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.

280 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

made by the parents or by the teachers to use in conversational English
or geography lessons. Constructive work of excellent types is suggested in the oral-language work of the present course of study for the
primary grades and some good industrial studies are included in the
work in geography. This is a kind of material that should be recognized as a part of the industrial-arts course. The constructive work
will help to develop the manual dexterity desired. By studying the
industrial equipment of which the articles made are models, and the
uses which such equipment serves, enlarged interest in these industries
and greater intelligence about them will be developed.
4. A regrading of work seems to be needed because of the gradual
elimination of overage pupils. The present second-grade work is too
difficult. It is also our observation that the work of the primary grades
quite largely neglects the natural interest of children for variety, and
keeps them occupied for an entire year on the same kind of construction
work. The primary work seems to be almost as distinctively vocational for most lines of construction as that of the upper grades. General educational aims are largely omitted throughout the course.
5. The work of the upper grades, and, in some degree, of the lower
is not sufficiently adapted to the materials and occupations of the
various communities of the Archipelago. Differences are so great
within the province that not even uniformity of work for a whole province may be prescribed and meet equally well the conditions and needs
of all communities. It is not at all unusual to find schools which report
that the children have to spend most of their time on Saturdays and
Sundays in securing materials for the industrial work, or that the materials prescribed cannot be secured at all because of their scarcity.
In many schools it seems true that almost no pupils who finish the
courses engage in the kinds of industrial work which they are taught
in school except in the plain sewing, cooking, and housekeeping for
girls, and gardening for boys. A noteworthy exception to this in many
communities is the home handicraft work done in spare time by both
men and women. These avocational interests, as well as the major
occupational interests of a community, are of importance in selecting
kinds of industrial work in the schools. More is said later on this topic.
The lists of occupations followed by the graduates of a number of
trade schools and farm schools show that fewer than one-fourth of
these follow the occupations for which the schools have prepared them.
As a typical example of the fact that the trade schools are not sending
their graduates into the industries for which their work prepares, the
following list of occupations of the graduates of two trade schools is
here given. These are intermediate trade schools representing the fifth,
sixth, awd seventh grades.