The Educational Problem in the Philippines

THE problem of establishing a modified American school system in the Philippine Islands, under existing conditions, is also the problem of supplanting an old system deeply interwoven with the religious beliefs and social institutions of a semi-civilized people. The Spanish messengers of the faith who came to these islands implanted the faith and education at the same time. He who fails to take into account the early services of the members of the religious orders will not form an adequate judgment of present forces. Shrewd and capable leaders among them controlled these people for centuries, and built up an approach to civilized society by the introduction of a nominal change of faith and a plan of education which, although narrow, was not limited, as some think, in the number of persons who were some what educated. In pursuit of church policy, the education of the individual person did not go very far. Higher education was for the select class. When a Filipino felt an inclination to acquire an intellectual education, he could do so only by becoming a pupil in the ecclesiastical schools. The friars learned the dialects, and, in their capacity as local supervisors of schools, blocked every attempt of the government to make Spanish the basal language of school instruction. As in other Oriental countries, religious ideas absorbed so completely the attention that a lamentable backwardness is noted in the advancement of public education. Impervious as it was to every liberalizing influence, the exclusively religious school system that the Americans found here was an anachronism, recalling European school systems of more than a hundred years ago. The instruction given, at its best, was weak on the side of thought work, and only fair in formal work. Nearly every organized town had its school, and in it the pupils were taught obedience, to read and write, more or less mechanically, the native dialect, and the catechism. A small fee was necessary for admission. In vitalizing power, in that which should elevate and uplift the race, the system was wholly lacking; and without this power any system must fail.

Confucianism never had a stronger hold on China and Japan than the church dogma had on the Philippines. Originality was a species of disloyalty. The mind of the Tagalo was restive in its ecclesiastical fetters. The insurrection of 1896 served to show the temper of the people toward church control, and explains the desire for modern education. The insurrection of 1896 was hardly over when the United States declared war against Spain. The overthrow of the Spanish rule and the occupation of the Philippines by the Americans have wrought a tremendous change in the condition, and advanced materially the affairs, of this far-off group of islands in the East.

There was a thirst for Western education before we came, and in every revolutionary propaganda there was an article to establish schools and colleges. It is interesting to note that in the platforms of the political parties at the present time public education takes a prominent place. It is also worthy of record that Cailles, upon his first visit to Manila after his surrender, still wearing his general’s uniform and accompanied by his staff, called upon the officials of the Department of Public Instruction to express his appreciation of the educational efforts of the Americans ; and that Malvar, still in the field, released his American prisoner as soon as he was convinced that he was one of the teachers of English sent out to his people. Respect for learning has always been the redeeming feature of the East. In this regard the Philippines are no exception. It was in the midst of such a groping after light that America appeared. Under American management, education was bound to have a wider popular extension and a broader and more liberal character.

There could have been no clearer expression of American purposes with regard to the Philippines than was presented in the reopening and organizing of schools by military commanders as soon as peace was restored at their posts. General Otis and General MacArthur both strongly favored and advanced a progressive educational policy. During the first year of the war educational efforts were necessarily confined to the city of Manila, where American authority was firmly established; but later, when practicable, the work was extended throughout all provinces where conditions warranted it. Soldier teachers were put into the schools to teach English. The central military government ordered and distributed large quantities of American school books and supplies. Financial aid was given to towns too poor to pay the salaries of native teachers and the rentals of school buildings. The educational work done under the purely military régime, with old machinery, was hardly systematic or ideal, but it showed that the military authorities recognized the value of a system of schools — to quote General MacArthur — “as an adjunct to military operations, calculated to pacify the people, and to procure and expedite the restoration of tranquillity throughout the archipelago. ”

Education under the civil régime began to take form in the latter part of 1900. After some preliminary study and investigation of the conditions, the general superintendent made recommendations in the form of a bill for the establishment of a centralized system of free public schools. The bill, in slightly modified form, was passed by the Philippine Commission on January 21, 1901.

The chief features of this bill are:

It establishes a centralized system of free public schools. It places in the hands of the general superintendent the entire work of organizing and inaugurating a modern public school system, and confers upon him ample and necessary powers for the administration of his office. As amended, it provides for the employment of eighteen division superintendents of schools, and as many deputy division superintendents as there are organized provinces; for one thousand men and women teachers of English, from the United States; and for the establishment and maintenance of normal, agricultural, and manual training schools. In addition, it makes a general provision for the expenditure, during the current year, of four hundred thousand dollars for the construction and equipment of school buildings, and two hundred and twenty thousand dollars for the purchase of textbooks and supplies. Further, it provides for a superior advisory board of education, to be composed of the general superintendent and four members, to advise with him as to the schools, and to make recommendations to the Commission for legislation. The representation of the people in an advisory and auxiliary way is aimed at in the constitution of local school boards. The president of the town is ex officio chairman; and of the four or six members, one half are elected by the municipal council, and one half are appointed by the division superintendents. The course of instruction in all the towns is outlined by the general superintendent; the Filipino teachers are appointed, and their salaries fixed, by the division superintendents; and even the school buildings must be designed after the ideas of the general superintendent, and subject to the approval of the division superintendents. The central government supports the entire supervisory machine, pays the American teachers, and provides textbooks and school supplies. The towns, as a rule, must supply buildings, either by construction or rental, must furnish them, and must pay the salaries of native teachers. The English language, as soon as practicable, will be made the basis of all public school instruction. The Commission adopts the Faribault plan of religious instruction, which gives every denomination the right to send religious teachers, several times a week, to the public schools, to give instruction to the children of parents who desire it, — at times when such instruction shall not interfere with the regular curriculum. No public school teacher shall teach religion, and no pupil shall be required to receive religious instruction.

