Notes on the direction and limits of industrial work

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Part of Philippine Craftsman

Title: Notes on the direction and limits of industrial work
Language: English
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Fulltext: NOTES ON THE DIRECTION AND LIMITS OF INDUSTRIAL WORK. LU"tH.kl'ARKt.k, lnduotri .. lln;J>ector, Bu,..,nuofEJuc"lion. TO A very great extent the direction which the industrial work of the schools of the Philippine Islands may be expected to take during the next few years has been indicated by the character of the Carnival exhibit of 1911 and the exhibit at the First Philippine Exposition in 1912. In a measure also the limits which may be set for the development of school industries along several tines, the extent to which the product of the public schools can be commercialized, and the immediate assistance which the schools can give in the establishment of profitable industries among the people have been cle<trly pointed out by those same exhibits. The opportunities for the development of school industrial work m·e limited only by the energy and ingenuity of the teaching force. The success of the work depends largely upon the teacher's ability to adjust himself to the conditions and opportunities in his own community. While as a teHcher he may be excellent in his presentation of academic subjects and his services may be of great value in the building up of the character and mentality of the pupil, if he has the ingenuity to discove:· a successful way of using the abundant native materials which are now of little worth, thus giving to a community the mean,; of 1·aising the standard of living, he has given service of practical value and will reap the reward of his labors in the estimation both of the people and of the Government. Especially is this true of the supervising teacher and the teacher of industrial work. In 1915 there wil\ be held in the citv of San Francisco in California the Panama-Pacific Expositio;t, which will celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal and the joining of the Atlantic and the Pacific by a water route. The Exposition will be a great fair, largely industrial in nature, at which there will be ofl'ered di:;plays from all parts of the world, showing the"· resources of countries and the products of their hands and factories. The Philippines are to be properly represented at this exposition. an<l the schools of these Tslands will have an unexcelled opportunity to exhibit to the whole world, and espe" NOTE'S ON INIJUSTRIAI. 1!'0/lf{ 49 cially to educators, the results of fifteen years of instruction in the schools of the Islands under the pmctical administration of a body of American superintendents and teachers, many of whom will have been connected with the service for the full term. That the teachers who have given the best years of their lives to the service will rise to the occasion and prepare an exhibit that will be unexampled goes without saying; and in order that the exhibit at San Prancisco may be above criticism, it will be necessary to employ the intervening two years in developing and perfecting the severn\ lines of work to which past experience has given the stamp of public approval. This perfecting of recognized lines will in no way hinder initiative in the development of new ideas, but will be in harmony with it. There <lre many lines of work yet open to experiment, and some of the well-known lines need the best study of enthu!-liastic workers to take them out of the doubtful column. It is evident that certain kinds of home industry are already definitely established and require but little more attention from the schools, except as to introduction into other communities, the improvement of quality or design, and lessons in marketing products in a manner advantageous to the actual producer. Such lines include hats, mats, and cloths. The artistic element can not be ignored in industrial work if it is to be successful in the world's market. Much thought should be given to original designs based on l\Ialaysian art as expressed for ages in the decoration of native weapons, cloths, mats, and hats. Vestiges of this art are to be found in the worl{ of the non-Christian tribes of the Philippines, and the full expression in the work of Malays of the peninsula and contiguous if>les. the Golden Chersonese and Taprobane of antiquity. who drew their artistic as well as their religious ideas from the Asiatic mainland. Tn analysis, the basic principle of ;\1alaysian art is the conventionalization of indigenous leaves, flowers, and other natUI·al ob.iects with an attempt, in some cases, to include classic scene;; from inherited mythology. The natural element almost exclusi\'ely predominates in the native art of the Philippines, and bieng copied from a luxuriant vegetation, which due to the exigencies of plant life in the Tropics contains many vines. has a beauty of line and curvature distinctive of Mala~·sian art, and is resthetically pleasing. It is inexcusable to copy American Indian head designs for sofa pillows when more picturesque designs are abundant; and 50 Tilt: l'liiU/'1'/Nf; CUA.f.'TSMAN to Ot:! content to copy Mojave designs for the decoration of Philippine baskets, neglecting the distinctive designs familiar to nil students of .Malaysia, spells such Jack of originality or initiative as to lny one open to severe criticism. The recognition that awaits the pen;on who successfully interprets the spirit of l\Ialaysian art and embodies it in designs for the industrial work of the schools should be u sumcient incentive [01· anyone to dedicate himself to the problem for a number of years. It is a new field and extremely fascinating, and anyone who will take the time to dip into the damascening of the kri.s and Malar designs on cloth and metal will be amply repaid for the trouble. (See "Damascening in Steel," by T. H. Hendley, and Swettenham's ;;British 1lalaya," pp. 146, 156, 158, 210.) As a practical demonstration of the worth of native designs over foreign in the industrial work of the schools, it