permitted to take in private pupils who paid directly to the teacher. The tendency of such a system was to make in the schoolroom undesirable class distinctions and to direct the energies and attention of the teachers wholly to the children whose parents paid especially for their instruction. It is currently reported that about one-third of the children paid for their schooling, and we may be pardoned in the belief that such pupils received a good deal more than one-third of the instruction imparted.

The question involved in this apparently simple matter goes down to the very root of the theory of government. If education is a matter of purely individual concern, there is no reason why it should not be paid for directly by the persons concerned, and the services of the schoolmaster purchased like other services. If, however, education is a public duty, to be brought to the reach of all, and in which all should participate not for personal advantage only but for the public welfare, then it should be wholly a public charge and should cost nothing directly to those who participate in it.

The free public school, as we understand it, is one open on equal terms to all and without pecuniary burden to any. This absence of pecuniary burden, which to our manner of thinking is the fundamental character of the free school, extends to the supply of text-books and supplies which are loaned or furnished to the pupils without charge.

3. It has improved school methods. In the former system of instruction, memory was the principal faculty which was encouraged by the teacher. Textbooks, so far as they were in use, consisted of questions and answers, and the pupil was judged most proficient whose answers showed the fewest mistakes. This has all been done away with, and the pupil is encouraged so far as his capacity goes to think for himself rather than repeat like a parrot the thoughts of others.

To accomplish this result there has been an absolute change in the textbooks in use in our schools. Not only are the books better, being based all of them upon texts of wide circulation in the United States, but there are also enough for the purposes of the schools. It was the frequent complaint of former times that the local authorities charged wih providing text-books were parsimonious in their expenditures, and that in the majority of schools the number of books supplied was wholly inadequate to the needs. This improvement of the method and equipment means a great educational gain, as it permits a more intensive work, and insures that the time spent in the schoolroom is employed to the profit of the child, and that progress in real attainment is much more rapid than it could be under the system, or lack of system, which prevailed before.

4. It has improved the school buildings. Before the American occupation there were no buildings expressly erected for school purposes. In general it can be said that the schoolhouse was the home of the school-teacher and his attention to his pupils was interfered with by the cares and necessities of family life. While it was supposed that the local authorities furnished the equipment of the schools, this was only partially the case, and in many cases the teacher had to do it from his own resources,

Since the American occupation there is hardly a town of considerable size in the island which does not possess a school building erected by the department of education and specially designed for school needs. If these buildings are not always as good as they might be, they are none the less in marked contrast to the former schools or even to those now rented in many localities for school purposes. Some of the more recent buildings erected by the department are in every sense worthy of praise and are a source of pride and satisfaction to the communities in which they have been established. Whatever criticisms may have been made with respect to some of the school buildings, it should be kept in mind that they do not refer to the schoolrooms, the quarters in which the children actually spend so large a portion of their time, and which leave little to be desired.

The graded school buildings erected by the department and a smaller number of rural schools which have been built by it, have caused a marked improvement, at least in the equipment, in the rented buildings. In many cases school boards have provided such buildings with a thoroughly modern equipment in desks and blackboards, which stand in marked contrast to the older conditions. Even where the lack of necessary resources has prevented the new equipment, much has been accomplished by the provision that no part of any building used for a school should be occupied for dwelling purposes. Buildings constructed

as warehouses, stores, or dwellings and converted into schools are never as thoroughly satisfactory as buildings which are erected in the first instance for educational purposes, but it must be recognized that often such buildings must be used. There is great latitude in the choice, and there can be no doubt that the choice is made with greater care and wisdom than in former years.

5. It has improved the position of teachers. Under the old régime teachers were appointed by the general government and were paid for their services by the local government. In this arrangement there was the germ of difficulty, of which the teacher was the unfortunate victim when disagreements arose between the central and the local governments. It is known that salaries were paid very irregularly and oftentimes not at all. This forced the teacher to rely for his subsistence wherever possible upon the pay pupils whom he received in his school and forced him to give his attention primarily to this class, to the disadvantage of those who were unable to make a special payment for their education.