Unlike the state systems of public instruction, the system outlined shows a decided tendency to centralized control, — a natural consequence of the social and political conditions of the islands. The local school boards, at present, are given more duties than powers ; and in the appointment and fixing of the salaries of the native teachers by the division superintendents the principle of local self-government has had to give way. American educational officials in Porto Rico have found how impossible it is to advance schools so long as the local boards control the teaching force. However, in the administration of the system the principle of local initiative is not lost sight of, and everything is done to bring about the coöperation of local and central agencies. Owing to a lack of sufficient school accommodations, the educational act contains no general law compelling school attendance.

With the new educational machine a warfare against superficiality and ignorance has been begun. The common school is the equalizer, and the common language, English, the nationalizer. Instead of making a great show by establishing high schools, colleges, and an ambitious university first, and in spite of the fact that these were most in demand, primary schools were fostered, and an endeavor was made to insure to the Filipino child a knowledge of English, clear ideas on a few subjects, and a receptive and awakened intelligence.

The first year’s operations of the department may be briefly summarized. More than half a million American schoolbooks and a large quantity of school supplies have been selected, purchased at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars, and distributed to the various towns, and the old textbooks removed from the schools; one hundred thousand dollars has been expended for twenty thousand modern school desks; one thousand teachers, normal and college graduates, have been appointed, and over eight hundred have arrived from the United States, and been stationed in a systematic manner throughout the islands; the archipelago has been divided into eighteen school divisions, and an American school superintendent placed in charge of each division, with a deputy division superintendent in charge of each province. All religious instruction during school session is being gradually abolished. Instruction in the English language has been provided for in more than a thousand schools, and an opportunity has been given in English evening schools for those of the people who are past the school age to keep in accord with the new ideas acquired by their children. Salaries of the Filipino teachers have been raised; and a definite announcement has been made to them that the American teachers are here, not to displace them, but to prepare them to take charge of their own schools. The Filipino teachers have received daily English instruction; and so soon as they have progressed enough with the language itself, instruction in the common branches, and methods of teaching those branches, will be given. Vacation normal courses have been held in several of the school divisions. Free schools have taken the place of fee schools. Instructors for the normal, agricultural, and industrial schools have been appointed. The Normal School, opened in September, has a regular attendance of two hundred, which is as many as can well be accommodated. Nearly every town where peace has been restored has been visited by some representative of the department, and the needs investigated. Circulars of inquiry have been sent out to the presidents, provincial governors, district commanders, and teachers, and a mass of important data is accumulating. The pay roll for American teachers and supervisors may serve to gauge the operations of the department. Within a year’s time it has grown from one thousand dollars to one hundred thousand dollars a month.

Educational work has been impeded by the complexity and multiplicity of the difficulties involved. It has been pioneer and creative work purely. There has been no haste, no desire for spectacular results; permanency and suitableness have been the qualities sought for.

There are in the Philippine Islands some six and a half million Christians, one million pagans, and one half million Mohammedans, scattered over several hundred islands with a total area greater than the combined areas of Portugal, Greece, Switzerland, Denmark, and Belgium; or, to use an American standard, equal to the combined areas of the New England states and New York. There are twenty dialects in the island of Luzon alone, and seventy have been enumerated in the Philippine group. Fourteen may be accepted as the number of principal tribes. Altogether, there is as queer a mixture of languages, races, and customs as perhaps is to be found anywhere in the world. The Americanizing of the Philippines is the training of a widely differentiated insular people, the mass of whom have never risen above a purely rice and fish existence.

There are only one hundred and twenty miles of railroad; the few steamships in the islands are small and uncomfortable, and irregular in service; there are no good harbors, and landing is always a difficult matter; there are only a few good roads, and outside of Manila no modern bridges. The transportation of the American teachers to their stations and the distribution of school books and supplies have been done under great disadvantages, owing to the inadequate means of conveyance. Many of the six hundred teachers who came on the transport Thomas expected to be transferred directly to steamship lines, almost on the day of their arrival. It took a month to get them all away. Insufficient hotel accommodations in Manila and the unforeseen withdrawal of the commissary privileges complicated the problem of caring for and assigning the teachers, especially the women. The civil commissary has since been established, and the teachers report they were welcomed everywhere, and are now comfortably settled and intensely interested in their work.

