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.

250 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

tional world of today is not only interested in having children acquire
a body of useful information and skills but it is also concerned with
the development of appreciations, habits of studying and thinking, and
habits necessary for good citizenship. The recitation is no longer a
period spent in the testing of information acquired but rather in enlarging
children's experiences, in stimulating them to think, and in developing
effective habits of studying.
Methods of instruction in the Philippines have not kept pace with
those of the United States where the educational system has been established for so many more years. The accomplishments of twenty-five
years in establishing a complete school system, in securing a large corps
of teachers, and in imparting instruction in a foreign language are unique
and important. For further growth to take place, however, satisfaction with results already attained must not take the place of the constant
utilization of the best scientific knowledge available. The only thought
of the Commission is to help the people of the Philippines profit by
the experience of the United States and other countries. It is in this
spirit that an analysis of the work of the primary grades has been
made and that recommendations are given. These recommendations
should not in any sense be regarded as exhaustive or prescriptive. They
are merely suggestive. All statements made and recommendations are
given in the spirit of service to the people of the Philippines and the
Bureau of Education.
MEMORIZING AND RECITING DOMINATE PRIMARY CLASSROOMS
For nearly three months the Commission studied the conduct of class
work in the primary grades, recognizing that those grades were the nub
of the Philippine school system. Studies of enrollment showed that
four-fifths of the pupils are concentrated there and tests revealed that
their attainments were discouragingly low in certain subjects, especially
in the language field. Under the circumstances, the critical study of the
work of the classroom becomes of central importance. The class exercises of the typical Filipino school are dominated by routine. Under the
present administrative and teaching conditions, training in thinking and
the development of initiative and responsibility are outcomes seemingly
impossible to achieve. Day after day one hears the same set of questions
and answers irrespective of the subject of discussion or of the level of the
school. Memoriter education is inevitable in a school system manned
by untrained teachers. The Philippine schools are reaping the reward
of too rapid expansion. Sixteen thousand primary teachers were added
to the system in the ten years following 1913. Chapter IV shows that
these teachers have had, as a body, less than a second year high