A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.

BOARD OF EDUCATIONAL SURVEY REPORT 95

have brought to bear on the children of this generation. Time has not
sufficed to develop the proper inhibitions. Added to all this, more or
less abnormal incentives drawn from primitive life or morally decadent
civilizations, brought by suggestion of music, the dance and pictures,
revealed during the great war how superficial after all were the boasted
moral standards of modern civilization. In the case of the Philippines
there is yet another factor. The new education has brought to this
generation of the masses for the first time the whole range of its ideas
and suggestions. It is a difficult task in education to see that proper
inhibitions and controls are developed with new ideas and suggestions.
As a matter of fact, teachers are concerned chiefly in giving the stimuli
and the suggestions of ideas and are usually too little concerned in
developing the necessary counterpart of inhibitions or controls. These
latter can only come from training in conduct.
Perhaps one other factor should be pointed out. The Philippine
social inheritance came from generations in which industrial activities
had little part and in which social relationships were correspondingly
dominant. In such an environment the appreciation of the social value
of industry, application, truthfulness, honesty, does not develop. Social
graces, good manners, religious conformity, are apt to take their place
in social esteem.
As a result of the entire situation indicated above some of the important moral and character-building aspects of education have been
neglected. The modern publicsclhool system has given the people a
higher appreciation of the dignity of labor. But, as previously pointed
out, the higher academic training has so popularized the professions at
the expense of industry, that the situation constitutes a serious menace to
the stability of society. The value of industry has been emphasized, but
the carry over into after life has been but little effected. Government
positions, which unfortunately everywhere carry low standards of industry and application, make the chief appeal.
As indicated by discussion in the public press, in the comments of
teachers, and in the actual operation of the schoolrooms under observation, one of the greatest deficiencies is the low standard of honesty and
truthfulness. The schoolroom test of this is honesty in examination and
in presentation of school material. While, by common report, local
situations vary in a marked degree, standards are lamentably low in
many regions. The most obvious aspect of this should be emphasized
constantly. School tasks copied, borrowed, or stolen, have no real
value. The habit of cheating in school work robs the pupil who
practices it of all real education.
The school itself through certain of its practices has added complexity
to the problem. That there is so much copying required as school