Editorial and Official

Media

Part of Philippine Craftsman

Title: Editorial and Official
Language: English
Rights
Fulltext: EDITORIAL AND OFFICIAL. I T IS already time for teachers to begin planning for the Vacation Assembly in Manila. In order to obtain the greatest possible benefit from attendance at the summer classes held at the Philippine Normal School and the Philippine School of Arts and Trades, careful consideration must be given to the selection of the courses of study. Instances have arisen where teachers have come to Manila to study some The F!llp!n<~ Tu.ch· branch of industrial work which they were later ::~b~;~:t!::,.~:: unable to use, due to the lack of the required material in their localities. Such cases are not the fau lt of the school authorities in Manila, but can clearly be attributed to the lack of judicious planning. Every teacher should carefully plan his vacation studies in advance with special reference to the work in which he will be engaged during the coming school year. Careful planning is also needed in respect to financial arrangements. The sessions at both of the Insular schools will be six weeks in length. The average cost of living for provincial students in Manila for this period is about 1*40. No teacher who is required to depend wholly upon his own resources should plan to attend these institutes without this amount of money. It is understood, of course, that this sum does not include expenditures for books and clothing which many teachers are tempted to buy upon their arrival in Manila, owing to the fact that they have a larger variety to select from, and at lower prices, than in the provinces; nor does it include the cost of transportation to and from Manila. Many a teacher has come to Manila and, long before the Assembly was over, found himself short of funds with which to pay his board or his return transportation. This is not only extremely embarrassing to the teacher, but is also detrimental to the proper conduct of classes in the assemblies. Too much attention can not be given by teachers and supervisors to the question of proper financial arrangements. The courses in the Insular schools will be along the same general lines as those offered last year. Special opportunities will be given for six weeks of intensive work along a special line. Opportunities will also be given for a review of those subjects 493 494 THE l'HILIPPJ.\'E CRAFTS.lltlN in which the teacher feels himself deficient. In addition to the established Jines of school work, the teacher who has never attended the Vacation Assembly in Manila will be more than repaid by the trip itself and by the special features connected with the regular work. The teacher who has never had the privilege of making a trip to Manila will return home with a far better idea of his own country than he could possibly obtain in any other manner. The carefully planned excursions to the Ice Plant, the Bureau of Printing, the cigar, hat, and furniture factories, the cemeteries, and other points of interest, can not fail to broaden his horizon more than any amount of class room training. Attendance at the special lectures provided for the Assembly gives the teacher an extraordinary opportunity of hearing and seeing the leaders in both public and private life. The stimulus given by these inspirational addresses will help carry the hearer over many a rough place in the future. The personal contact with 1,500 other teachers from many parts of the Islands necessarily tends to lessen the provincialism of all who come to the Assembly. In brief, the Vacation Assembly aims to give all of its attendants a broader and saner aspect of life by means of inspirational lectures, by visits to the scenes of commercial activities, and by bringing into close relation the many representatives of all parts of the country. The Assembly also aims to impart as much definite practical knowledge along some one particular line as the teacher can absorb in the short space of six weeks. In order to bring about these two principal ends, it is not sufficient for the school authorities in Manila to provide carefully for all of the exigencies which may arise, but it is of equal importance for the teacher in the province to make sure of his financial arrangements, and to select his courses with an eye to the future. To aid him in this matter a complete announcement will be made later. The total number of teachers who took advantage of the opportunity for further study at the Vacation Assembly for 1912 reached 1,719, about one-fifth of all the Filipino teachers in the Islands. Of these, 260 were from Pangasinan, 227 from Bulacan, 167 from Batangas, 122 from Nueva Ecija, and 112 from Pampanga. The attendance from the other provinces ranged from 1 to 70. There were 28 industrial courses given; 478 pupils were enrolled in the course in basketry, 343 in gardeni~·g. 201 in slipper making. 196 in embroidery, 194 in elementary hand weaving, 177 in Irish crochet, 171 in hat weaving, and 102 in sewing. The other industrial courses given, the enrollments in which ranged from 2 to 79, were as follows: Commercial work, EDITORiAL AND OPPICIAL I 495 cooking, shop exercises, lessons on simple furniture construction, advanced woodwork, intermediate industrial drawing, finishing, loom and mat weaving, lectures on teaching woodwork in manual training classes, free-hand decorative design, estimating applied to woodwork, lessons in advanced furniture construction; reports, property, and correspondence of trade school teachers; primary industrial drawing, saws, shop mathematics, elements of building design, advanced mechanical drawing, lectures on teaching woodwork in trade schools, and mechanical and free-hand lettering. With few exceptions most of the various lines of industrial work now being pursued in the public schools of the Philippines have been developed or originated through the inherent skill and artistic appreciation possessed by the Filipino and Improving Preoent American teachers. Much of the work in basF::~~~:ii;; ~;r!~- ketry, macrame, raffia, buri, abaca and pandan has been evolved from materials and along lines that ditrerentiate these products in an unmistakable way from those peculiar to other countries. Two important branches, however, owe their importance and place in the industrial course to inttuence and assistance received from the outside: Embroidery and lace work are of foreign derivation, though certain features of this work have become quite typical of this country through the employment of such native materials as jusi and piiia; in woodwork a characteristic note has also been obtained through the use of high grade woods that distinguish products of this class from those made elsewhere. The degree to which teachers and pupils have relied on their own resources both in the wide utilization of local industrial materials and in the effort to create original forms, patterns, and designs has undoubtedly had important effect in stimulating and developing the technical ability of those engaged in the work as well as in making known the wealth of industrial materials available in the various localities. This relative isolation and self-dependence on the part of many school districts and divisions is soon to be minimized and certain facilities at the disposal of the General Office to be offered to the field in such form that greater coOrdination in many of the industrial lines may hereafter be secured throughout the