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.

428 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

made intermittent, unsupervised practice teaching by normal-school
students is worthless as training.
In Lingayen, Pangasinan, the central school, used as a practice
school, has twenty-four sections of pupils. It has a teaching staff of
eleven model teachers and one critic, or supervisor of practice. In other
words, a staff of eleven teachers paid by the municipality, plus one
insular teacher, are carrying on a school of twenty-four groups of
children. Twelve groups are, at any one time, under the unsupervised
care of student teachers. The assumption has apparently been made
that a teacher, given the responsibility for a group of practice teachers
in addition to his regular classroom work, can care adequately for
twice as many pupils as he could normally care for. The assumption
is thoroughly unsound. A practice school must care properly for both
the pupils in the school and for the practice teachers using the school.
The staff required in a school, were it not used for practice purposes,
cannot be reduced when it is so used. Every practice teacher accommodated increases the work of the staff of the practice school.
In the Manila school the practice facilities are so inadequate that to
carry out the course of study as outlined is simply impossible. Student
teachers, each teaching only occasionally instead of every day, have
been assigned to practice classes in groups. In order to permit students
to get diplomas credit in practice teaching has been given for clerical
work. The teaching requirement for juniors has been cut in half and
observation substituted for one-half of the practice teaching in the
senior year. The school offers no opportunities for the students of the
domestic-science courses to do practice teaching in cooking.
The distance of the Jefferson School from the normal school is so
great that in order to meet an assignment of one period in the school
a student must have a free half day in his program. This makes any incidental use of the school impossible. The situation presents a tremendously difficult problem to the administrative staff of the school who
must make out student programs. As the number of persons with advanced high-school credit and requiring special program adjustment
has increased the situation has become increasingly difficult.
The school is seriously handicapped by the situation as described.
All of the staff of the school having any responsibility for methods work,
observation, and practice realize the seriousness of the condition. The
following definite recommendations are made:
1. That the use of the Jefferson School for observation and practice
be abandoned. The present unsatisfactory arrangement is costly. The
Insular Government pays P300 a month to the City of Manila for the