Name: Barrio life and barrio education
Author: Camilo Osias

Preface

It is a matter of history that the first bill presented and approved at the first session of the Philippine Assembly had to do with barrio school education (1907). More recently, the enactment of the law appropriating thirty million pesos for educational extension further dignified the barrio school problem and gave it increased importance (1918). The extension program of the Bureau of Education demands barrio school extension. The systematic development of barrio education is the most effective medium for increasing the percentage of literacy in the Philippine Islands. It is also an effectual means of strengthening Filipino citizenship.

In a country like the Philippines, where life is essentially rural, the position of the barrio teacher is one of great responsibility and importance. As I have myself lived in the midst of barrio environment and have had a great deal to do with the supervision of barrio schools, the barrio teacher has often been in my thoughts as a citizen and as a public servant. Not infrequently is he isolated, dependent almost entirely upon his measure of common sense and initiative for the solution of the many and varied problems that present themselves to him. The supervisor, either because of the inadequacy of transportation or means of communication, or because the district under his supervision is too large, has not been able to give the amount of supervision which he knows full well the barrio school teacher sorely needs. It is with the idea of furnishing a companion volume for the teacher and for the supervising teacher in the Philippine school system that the present work has been undertaken.

iv PREFACE

Administrators, supervisors, and teachers can look into the future of barrio Hfe and barrio education with optimism. There is real encouragement in the achievements in general education already attained. There is further encouragement in the knowledge that the school children of today have been instrumental in the production of superior gardening and agricultural products. There have been shown at garden exhibits, for example, upos 1.93 meters long, sitao beans 1.03 meters long, eggplants .67 meter in circumference, and some tomatoes weighing 20 ounces each. And surely it is inspiring to know that distributed all over the Philippines today there are some 5000 school gardens and over 100,000 home gardens, and that the yearly agricultural production of the school children amounts to more than a million pesos.

I deem it the duty of barrio school education to enrich and vitalize barrio life. If the present work, a pioneer in this field, helps bring this desirable result, its appearance will have been justified.

I wish to express my gratitude for the permission given me to use such parts as have heretofore appeared in periodicals in the form of articles. I wish also to record my indebtedness to the teachers and supervisory officers who looked over the manuscript and offered suggestions and criticisms.

Camilo Osias

Manila, 1921

PAGE

Preface iii

CBAPTEB

Chapter One

"No rural population has yet been able permanently to maintain itself against the lure of the town or the city. Each civilization at one stage of its development comprises a large proportion of rural people. But the urban movement soon begins, and continues until all are living in villages, towns, and cities. Such has been the movement of population in all the older countries of high industrial development, as England, France, and Germany. A similar movement is at present going on rapidly in the United States." (l)

PHILIPPINE LIFE ESSENTIALLY RURAL

Outside of the City of Manila and perhaps Cebu, Iloilo, and a few other large centers of population, life in the Philippine Islands is essentially rural. At the time of the publication of the 1903 Census of the Philippine Islands, there were in the Islands about 13,400 barrios, which may be regarded as the equivalent of villages.^ "In estimating this number, those

1 According to the Census of 1918 there were in that year 16,296 barrios, distributed among the different provinces as follows: Abra, 159 Bukidnon, 144 Cotabato, 218

Agusan, 101 Bulacan, 371 Davao, 236

Batanes, 19 Capiz, 510 Isabela, 249

Batangas, 552 Cavite, 171 Laguna, 581

Bohol, 460 Cebu, 880 Lanao, 283

2 BARRIO LIFE AND FARRIO EDUCATION

barrios which are closely adjacent to one another so that several of them form practically one village or town are added together; thus the 23 barrios of Cebu which are urban and are close together have been counted collectively as the City of Cebu. In a number of cases the poblacion consists of a number of adjacent urban barrios, and these have been added together to form the village or town, to which is given the name of the municipality." (2)

In 1903 nearly one third of all the 13,400 barrios of the archipelago contained less than 200 inhabitants each, and about three fifths contained less than 400 each. The barrios of less than 600 inhabitants each formed nearly three fourths of all the barrios of the Philippines. Almost one fourth of the population was found in barrios of less than 400 inhabitants each, and about three fifths in barrios of less than 1000 inhabitants each. Only 4 per cent of all the population was found in towns of more than 5000 inhabitants each, and between 10 and 11 per cent in towns of more than 3000 inhabitants each. There were but four towns in the Islands which exceeded 10,000 inhabitants each and 35 which exceeded 5000. The average size of the barrio in different provinces varied greatly. In 1903 the smallest average village was found in the comandancia of Dapitan, with 229 inhabitants. (3)

Leyte, 969 Palawan, 132 Surigao, 146

Mindoro, 108 Pampanga, 410 Tarlac, 262

Misamis, 186 Pangasinan, 809 Tayabas, 763

Mt. Province, 563 Rizal, 203 Union, 354

Occidental Negros, 442 Sorsogon, 384

Oriental Negros, 327 Sulu, 99

IMPORTANCE OF BABRIO SCHOOL PROBLEM

In the United States, Betts states that "in the rural school is found the most important and puzzling educational problem of the present day." In the Philippine Islands the movement toward urban centers has not as yet gone very far, and this is the opportune time to discuss the problems connected with barrio life and barrio education in order that proper measures may be taken to enrich and vitalize the life and education of the barrio population and in order that the undesirable urbanization of our barrio communities may be partly checked, or at least retarded.