Under the present system the teacher is appointed by the local authorities and paid by the central government. He is no longer the victim of the uncertainty of the local revenues, and receives his remuneration promptly when it becomes due. He is thus removed from the anxieties which formerly pressed him with regard to the daily affairs of life. He knows what his income is and when he will receive his salary, and can regulate his expenditures in such a way that the vicissitudes of his private affairs do not divert his attention from his professional duties. Being secure in the possession of a regular income, he can apply himself with greater peace of mind and with better effect to his daily duties. It is doubtless in large measure due to this fact that so many of the former teachers of the island have successfully confronted the trying ordeal of adapting themselves to the many changes which have been introduced in the school work since the American eccupation.

6. It has established an effective system of superintendence. Before the American occupation schools were subject to the supervision of the local authorities, and in addition thereto enjoyed the inspection throughout the island of 2 inspectors. This number has been increased to 19. The districts have been made much smaller, and the superintendent is brought into direct and frequent contact with all of his teachers.

This change has been for the benefit of the schools, of the teachers, and of the educational system generally. From the standpoint of the schools, it keeps an effective supervision and check over the work of the teachers. It permits the early correction of faults in the conduct of a school and it preserves a strict watch over the progress of education in every district. From the standpoint of the teachers, this system makes their work known to the authorities; it gives to the diligent and aspiring teacher an opportunity to make his merits known. It gives to all an aid and counsel in the conduct of their schools and enables them to meet the difficulties of their profession by reference to the advice of the superior officer. The rural teacher especially is isolated. He needs the assistance of the superintendent in his work.

The superintendent in his double relations with the teachers on one hand and with the department on the other is the keystone of the educational arch, the fundamental unit in the administrative system.

In the foregoing are briefly noted a few of the important changes in our educational system which differentiate it from its predecessor. They are the result of an earnest effort for the betterment of educational conditions in the island. They have been introduced not at once, but step by step, and it is only when we review the whole course of the last seven years that we fully appreciate the magnitude of the changes which have been wrought. Many of them, it is true, were effected at the very start of the new government, but it has required some years to put them into effective practice. In this work there has at times been criticism of details, but we believe that there has been a hearty appreciation of the general results obtained. As before suggested, the future may involve no such radical steps as have marked the past, but the success of the educational work in Porto Rico will depend no less than before upon the disposition of all concerned to work together for the common good.

The outlook for the future is bright in the light of the faithful service of teachers, superintendents, and officials who are toiling patiently and uncomplainingly with the meager resources of the present. They have accomplished much, and I can not do more than bear witness to what I saw during nearly three years while it was my privilege to serve with them. I know something

of the self-sacrificing work done in our best schools in the States, and I can say without reserve of any kind that the joint work of Porto Rican and American teachers and superintendents, together with those associated with them, is not excelled anywhere, in my judgment, for devotion to a cause, for unflagging industry, and for adaptation of the means at hand to the end to be attained.

Again I say that when the American people understand the Porto Rican problem the necessary means will be forthcoming from both the public and private purse to maintain an adequate and comprehensive system of public education suited to the special needs of all the people. It is the best paying investment that can be made to help create the institutions upon which self-government depends.

CHAPTER XVI.

EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

The following information has been taken from the annual report of the general superintendent of education of the Philippine Islands, David P. Barrows, dated September, 1904. The extracts have been selected with a view to showing the growth and tendency of the American influence in education in the islands.

The total of money expended by the insular government for all purposes since 1901 is as follows:

1901

1902

1903

1904

$6, 100, 453. 57 7,657, 002. 85 10, 609, 186. 13 11, 152, 139. 19

The amounts expended by the insular government for the bureau of education in these four fiscal years have been as follows:

1901

1902

1903

1904

$233, 411 1, 194, 381 1,400, 563 1, 244, 096

It may be seen from this table that the maximum amount of money expended for the bureau of education was in the year 1903. In the past year the work of the bureau has been conducted with the reduced expense of $156.467. In the year 1902 the expense for the bureau of education amounted to 16 per cent of the total expenditures of the government, in 1903 to 13.5 per cent, and in 1904 to 11.2 per cent.

Of the total amount expended for public instruction since July, 1901 ($3,839,040), about two-thirds has been expended for the salaries of American teachers and superintendents. About $890.000 has been spent for schoolbooks and school supplies. In the last year these supplies have included a considerable amount of carpentry tools, iron-working tools, agricultural implements, and wood and iron working machinery for the establishment of agricultural and tool work in the different school divisions.

