Report of the governor general of the Philippine Islands. [1908]

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION. 813
recipients of gifts from the honorable W. Cameron Forbes-baseball outfits
and tennis outfits to the school in each province making the greatest progress
in beautifying and improving its grounds. With these sets as models the
pupils have themselves manufactured a good deal of their athletic equipment;
and the bats are easily turned out in the shops. Military drill is given in at
least 5 provinces. In addition to tennis, the girls in several provinces are
playing basket ball. Several provinces have annual field days. In southern
Luzon, the Bicol provinces of Camarines, Albay, Sorsogon, and the subprovince
of Masbate, hold each year a field meet which has grown into the proportions
of a provincial exposition. A number of beautiful trophies have been given
for the competitors in this meet. These are as follows: The Trent trophy, for
baseball; the Carson trophy, for excellence in English composition; the Bicol
declamation trophy; and a trophy for track athletics given by the American
Hardware Company. This last year the meet was held at Nueva Caceres.
In addition to the scholastic contest and the athletic meet, an agricultural
and industrial exposition was held, in which were displayed modern agricultural machinery, a large quantity of which is reported to have been
purchased by the farmers of the province, and an extensive exhibit of the
industrial work of the schools, and the products land manufactures of the
province. The occasion was much more than a school gathering; it was
attended, participated in, and aided by officials and citizens of every class.
A similar baseball league exists among the teams of the cities of Manila and
Cavite. Several trophies have been played for by this league-the Osorio
prize cup, a set of cups given by Professor Woods of Groton School, Massachusetts, and finially a beautiful trophy to be played for for seven successive
years, given by the boys of the Groton School, Massachusetts.
INVESTIGATION OF THE HEALTH OF SCHOOL CHILDREN.
Physical training is of the utmost consequence to the Filipino youth. Students are or were somewhat inclined to pass their spare time in inactive
recreation,:and the introduction of athletics into the schools has visibly done
much to better both physique and health. More should be done and there
should be systematic body training in all grades and schools. In their physical development Filipino students have much to contend with. The race itself,
though small in stature, is naturally finely formed, supple, and enduring, but
it is subject to a large number of chronic disorders. Besides the common
epidemic diseases, there are parasitical complaints which reduce vitality and
affect health, and tuberculosis and beriberi are widely spread. Many of our
students suffer from ill health and physical weakness, and maintain their
school work only by the exercise of indomitable persistence and eagerness.
The fact that 19 intermediate graduates out of a total of 1,472 have died within
one year of graduation is itself a fact of significance. Recently the health
of school children has awakened great public interest in Great Britain and the
United States. It has been shown that in the schools of Europe and America
a large proportion of the children suffer from bodily defects and disorders,
which while remediable in nature, if unattended to seriously affect the development of the child and his progress in school. In the Philippines, in addition
to the disorders above cited and to common physical defects of eyesight and
hearing, a large proportion of the school population suffers from mal nutrition
and lack of sufficient food. The Filipino peoples are not well fed; their staple
of rice is not sufficiently supplemented by other foods which yield the essential elements for bodily development and maintenance. Children ordinarily
come to school in the morning without breakfast, but provided with 2 or 3
copper centavos with which to purchase a luncheon at recess. This luncheon.
which is usually obtained from little stores or vendors near the school, varies
considerably. I have observed luncheons which were good in character; such
foods as wheat rolls or little packages of rice put up in banana leaves with
chopped meats or grated cocoanut, a dried fish, or sardines, or more frequently
a bowl of soup, but in many cases the lunch is a "ddulce," a sweet or confection, and in nearly all cases the amount seems insufficient for the sole
sustenance of the child through the long hours of the forenoon. In the city
of Manila a notably successful plan has been conducted of having good
luncheons served in the school building, under the management of teachers,
who take turns in buying materials and overseeing their preparation. The
children are able to secure a larger quantity and the food is more nutritious
than that sold on the streets.