The school of household industries

Media

Part of Philippine Craftsman

Title: The school of household industries
Language: English
Rights
Fulltext: THE SCHOOL OF' HOUSEHOLD INDUSTRrES. A'l'TENTJON has recenlly been invited to the very remarkable results obtained in Holland, Wurttemberg and other European countries in the general establishment of minor industries among the people through governmental action. The material prosperity of the people has been wonderfully increased b\· this means. '!'he recent action of the Philippine Government i1~ establishing The School of Household Industries for women is quite in line with this European policy and would seem to open the way to similar large results in the economic and industrial de\·elopment of the country. The last session of the Philippine Legislature .appropriated the sum of 1~100,000 for the establishment and maintenance of this school in the city of l\lanila. Through its agency it is believed th<tt it will be possible to introcluce generally throughout the Philippine Islands within a very -brief period various industries by which considerable sums of money may be added to the incomes of thousands of families. The organization, extension and administration of this new movement are entrusted to the Bureau of Education. First attention in the curriculum of the school is to be given to embroidery and lace making. This industry was first introduced into the Philippines through the medium of church schools. 1 n the past two rears it has been widely extended among younger girls through the efforts of the Bureau of Education by means of instruction in the primary and intermediate grades of the public schools. Jt has been proved that F'ilipino girls and women are capable of becoming very expert in such work; their best product is fully up to the high sbmdard of th<tt manufactuJ·ed in the convents of Europe. In the fiscal year 1911. embroidery to the value of t•·l30,000 \\"as exported from the Philippine Islands. '!'his was the product, however, of only a few hundred--or r,t most, a few thousand-women, and the districts in which this industry ha~· de\·eloped to any importance are very limited. It is quite possible to extend this industry to hundreds of thousands of women throughout the !:;lands. The daily income of the ordinar.\· family can unquestionably be increased through the needlework GO TilE" SC/-10(){. OV HOCSE/101./J INDUSTRIES 61 of women and oldet· girls by 50 centavos or more; in fact, se\·eral times that amount may readily be earned in many cases. There is an enormous world market for fine embt·oideries and laces. The United States imports vast quantities of these goods, a-. appear» from the following table showing imports of cotton laces and embroideries into that country for the year 1911: FromGreat Britain France Germany Switzerland Other European countl'ies All other countries Total 1'11,145,810 15,676,272 14,68!:1,57-1 27,59::!,852 1,730,712 1,014,004 71,849,224 In addition, linen laces and embroideries were imported into the Cnited States in 1911 to the value of 1'-'7,832,438. That is, the people of the United States purchase annually from the people of other countries of the world nearly eighty n·,illion pesos· worth of these goods. Furthermore, it must be noted that a large import duty is collected on these materials from other countries, whereas they can enter the United States market from the Philippine Islands free of all duty, this countrr thereby having a marked advantage over all competitors in the ll·ade. In the past few months, many representatives of big embroidery importing concerns in the United States h:we vis. ited the Philippine Islands fot· the purpose of making large purchases; they have in all cases met with disappointment. The present output here is so limited that it is of practically no con· sequence as a means of supplying the enormous demand in the L"nited States. It appears that a first·class product can be produced here in large quantities, and that there is a market In the United Slates greater than can possibly be supplied from the Philippine Islands. The Government has, therefore, in establishing The School of Household Industries, provided means of education placing before the people of the Philippines a remarkable oppm·· tunity for commercial profit. Under the provisions of Act No. 2110 of the Legislature, three hundred scholarships in the School of Household Indus· tries are provided. The Director of Education has apportioned one.half of these to the various provinces, and appointments have been made upon recommendations of division supel'in. tendents of schools. Great care has been taken in the selec· Uon of women to receive instruction under these scholarships; 62 Til f.' 1'/1/UPI'/Nf.' CRAF1'S.11AN it is required th<tt they be persons of character and ambition, having some naturul capacity and taste for business. No specific academic requirements are necessary for eligibility, the personal qualities of the appointeeR solely being considered in determining their illness. l\'liss Fannie 1\'lcGee, formerly supervising teacher in the :\lanila schools, is appointed superintendent of the new institution. At thi~ writing approximately 130 women have arrived in the city and have established themselves in the new building on Calle Cabildo, lntramuros, where they now receive daily instr uction in embroidery and IHce making. In five or six months of daily work in embroidery and lace making, the persont> attending this school can become very proficient in these lines. They will then return to their homes or to other towns agreed upon between them and the Director of Education, and each woman will establish a local center for instruction in her specialty. 1t is desired that she gather atout her a group of industrious women and girb to whom she will give the instruction which she herself will have received in Manila; and when they will have become proficient, she will employ them to work for heJ' at fair wages. New appointee:; will be sent to ]!Janila from time to time to take the places of those returning to their homes. Doubtless many women who receive their instruction in their home tO\\'IlS will be ambitious to establish classes on their own accounts, and so an ever widening circle of activity in household industries will be established upon a practical working basis. It is understood that every woman accepting appointment to The School of Household Industries does so with the full expectation of setting herself up in the embroidery or lace-making business upon her return home. The Government, through the medium of either the Bureau of Education or the Sales Agency, will keep in touch with local industrial centers so established, in order to continuously communicate to them up-to-date information with respect to patterns and standards demanded by the foreign market. The necessary step:; will also be lnken by the Government to make it possible to purchase throughout the Islands the materials needed in this work. and to insure the prompt sale