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.

BOARD OF EDUCATIONAL SURVEY REPORT 55

loose in both materials of instruction and length of course, from the
academic college preparatory tradition. It seems probable that in this
institution the greatest service would be rendered by a systematic course
of two or three years and numerous short courses of the extension
type. Any procedure should be adopted which is calculated to carry
enlightenment, prosperity, and contentment to the rural community.
For the most part the teachers now employed in the secondary schools
are professionally untrained, inexperienced, and dissatisfied. Their
tenure of office in a particular position is less than a year and a half
and their length of stay in the profession is but three or four years.
Under these conditions secondary education cannot prosper, the quality
of instruction must remain inferior, and the morale of the school must
be depleted. Graduation from the University, with specialization in
the subject or subjects taught and some training of a professional
nature, should be required of all. For the Filipino teachers in the
rural high schools this preparation should be provided in the College
of Agriculture at Los Bafios, for those in the academic schools in the
College of Education of the University of the Philippines. American
teachers should be selected because of their qualifications for the particular positions which they are expected to fill. But the situation can
hardly be expected to improve greatly until the conditions of living
for the teachers are improved, the teaching load lightened, the human
side in administration recognized, and stability of tenure assured.
The condition of the high-scoo principal is even less satisfactory
than that of the teacher. He is paid but little more than he would
get if he were teaching, he is loaded down with clerical and unimportant
administrative duties, he is constantly annoyed by demands from the
central office for reports, he is sometimes harassed by interference in
the conduct of the school by the division superintendent, he is given little
opportunity to exercise initiative, he is allowed a wholly inadequate
amount of time to attend to the supervision of instruction, and he is
practically denied stability of office and permanence of tenure. If able
men are to be attracted to and retained in the principalship, they must
be given adequate compensation, dignity of position, confidence from
the central office, opportunity to exercise initiative, freedom from restrictive regulations, and permanence of tenure. But all of this will
require certain important changes in the general organization for the
administration of secondary education.
There should be created in the Bureau a department of secondary
education. This department should consist of a general supervisor of
high schools, special supervisors, and a supporting staff of clerks
and assistants. The general supervisor, chosen because of a broad
interest and training in the field of secondary education, should head