rooms of the domestic-science department. The municipality of Lucena appropriated 1*4,300 for the con struction of the building, 1*2,500 during 1915 and the balance during 1916. The roofing iron cost 1*469.91, the cement 1*354.92 and the windows 1*365.43. The total cost of materials was 1*2,730.95, while the total cost of the building was 1*4,296.39. If the value of the work done by the pupils in filling in and tiling the ravine is considered, the cost amounted to some 1*600 more. Since June of this year, the Bureau of Education has placed orders with the public schools for nearly 200,000 yards of bobbin lace including cluny, torchon, and Valenciennes.
Date: 1916
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