The appropriations by the insular government for the bureau of education for the fiscal year 1904-5 provide for public instruction in the sum of $1,208,725. The total amount expended by municipalities for schools in the Christian provinces, and in the case of Albay, Isabela, Samar, and Misamis, including only teachers' salaries, was $508,151.96. Of this amount the city of Manila expended $162,772.72, or 32 per cent of the total.

Out of this amount appropriated for the support of its schools the city of Manila expended $136,976.08, or 84 per cent, for teachers' salaries; $23,057.81, or 14 per cent, for the rental of school buildings, and $2,738.83, or 2 per cent, for all other expenses.

In addition to the school expenditures by the municipalities the provincial boards in 33 provinces have made provision, by appropriation out of provincial funds, for the establishment of provincial high schools. The appropriations

have, in the majority of cases, been very moderate and in most cases limited to the payment of rental for buildings, janitor service, and incidentals. The salaries of all American teachers and all educational equipment for these provincial high schools, which includes not only blackboards, text-books, expendable school supplies, but also tools, and, in a few cases, machinery, have been supplied by the bureau of education.

Education under the American Government commenced with primary instruction. At the present time, after three years of organized effort, the instruction continues to be almost entirely primary. The aim has been and still is to place the elements of an English education within the reach of children of every social class in every municipality and every hamlet of the archipelago. During the past year a course of study has been prescribed for these primary schools by the general superintendent. It covers but three years of instruetion, which include three in the English language, two in arithmetic, prefaced in the first year by easy number work, and one year in elementary geography. In addition to these subjects provision is also made for singing and drawing, for both of which the Filipino has unusual endowment; for handiwork, consisting of school gardening and simple tool work for the boys, sewing and elementary housekeeping for the girls; for physical exercise; and for the training of character. These three years of primary instruction must necessarily appear meager and inadequate to most educators. It should be understood, however, that the primary course of three years does not lead directly to the various secondary courses which are offered at the provincial high schools. An intermediate course of three years is taught in all high schools and at many of the larger municipal schools, the plan being to have the central municipal schools ultimately devote their attention to this intermediate course and to have all primary work done in the barrio schools, which will be located in every one of the hamlets of which a Philippine pueblo or municipality is composed.

The main reason for making the primary course so brief is the need for a plan of study, fairly complete though very simple, which can be taught wholly by Filipino teachers and which, within a reasonable time, can be given to all. In fixing upon so brief and simple a course, consideration was also given to the following circumstances:

The training and attainments of the Filipino teachers are very limited. Few of them have had more than three years of instruction in English, and many of these had no previous education. Some years must pass during which the Filipino teacher will continue to receive constant training and assistance before he will be competent to give more than the three years of teaching which have been prescribed. It is certain that the primary teaching can not be done by American teachers. So far as this branch of instruction is concerned, the American teacher at the present time is wholly occupied with the work of organization and supervision, and the Filipino teachers are doing the actual work of the class rooms.

The total number of children in the Philippines between the ages of 6 and 14 is reckoned at 1,200,000. The primary course aims to give the bare essentials of a primary education, and it aims to give this to every child between the ages of 6 and 14. These age limits, however, allow for a period of nine years in which to give three years of instruction and permit us to divide the total number of children of school age by 3 when we come to fix upon the measure of equipment necessary to meet the ends in view; that is, if there are sufficient schoolhouses, school-teachers, school furniture, and schoolbooks to give continuous instruction to 400,000 children, it will be possible to give every child three years of primary instruction during the nine years between 6 and 14. The attendance of 400,000 children in the primary schools is the standard toward which the bureau of education is aiming, and if it can reach this standard and maintain it for a period of ten years there will be, broadly speaking, no illiterate youth among the Filipino people, but the entire coming generation will be able to speak, read, and write the English language with a fair degree of accuracy and fluency; will be able to make ordinary arithmetical calculations, including those operations which are used in ordinary business; will have a fair knowledge of the geography of the Philippines and of the continents and countries of the world; and, it is believed, will have received a very beneficial influence upon their characters during the formative period.

The past year has shown a notable advance toward the attainment of this standard of primary instruction. In the month of September, 1903, a very close approximation of the public school enrollment was made by the division super

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