is sufficient to refer to the Capiz exhibit at the Exposition of 1912, in which seven centerpieces done in exquisite colored embroidery were displayed and only one piece sold-a bamboo design in greenalthough the price, -1'10, was the highest. The other pieces were conventional designs of the rose, poppy, nasturtium, and violet. In the Philippine::; the division line is sharply drawn between plnin work, in which articles are made for everyday use in the homes of the masses, and fancy articles made for use in the homes of the few or f01· the world's markets. The training of the pupi ls to make articles for home use properly falls in the dom<\in of pr imary school work, because over 90 per cent of the total emollment is in the primary grades and pupils must there receive such instruction as will fit them to improve home conditions and make for the greater individual efficiency of the musses. The amount of time requil·ed in which to attain the requisite proficiency in hand work to produce articles for export in competition with expert home workers of other countries nnturally places such work in the intermediate schools. Pupils who can an·ord to continue their studies through the intermediate schools m·e usually able to afford some luxuries in their homes in the way of furniture, dress, and decoration, and the course of study, therefore, should be so arranged as to recognize this condition. The application of the course of study needs to be carefull~· •. considered with reference to its f1tness to conditions. To teach lgorot boys how to make narra writing desks when they must, after lea\•ing school, make their homes in houses with dirt floors, i:,; patently out of harmony with conditions; likewise, in the case of lgorot gil'is, when we consider the homes NOTf)S ON INIJ(.'S1'/(!AJ. WOHI\ 51 which they will from grinding necessity have to occupy yet for decades, the wisdom of teaching them how to make Jrish crochet, neglecting at the same time such simple necessities as loom weaving, is open to question. The extremes of civilization which are to Ue found represented in the schools of the Philippines are such that great prudence must be exercised in adapting the work outlined in the courses of study to existing conditions so as not to lead to anomalous and absu1·d situations. lt will be a long time before "Modern Priscilla" will be found in Moro or l'dangyan or Tinguian homes, though it requires no stretch of the imagination to think of it as a regular visitor to Manila homes. People pass through industrial epochs in which certain definite conditions are inherent, and though evolution may be hurried in individual cases, history has proved that it is unwise to attempt to jump a people too fa1· and too hurriedly over the steps in human development. The table presented on the next page may be of interest as rough!,\' outlining approximate conditions under which the tencher of industrial work in the Philippines must labor. Of the four general classes here given, the industrial teacher has most to do with ClaBS III , since the majority of the people of the Islands belong to this class. It is the great group of common people from which must. be developed the strength of the nation, the workers, and, under the present government, the \'Oters of the country. Probably between five and six millions come under this classification. To Class IV, the wealthy and influential class, probably less than a million belong, while Classes I and II will account for between one and two millions. Four schools may be taken as typifying the four classes. name!,\': The schools for Negritos of Zambales and Tar lac; the schools of the other non-Christian tribes; any primary schools in the Christian provinces; the higher schools and colleges of the cities and towns. The thoughtful teacher will not make the mistake of introducing such industrial work in his district as will obviously unfit the pupil to fill his station in life, but rather that which will fit him. by industry and application, to raise himself to the next clnss above, and so on up the scale. In his enthusiasm for indu5;tria\ work, however, the educator will not forget the basic principle that must guide, which is this: The development of the child into an intelligent, moral, and efficient unit of society is paramount to the development of a special industr.\'. 52 PRI,.CII'III. OC<"I'I"IITIOS". TflfJ PJ/1/,//'/'INE.' CRAFTS.\/. IN The fow· ,qcncrol cla~M·s (f1Hi tileir preseHI statu.~. Wildfrui to,roo! ~. ~~r:•and aniTr"" l>ut<>r l(ra•~ how•l.oneroom Wild fruit~. camote•. banana;, dom,.tie anirna!• Batnbooorwooden hut, dirt or rcW ~oor, one room No chair or For chair. h~-elo, beneh.,.;oiton log or ston"; h""l~ table. table, noneorlog none; bed, or •Wn<>: bed, "round or plat- platform or formnfr<>e<l•.l hewed!<>!< RamboojtrinU.for RamboojomUiand I cooking utcn- rude clay J><>ts ~no: lean.,. for for c<><>kin.,, tr-eneher; ftn- le.w...,.andrud" ger• ao ~.,.,;,., ""'eptacles for implemento. t...,ncher;fin1<crs aoeatino< in\IJI<>R<>w an<l arl"ilw, Spear and shield. spearandahidd. bolo, ~ri•. blowlflln, head a~ Shan><'n<'<i hamboo, hoi<> Hunting, HohinJI:. ~,";~lto:>ryplantL<>om "·cavin«. plain sewin...:; hand wcavin«. cooking; potter)·:iron"·ork, ~;:'~~';,~~~:lin«; lluntin,., lhhinK. farmin.,, stock raioin.,,pottery, hand wcavinl(, loomwea,·ing Loom weavin"; plain "'winK, hand we.:n·in«; cooking:pot\erY, ironwork;simple buildin<'(; ""'" deninJ<. Sitonrudebenche•; tables, low; h<>d, mat on Hoor; elotheo re<:CP~!~· o';"v~"..!j:~ Claypotallndafcw meta\ J><>t.s and pana; rude receptacle• for tr~ncher, a few plat~ .... etc,; fin""..S. w<><>tl and ~~~~~~~~cmcnt-~ Sandal•. w<><>tl~n sh,.,a,chinela• Ik>lo, cudc farmin« implements, carpentry tools and ~·;~~:' imple· Farrnin«. raiRing, fish ong, hand weavin1<. loom "·,•aving, J><>ttery. boat hunding Chri•tian; b..'l<il\ninl<ofliteracy disal•l>""ranceuf supcr•titi<>n•. L<>omweaving.sp~~ daliz<'<l, plain a nd fancyn~·•:•Jlc work; plain and fancyhandwca,·>nJ<: cooking; ironwork: w<><>tlwork: pottery: ...:ar<leninJC;farmliard mat<:rial.; •e,·cral room~