Proceedings of the first Independence congress : held in the city of Manila, Philippine islands, February 22-26, 1930 / Published under the direction of Dean maximo M. Kalaw, executive secretary, University of the Philippines.

EDUCATIONAL SECTION

195

lying all social movements in the whole world today, we are
confronted by the necessity, if we are to survive as a people, of
changing our conception of the educated man and conceive of
him as a man who can produce efficiently as well as consume
wisely.
More and more, we should feel that a man who speaks or
writes one or two foreign languages, who is at home with the
fine arts, and possesses the social graces is not fundamentally
educated unless he has, in the first place, the ability to produce
and to support himself.
And yet, the aim of the new education should not be to
turn out men who are producers only and nothing more; for
the purely vocational education is as little to be desired as the
purely cultural. Man earns his bread by the sweat of his
brow; but he lives not by bread alone.
With independence, we will be more conscious of our responsibilities and obligations as well as of our rights as an
independent and self-respecting unit in the family of nations,
and, with independence, there will be in our country a rennaisance, a new determination to do and achieve all those things
which will enable us not only to maintain and to foster progress and welfare among us but to discharge all those duties
that a civilized people owe to mankind. And as our civilization is the product of the influences of both the East and the
West, we hope, as an independent nation, to contribute to a
better understanding between the Eastern and Western nations.
In conclusion, let me just mention that with independence,
the control of public education-its administrative organization, finance, curriculum, personnel, etc.-will naturally be in
Filipino hands. I am convinced that Filipino leaders and
educators have the necessary training, experience and vision,
to evolve a system of education that will meet the needs and
demands of the Philippines as an independent country. Such
a system will aim to make of the Filipinos a self-supporting,
vigorous, intelligent, patriotic and happy people, cherishing
those practices, ideas and ideals that constitute the core of our
nationality.