In our scheme of education the barrio communities have received their share of attention. Even the more backward tribes were not wholly neglected, as is proved by the presence of settlement farm schools and other schools among the Negritos, Mangyans, Moros, and other less advanced inhabitants. The Filipino people have given proofs of their sense of the importance of the barrio school problem. The first Philippine Assembly consisting entirely of Filipinos approved for its first bill one that aided the construction of schools in barrio communities. That historic document is embodied in Act No. 1801, which is as follows:

No. 1801. An Act providing for an appropriation of one million pesos for the construction of schools in the barrios under certain conditions.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Legislature that :

Section 1. There is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the construction of schoolhouses of strong materials in the barrios, the sum of one million pesos, from which there shall be available for expenditure on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and eight, the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand pesos, and an additional two hundred and fifty thousand pesos shall likewise be available for expenditure on the first day of January of each of the three years immediately following thereafter, under the following conditions :

(a) All barrios belonging to a municipality that shall guarantee a daily attendance in their school of not less than sixty pupils, duly certified to by the Division Superintendent of Schools and by the supervising teacher of the schools of the municipality, shall have the right or option to participate in the funds appropriated by this Act for the purpose indicated: provided, however. That the sum shall not exceed in each case four thousand pesos.

(b) The municipality, either by making an appropriation from its funds or by means of voluntary contribution of funds, materials, or labor, shall contribute a sum not less than fifty per centum of the total amount which may be granted in accordance with this Act, and shall forward the application of the municipal council through the provincial board to the Secretary of Public Instruction, who shall have charge of, and approve the distribution of, said funds.

(c) The buildings above mentioned shall be erected only upon lands of the exclusive ownership of the municipality, or which shall be donated for such end: Provided, however. That the title must be in each case registered in the Court of Land Registration, but the Secretary of Public Instruction may authorize the beginning of the construction work upon the filing of the application for the registration in the said Court of Land Registration: And provided further. That the drawing up of the plans and specifications and the execution of the work, and payment for the latter, shall be carried out in accordance with the laws and the regulations now in force.

Sec. 2. All unexpended balance, after the completion of any of the works authorized by this Act, shall at once be covered into the Insular Treasury to the credit of this appropriation and shall not be withdrawn from it nor expended except for the purpose herein indicated.

Sec. 3. This Act shall take effect on its passage.

(Enacted, December 20, 1907.)

The Act above quoted was amended by Act No. 1914 and again by Act 1974. On February 2, 1911, Act No. 2029 was enacted, appropriating the sum of one million pesos for the construction of school buildings in the municipalities and barrios of the Philippine Islands under the same conditions as those prescribed in Act No. 1801, with the exception that provisions were made for a maximum allotment of P5000 for a single project and for a guaranteed attendance of 40 pupils.

STABILITY OF PHILIPPINE DEMOCRACY DEPENDENT UPON "average" PEOPLE

The passage of the Acts above mentioned plus the constant recognition of the importance of barrio school education are proofs positive that the leaders who have to do with the future of this country are aware that the stability of democracy here in these Islands depends in a great measure upon the character and intelligence of the average people. The people who live in the modest homes of bamboo and nipa, the sober and industrious dwellers in more or less rural communities who compose the greater part of the Philippine population, those of the middle class, intelligent, happy, and prosperous, constitute the genuine strength of the Filipino people.

OCCUPATIONS IN BARRIOS

The people living in the barrios are engaged in various occupations. Some attend to household industries; some busy themselves with poultry or raising other domestic animals; and others devote part of their time to fishing, trading, etc. The one occupation that is well-nigh universal, however, is agriculture.