Aside from the local difficulties of transportation, a serious disadvantage is the great distance from the base of material supply. There have been delays in receipt of school supplies, and the selection of a large number of school superintendents and teachers in the United States has presented many perplexities. About twelve thousand applications for positions in the educational work here have been received. It was found necessary to delegate a limited appointing power to many normal schools, colleges, and educational officials in the United States. More than five hundred of the thousand or more appointments were made in this manner.

The town proper, or pueblo, is sometimes very small, with only fifty or sixty houses; the rest of the town, made up of barrios,may spread over a large area. There are seldom school buildings in the barrios, and those found in the pueblos are inadequate and unsuitable; for they are supplied with the worst imaginable furniture, or none at all.

School attendance is much affected by the long distances that the children must come. Often they must traverse bad roads, which are impassable during the rainy season. Insufficient clothing, need of children to assist in harvesting, and a great amount of sickness among the Filipino children are all causes of irregular attendance, — a serious evil to be noticed even in places where there seems to be the liveliest interest in schools.

To the Filipino, suspicious and distrustful by nature, and nowadays doubly so when it is a question of what the United States promises to do for him, the educational movement is the most significant. I am sure it tends to increase confidence in our fair intentions, and has been one of the chief causes that he believes in our honesty more to-day than he did a year ago. The Oriental, however, does not understand the ways of the Occidental: he is of course very conservative, and resents innovations; having been so long used to a paternal form of government, he hesitates to take the initiative; but he is naturally ambitious, as a rule, for his children, and especially is this so in the matter of education. I doubt if at present there is any strong desire on the part of the Filipinos to become Americanized, but they appreciate the benefits of American educational methods. They desire to better their station in society ; and in the cities, particularly, they are keenly alive to the material advantages of knowing English, so as to fill positions in the government and mercantile service.

Until municipal taxes are collected, next spring, lack of local funds will prevent any considerable increase in the Filipino teachers’ salaries (which are now mere pittances, ranging from five dollars gold per month to twenty dollars) or any great activity in school construction. Municipal officials are slow to appropriate money if they think that, by delay, the general government will come forward. When requested to make repairs on school buildings or to get school furniture, they are very ready with promises; but, as some one has said, “ the Filipino never says ' no, ’ but never does ‘ yes. ’ ”

Two important tests may be applied in determining the intellectual status of a people: the policy as regards the education of girls, and the absence or presence of supplementary educational agencies. Parents in the far East do not think it necessary to send girls to school. The boy receives the preference in the family plans for schooling as in other matters. The progress of the education of girls under the Spanish was exceedingly slow. There was no serious attempt to give them even elementary education until about 1870. The American teachers have found that the public school for girls is still, to a large extent, an object of social distrust and prejudice. Considered in its social and moral bearings, the education of girls is a matter of great significance, and every attempt is being made to provide equal school facilities for boys and girls. No steps have been taken to bring about coeducation, nor are there likely to be.

Aside from the public schools and the churches, there have been no other important sources of enlightenment. A person may know how to read and write, yet possess not even the rudiments of culture. The assertion is made that “eighty per cent can read and write,” thus leaving only twenty per cent who cannot. If this refers to the total Philippine population of eight millions, and “to read ” means to understand the material one is reading, and “to write ” more than the writing of one’s name, then I am willing to venture an opinion that the amount of literacy would be nearer twenty per cent than eighty. It is commonly stated that five per cent of the inhabitants can speak and understand Spanish. Public libraries, lecture courses, broad commercial relations with foreign countries, a widespread daily press to give publicity to all affairs of state and society, modern theatres, active participation in public affairs, street-corner political discussions, — these and other agencies of essential importance for the advance of culture have been almost entirely lacking. Traveling libraries, in the form of supplementary English reading and illustrated lectures on American life and government, are being organized by the school department.

It has already been seen that the educational situation does not lack its hopeful signs. There is a real desire for school, and an intense eagerness to acquire English. In education there is a coincidence of American and Filipino interests. The attitude of the people toward the new system — an important element in the success or failure of a centralized system of education — can be treated by concrete example. Its faith in the system has been demonstrated by voluntaiy contributions of money ; schoolhouses have been built by public subscription; teachers’ salaries have been raised; American teachers have been cordially welcomed and hospitably treated. There may be interruptions and setbacks in this interesting and unique attempt to enforce Western ideals upon an Eastern people, — a people most unlike us, possessing ideals and traditions totally different ; but the educational representatives of the American nation, with the saving grace of common sense, will train up, promptly and properly, a generation of Filipino youth to regenerate their own country. The Filipino child is a child of promise; he is docile, quick, and mentally alert. He has an aptness for acquiring languages, and a natural talent for the lesser mechanical arts; he draws and writes well. The majority of the schoolchildren are young-looking and attractive.

During the year to come, the department will forge steadily ahead with its primary schools, introducing some form of manual training; open secondary schools, with general, industrial, and commercial courses; and extend its system of normal, trade, and agricultural schools. Schools of art and music, orphanages, reform schools, schools for the deaf, dumb, and blind, colleges and higher technical schools, and a university with its professional schools are included in the general plan of public education.

Fred W. Atkinson.