of all product which comes up to the proper standard. They have recently ~pent half a million pesos on <l polytechnic high school in Santa Monica, California. This is more than the Philippine Government plans to spend on its Philippine School of Arts and Trades. BREil/TJt:S 63 In many foreign countries the first steps in industrial training in the schools follow very closely the industries indigenous to the localities. In the beginning of a system, this program is probably well and good; in the Philippines it has been followed to such an extent that even to-day in some towns pupils arc taught in the schools principally the industries which their parents ha\'e followed for generations and which have perhaps been confined within the YeJy narrow limits of their town centers. The wisdom of restricting the program in this manner is doubtful. Again, there are occasional instances in several countries where new lines of work, introduced through schools and convents, have developed into profitable industries; the Irish CI"Ochet industly, transferred half way round the globe, is one of the important lines of hand work for women about Shanghai, and it is extending rapidly; so also loom weaving has been accepted for Igorot girls in the Philippines. In Algiers the first industrial step in lhe schools has been an attempt to revive the manufacture of oriental tapestry and of native embroidery, decadent Algerian industries. Careful judgment must be exercised in the selection of industries to be emphasized in the schools : local industries which should be continued and improved; industries which should be revived; new industries which are suitable for introduction. Peru is entirely reorganizing its public school system, and will probably include industrial training in the new organization. Complaints of lack of system in the Peruvian school administration invite comparison with the Philippine school system which, through its highly centralized and comprehensive structure, provides for such original enterprises as the introduction of a plan of general industrial training. The Philippine scheme of industrial education has been worked out through a period of less than a decade. The movement in the cities of the United States to properly use the streets as playgrounds might be well taken up in many towns in the Philippines, since most children live in towns having little room for play. The magazine "The Playground," 1"4 per year, published monthly by the Playground and Recreation Association of America, No. 1 Madison Avenue, New York, contains much of interest for teachers who desire to take up this work. 64 1'/fb' J>HJUPPINB CRAFTSMAN An exhibit of industrial work from the continuation schools of Germany was recently shown in Chicago and other large cities of the United States. 1t was brought to the United States by Dr. Edwin G. Cooley, formerly superintendent of public schools in Chicago, who was sent to Europe to study the schools. The exhibit included products and photographs from the schools of Munich, Prague, and Fmnkfort. There is no grenter blessing in this world than a steady job, with increasing efficiency and hence increasing wages as time goes on; and the only way to insure that happy state for each individual is \.o gh•e him the training for some skilled vocation in life, whether it be in business, in a trade, or in a profes:-tion.-PAUI. H. HANUS. A report of the occupations and progress of its graduates has been prepared by The Williumson Free School of Mechanical Trades of Pennsylvania. OJ the class of 1910, which had fifty-one members, all bul three are working at the trades learned in the school; of these three, two are working at mechunical drnwing. Onl.\· one reports that he does not like his trade. The average wage per week is 1~33.20. The highest paid trade represented is bricklaying, for which the average wage received is ·1~41.28 per week. 1\'Iembers of t.he class are bricklayers, carpenters, stemn and electrical engineers, machinists, and pattern makers. Question: To what extent do the graduates of the Philippine indu~trial schools follow the trades they have learned? While the public schools and colleges nim only at teaching professions, the greatest need of America, educationally, is the improvement of industrial intelligence and working efficiency in the American youth. We need an educational uplift to craftsmanship, but the school needs the help of the workman and his better work in education. We should realize better the interdependence between our common education and our common industries. This can be effectuated only by a system of indus-'· trial schools, differentiated from the manual training schools, which shall actually t.·ain workmen for the trades and at the same time givP them a broader mental culture.-SAMUEL COMPERS. EDITORIAL AND OFFICIAL. THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN, with this issue, enters the field of industriul education. It is to be the chief agency employed by the Bureau of Education in promoting its program of industrial instruction throughout the Philippine school system. This Bureau has been passing through a period of experimentation. The administration has not professed to be endowed with omniscience with respect to Philippine indusTh;,::~~~~:~ne trial teaching. lt has, however, been thoroughly convinced of the necessity for the extensive development of a practical scheme of manual instruction, and has devoted ever~' resource to the framing and promotion of acceptable plans of work. By means of official bulletins and circulars, conferences of supervising and industrial teachers, conventions of superintendents, supervision of inspectors and special instJ•uctors, and chiefly through the agency of industrial exhibitions, the cause of manual instruction has been effectually promoted. Teachers and supervisors have been encouraged by all possible means to formulate and give expression to their theories. Every legitimate incentive has been offered to the exercise of originality and initiative, and, particularly in the past year, innumerable suggestions with respect to the organization. procedure, and standards have been put to test and proved in the schools throughout the Islands. The progress has been substantial. We are convinced that the aims and methods of the established system are approximately correct, and we have observed with much satisfaction the increasing efficiency of the large corps of industrial supervisors and teachers. There has been developed a program of industrial education which may be definitely adopted and, with minor modifications, pursued for some years to come. The time has now arrived when some systemntic means must be employed by the Bureau of Education to convey to its entire personnel information regarding its latest achievements and instruction as to approved standards. Through THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN the forty division superintendents of schools. the four hundred supervising teachers, and the nearly nine thousand Mi