Editorial

Title

Editorial

Language

English

Year

1914

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

EDITORIAL. Owing to the adjustments made necessary by the appropriations for the present fiscal year, a number of inquiries have been received as to whether or not the publication of THE PHILIPPINE CI<AF'TSMAN would be continued for the coming The Philippine school year. The steady increase of its subscripCratuman, l9H u. tion list is a safe index of growing usefulness and On this account THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAK will be continued along the general lines of its present policy. It is the aim of the Bureau of Education to provide instruction for each pupil in the public schools that will enable him to meet his actual life needs. The industrial instruction provided in the The l'urpo•eof Industria l courses of study is designed to make each pupil industrially efficient. The survey of the industrial instruction in the schools, which is provided in the reports of the industrial supervisors, offers opportunity for a study of the results of this instruction and for an inquiry as to whether or not the industrial training of the past few years has accomplished what it has sought to do. Has the work in school and home gardening improved the living conditions by providing an increased and more varied food supply? Has the instruction in cooking and plain sewing and garment making been of such a character that it may be directly applied at the pupils' homes? Has the shopwork-the construction of furniture of wood, bamboo, and rattan, and the general carpentry work- improved the living conditions of the home? Has the instruction in the household industries been planned and carried out with the idea of teaching an industry or merely an accomplishment? In what degree is the instruction in hygiene and sanitation affecting the habits of living of the pupils? Has there been proper correlation between school work and local industries'? Have new industrial processes been established or old ones improved? The period during which the present industrial program has been in operation in the schools is too short to permit these questions to be answered definitely but the value of the instruction which has been given can be determined with a fair degree of accuracy. 719 720 THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN The Bureau of Education of the Philippine Islands has a distinct message to convey to the educational world at San Francisco in 1915. It is desired to display the handwork of the primary and intermediate public schools in the firm belief that the result will b€ a distinct surprise to educators. Industrial work in the United States began at the top and is slowly working its way through the various strata of the school systems on its way toward the bottom while in the Philippine Islands the opposite course is being taken. Approximately $50,000 worth of school-made articles will be purchased from the school children and sent to the 1915 Exposition. This exhibit will comprise, in the main, needlework of all kinds, from plain sewing to the finest lace and embroidery obtainable from the schools; basket1·y of several standard types; various kinds of hats, mats, and textiles; bamboo furniture from the primary schools and hard-wood furniture from the trade schools; canned fruits, jams and jellies, and interesting novelties of various native materials. It is planned to show at San Francisco a rather complete collection of industrial materials indigenous to the Philippines from which skilled pupil workers will fabricate articles in full view of the public in order that all the processes of the wonderful handwork of the Filipinos may be seen. The plants from which the articles are made will be shown, together with the raw materials in all stages of fabrication from the plant to the finished product. The last few years have been devoted to experiment.'ltion in the schools but the time has now come when the limits of the work have been quite well defined and standardization in various lines can very profitably be undertaken both by the field and the central institutions such as the Philippine Normal School and the industrial department of the General Office. During the present school year there has been a distinct recognition of the fact that certain kinds of work are essentially boys' work or girls' work as the case may be. Another principle that has worked itself out rather clearly is that the handwork of any one section must be based upon the indigenous materials locally available in some little quantity or •. upon imported materials easily procurable. Appreciation of the relation between transportation facilities and the export of industrial work has also been obtained. The nece~o;gity of giving such training in the schools in handwork EDITORIAL 721 as will make the pupil handy in a general way and also train him to do some one thing well is being accepted as a guiding principle more and more each year. A broader conception of the task of instructing the Filipino people along industrial lines has been gained by the teaching force during the past year and more enthusiastic support has therefore been given the work on all sides. The practice of holding preliminary exhibitions of industrial work in the barrios, municipalities, and capitals of the provinces before sending the exhibit to Manila has borne good fruit in those provinces where such a plan has been carried out. The provinces where the industrial exhibit is looked upon as something to be gotten rid of as soon as possible are growing fewer each year. The practice of training each and every primary teacher to handle some line of industrial work has been instrumental in producing a very different type of teacher from that of a few years ago when the work was confined to teaching from n chart or book. The world of things begins to become clearer, definite knowledge of nature and nature's processes and Jaws are being learned, and the confidence that comes from exact knowledge of how to make a basket or mat or raise a good garden is making of the teaching force a power for progress in each community that could never have been developed under the old system of education. ';J would attach a manual-training department to every public primary school in the United States, where, beginning at the age of 9 or 10, under competent teachers, boys could devote an hour a day to the handling of tools. I would make the instructions compulsory. Thus at the age of 14 the boy of average intelligence and application would be able to use many of the tools employed in those trades which are fundamental and important. Then I would have free industrial high schools where boys who had completed the primary course might continue their education. Two years at such a school would qualify a student to take his place in the world as a first-rate mechanic," As soon as we begin to connect our schools with our industries and the vocations of our people we are confused by the demands made upon the schools. However, we are committed to a democracy of education, of which industrial education is but one phase. (Arthur D. Dean.)

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