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.

414 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

price necessary to secure the service of the trained persons. Unfortunately, the amount of preparation which should be required of teachers
cannot be determined by the theoretical consideration 'of how much
training is needed to bring them to the highest level of technical skill.
Training requirements must be determined in the light of economic conditions. The most thorough preparation that the available salaries will
induce competent persons to take is the feasible requirement. The
salaries to be offered to teachers of given levels of training cannot be
determined by the amounts paid for similar services in dissimilar communities nor by the value of this service in terms of worth to the community.
How much teachers will receive is determined actually by the very stubborn facts of economic conditions, by the going price of service of people
in the same community who have received comparable training. If
salaries for graduates are fixed at an artificially high level the usefulness
of normal schools is destroyed. If able students will not take the amount
of training offered except under the inducement of salaries higher than
the community can afford to pay, the training offered is too advanced.
If they would take it with promise of less compensation, the salary
established is too high.
How much will be paid Filipino teachers must be determined by the
economic conditions of the Philippines. Except as peoples of comparable economic situation are considered, it has no relation to salaries
paid to teachers in other countries. It has no relation to the salaries
paid American teachers in the Philippine service, once the policy of
employing such teachers is decided upon. These persons must be hired
in the American teacher market and the price is fixed by competition
in that market, not in the Islands.
As the highest salary which teachers can be paid is fixed by the
economic situation, so the amount of training which can feasibly be
demanded of teachers at these given salaries is determined by social
condition. What the community offers in competing attractions for
various levels of preliminary training in other fields must set the standard.
Although from the standpoint of the individual who contemplates teaching as a career it be unfortunate, from the standpoint of the public schools
it is exceedigly fortunate that under actual conditions in the Philippines, teaching is one of a very limited number of gainful occupations
definitely open to secondary-school graduates, particularly to girls.
The salary scale for teachers of four years' training beyond elementary.school can be fixed with but little competition with other occupation.
Its minimum level can be set at that figure which will just induce persons
to take the desired training. This figure may be somewhat augmented
because of a desire to make the teacher content in his position and