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.

356 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

mendable, but this should be for the stimulation of the use of genuinely
superior methods of work.
The buildings in which the school is to be housed should be erected
by the pupils under the guidance of the teachers. In certain places
this is done now and is found to be entirely feasible. In this way the
expense of construction may be greatly reduced. Although this is a
very strong argument in favor of such a procedure, it is not the most
powerful reason that may be advanced. The fundamental argument
is that only in this way can the school achieve its main purpose. If
the rural high school does not instill into its pupils a feeling of the
dignity of labor, if it generates in its pupils a dependence upon others
for manual services, it is a lamentable failure. Thus, by placing responsibility for the construction of buildings squarely on the shoulders
of the pupils, a twofold educational result is achieved. The pupil is
made to acquire certain desirable carpentry skills and, through the
example of teachers whom he respects, is taught to respect manual labor.
For similar reasons the upkeep of the school plant should be a charge
upon the pupils. All repair work should be undertaken by them under
the direction of the proper instructors. There should be no janitors in
these schools. One of the fine things in the elementary schools, noted
by the members of the Commission, was the pride exhibited by the
pupils in keeping their buildings clean. Each building had its various
squads for sweeping and polishing the floors and for the removal of
waste. In sharp contrast was the situation found in the regular high
school. Here there was, as a rule, no pride on the part of the pupils
in a clean and well-ordered physical plant. Instead there was a well
developed antipathy towards manual labor. In their minds the life
of a student is incompatible with work with the hands. If such a spirit
creeps into the rural high school, its doors may as well be closed.
CURRICULUM
There should be organized in each of these schools a more or less
systematic curriculum for pupils who have graduated from the intermediate school and who are able to remain in the high school for
several years. The length of this course, as we have suggested in an
earlier paragraph, should not be determined by practices evolved in
the academic secondary school of America. It should rather be determined by experiment. This experimentation should proceed on the
assumption that the course should in all probability be shorter than is
customary. The proportion of boys and girls of this age, who are financially able to take a long four-year course and who at the same time
possess sufficient intellectual drive to motivate their work for so long
a period, is certainly small. This is shown at the present time by the