Islands. This will be effected through a bulletin explaining in detail the work and organization of the industrial museum of the Bureau of Education and the industrial library and exhibits 496 THE PHIUPP!SE CRAFTSMAN which ure maintained in connection with it. All these features essential to an effective plan of industrial work have been in existence for some time but until now had not attained such definite form that this information could be submitted to the field to be of practical assistance. The industrial museum now contains most of the important industrial plants of the Philippines; these have been conveniently classified, listed, and mounted and the methods followed explained in the bulletin. There has also been provided an extensive collection of raw materials and articles fabricated from them; samples of nearly all typical and standard handicraft work, embroidery, and lace are included. The plan upon which the articles may be secured for loan purposes is stated. The arrangements for filing industrial specimens are given in detail together with samples of tags, labels, and other forms used, also drawings for industrial cabinets and filing cases, for possible help in the establishment of local or provincial museums. The industrial library with its numerous collections of books and publications on nearly nil industrial subjects will, through the medium of the bulletin, become accessible to teachers. The museum will fu rthermore continue to render an important service in the determination of the botanical classification of all plants which may be submitted from the field for identification and in giving technical advice upon the merits and commercial possibilities of newly designed articles. The above is but a synopsis of the contents of the bulletin; as with others that have heretofore been published on industrial subjects by the Bureau of Education it is believed that it will serve to promote both greater efficiency and higher standards of work in Philippine schools.-L. R. S. Plans are well under way for the Sixth Annual Teachers' Vacntion Assembly which will be held in Baguio during the months of April and May, 1913. Teachers generally will be interested in knowing something of the program Features of the which is being prepared for them, and the Bag~~: ~;;:~bly teachers who are interested in the industrial work will be particularly concerned with the schedule .of conferences and classes which is projected. · As in other years, the activities of the Assembly will be divided into four general groups: Educational featu res, athletics and outdoor sports, indoor amusements, and professional work. Among these activities, the program for professional advanceb'DITORIAL AND OFFICIAL 497 ment stands by no means least in the estimation of directors and teachers. In fact, the annual conferences have been considered by many to be the most important features of the Baguio Assembly; and of those conferences, industrial education occupies fully one-half of the time. In addition, half of the classes of instruction offered at the Assembly have been in industrial subjects, and emphasis on these features will be continued. The reports of the various committees appointed at the conferences held in 1911 have been made the subject of careful study on the part of the directors and have played no small part in determining the industrial policy followed during the past year. For the Sixth Assembly, the schedule of conferences and industrial classes will follow very closely that of the assembly of 1912. There will be offered courses of five weeks' duration in embroidery and lace making, basketry in both the coil and webweave type, abaca and macrame articles, mat weaving, methods in housekeeping and household arts, and applied design in relation to embroidery, textiles, and basketry. These courses will be under the direction of the best qualified American and Filipino industrial teachers, and will be open to all members of the Bureau of Education who may desire to attend the classes. With a competent staff of instructors assured and special quarters to be provided for the purpose under the roof of the new social hall. it is believed that the industrial courses for the next teachers' vacation assembly will afford an exceptional opportunity for those teachers desiring either to specialize in or to familiarize themselves more thoroughly with any of the standard lines of handicraft work. The best models and specimens in the Bureau Museum, whether of local or foreign make, will be transferred to Baguio to form a temporary exhibit during the assembly. Conferences will be held as heretofore upon important phases and features of school industrial work, and teachers pursuing or interested in any particular industrial branch will have the opportunity to exchange impressions and embody them in the form of definite recommendations to the General Office of the Bureau of Education. Figures for the 1912 season indicate that the conferences were well attended and that the enrollment in all of the classes was good. A large number of the men and practically all of the women each took at least two industrial courses. As an instance, it may be stated that 95 enrolled in the classes in hemp work. 498 THE Pll/UPPJA'E CRAf'TS.IIAN About one-fifth of the entire teaching corps of the Islands is directly engaged in industrial instruction, either in a teaching or supervising capacity, some of them giving all and others only a part of their time for the purpose. This group includes both Americans and Filipinos. Familiarity with the processes of har.dicraft work and knowledge of the preparation and selection of materials and of the handling of the finished product mean a great deal to the success of those teachers who have to do with industrial work. Time and opportunity are usually lacking during the school year for acquiring this knowledge, and the Teachers' Vacation Assembly at Baguio is the most convenient medium for offering these short courses in the most important of the handicrafts, particularly to those teachers who are engaged in the work rather in a supervisory way. A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best.-EMERSON. As a nation approaches the more formal and classic period of its existence, the heart atrophies and beauty is hidden under gray veils. It is rather in newer lands with all their progress and blunders, with all their joys and difficulties, with all their crudenesses and vitalities, that art flourishes. The growth of the arts, especially of the industrial art, seems to be always concurrent with the actual development of social vitality. Jt (craft work) is the expression of a more or less creative people of their actual needs, and their joy in meeting their own wants. Wherever craft work has developed along these Jines, it has been interesting, satisfactory and permanent in its hold on the people. And he (the editor of the Craftsman) began to realize that when people want houses and furniture, pottery and fabrics suited to their own ideals and interests, want them adapted to their houses and beautifully made, then only will the craft spirit be stirred within them, that unless they are making these things for themselves, or encouraging the making of them fqr themselves and for others, unless they feel the necessity of them and the value of them, it is impossible to hope for the birth of that creative spirit which is essential for the progress of handicrafts. -From the Craftsman.