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.

50 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

4. That the subjects of the school which treat common problems
shall be organized in close relation to each other particularly the
academic and industrial subjects.
5. That provision should be made that the occupation subjects deal
with all of the more important problems of the given occupation instead
of being a matter of learning merely the hand skills which are required.
Each of the subjects of study is considered from the standpoint of
its strong points and its weak points in its contents as given in the
course of study and of the methods used in teaching it. Recommendations are made for measures by which it is believed that each respective
subject may be improved in any point in which it is weak. The present
courses of study provide an excellent basis for making gradual changes
which should result in improved practice. No wholesale revision of the
entire curriculum is proposed. It is believed that gradual changes can
be made extending over several years which will in no way disrupt the
regular work of the schools or cause any embarrassment to teachers in
making the transition. It is recommended that teachers and supervisors
themselves be given a share in proposing desirable modifications, in organizing the proposed new materials for teaching purposes, and in
testing them by teaching them and measuring the results. While the
teachers and supervisors are probably not yet well enough trained to be
made responsible for any significant changes, they are believed to be
capable of understanding the meaning of the problem and of making
many helpful suggestions toward its solution. They are capable
under direction, of collecting and reporting local data, and of helping
to indicate the ways in which such data may be used in the curriculum.
Their interest and cooperative help are worth much in securing a professional spirit among them. There is perhaps no other way to work
constructively in improving their teaching and supervising that is so
effective as that of soliciting their help in revising the curriculum by this
gradual process.
Recommendations have been made about the improvement of textbooks and the addition of teaching materials, blackboard space, and
library books. All of these are matters of slow growth, determined in
part by the amount of available money for expenditure. But if teachers
and supervisors are keenly aware of the needs for materials and books
they will be more inclined to find local ways and means for supplying
them.
Summing up the whole situation, the elementary school, comprising 95
per cent of all the pupils in the Philippine system, needs to be radically
improved if it is to succeed in training a generation of young people
efficiently equipped with a common language and trained to organize
machinery by which their collective affairs may be conducted.