In 1903 ^ there were in the Philippine Islands 815,453 farms covering an area of 2,827,704 hectares, of which 1,298,845 hectares were cultivated and 1,528,859 were uncultivated. These 815,453 farms and other parcels of land used for agriculture, classified by tenure and color of occupants, were distributed as follows: 778 to the white population, 308 to the mixed population, 813,382 to the brown population, 959 to the yellow population, while 26 farms were unknown. Classified by size and tenure, 658,543 of these same farms and other parcels of land used for agriculture belonged to owners, 14,403 to cash tenants, 132,444 to share tenants, 1233 to labor tenants, and 8830 were without rental. (4)

It is thus quite apparent that it is necessary to give barrio school education an economic character in addition to the traditional features of school work, so that it may be adjusted to the social and industrial conditions of the people living in barrio communities. This

* Comparing the total number of farms in 1918 with that given in the Census of 1903, it appears that 1,955,276 farms were enumerated in 1918, while only 815,453 farms were registered in 1903. As regards the area under cultivation, the statistics of 1918 show 2,415,778 hectares, as against 1,298,845 in the Census of 1903.

The average area of farms in 1918 was 2.34 hectares as against 3.47 hectares in 1903, which shows that in 1918 there was a greater division of property.

Out of the 1,955,276 farms, 1,946,579 were owned by Filipinos, 2678 by Americans, 950 by Europeans, 1612 by Asiatics, and 3457 by other nationalities. In the Census of 1918, any piece of land not less than 200 square meters devoted to agriculture is considered as a "farm," while in the Census of 1903 any agricultural holding regardless of size was considered as a "farm." 1918 Census, Vol. I, p. 45.

is one of the great problems of barrio school instruction — to educate the children for the farm and barrio life rather than away from the farm and barrio life.

THE GENERAL BARRIO SCHOOL PROBLEM

The barrio school has the same general problem that is common to every school; namely, to assist in the general uplift of the individual and of society in order that the citizens individually and collectively may secure the highest and fullest measure of freedom, happiness, and efficiency possible. Barrio school education, like every other school education, must aim "to preserve, improve, and transmit the resources of society — to develop in each individual general and specific social efficiency." ^'General social efficiency means social intelligence and the power to deal effectively with social problems. Specific social efficiency means vocational efficiency — efficiency in a particular calling." (5)

Barrio school education should train for freedom, [/ making out of every pupil, if possible, an emancipated being and thus rendering him truly free — physically, morally, intellectually, and economically. An individual physically weak is not truly free. A person who is a moral wreck is a slave. An ignorant citizen is not intellectually free, nor is one dependent for his support economically free. Education that is adequate strives to give this threefold freedom, moral, intellectual, and physical.

Barrio school education must strive to instill happiness in the men and women who are products of the barrio schools. They should be appreciative of the best interests — social, civic, aesthetic, etc. Tastes and attitudes should be developed in order that the better nature of every citizen may be developed.

Barrio school education will seek to develop individual and social efficiency. From the barrio school will come men and women who are intelligent, self-supporting, and useful. Educated citizens should not only know, but should be able to earn their means of livelihood. More important than earning one's livelihood, however, is living a good life.

Chapter Two

Barrio education antedates the formal establishment of public barrio schools. Throughout the period of Philippine history, the Filipino people have shown a praiseworthy interest in education. Either under the immediate tutorship of parents or under the charge of private teachers the elementary instruction of Filipino children was undertaken long before the Royal Decree of 1863, establishing a plan of primary instruction in the Philippines, provided that "there shall be in each town ... at least one school of primary instruction for males and another for females." (l) Even in the midst of poverty many native children were given schooling, not infrequently at the sacrifice of almost the very necessities of life. It was natural, therefore, that barrio schools be provided for in the Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission creating the Bureau of Education and insuring to the people a system of free public schools in the Philippine Islands. (2)

RECENT PROGRESS

Since the establishment of the public school system under the American administration, marked progress has been made. In 1898, at the coming of the Americans, there were 2160 public primary schools in the Islands. Under the present regime the number of public primary schools was 3924 for 1913, 3851 for 1914, 3994 for 1915, 4143 for 1916, 4288 for 1917, 4276 for 1918, 4412 for 1919, and 5280 for 1920. The greater number of these are barrio schools. It might be added that the number of intermediate schools was

278 in 1913, 309 in 1914, 350 in 1915, 351 in 1916, 368 in 1917, 423 in 1918, 501 in 1919, and 614 in 1920, and that the number of secondary schools was 44 in 1913, 41 in 1914, 42 in 1915, 44 in 1916, 46 in 1917, 48 in 1918, 50 in 1919 and 1920. The total annual enrollment in these schools was 606,597 for 1915, 681,588 for 1919, and 791,626 for 1920. (3) The greatest concern is the welfare of the primary pupils. The poHcy of the Bureau of Education has been to continue, and if possible increase, the number of primary schools, and to "authorize the establishment of intermediate and secondary schools only where the demand was strong and the chances for offering efficient instruction were good." (4)

Another sign of the popularity of the schools is the fact that annually the number seeking admittance is greater than the number which can be accommodated. The attitude of the barrio people toward the barrio schools on the whole has been one of willing cooperation. In some cases school sites have been donated, or paid for by the people themselves. Several buildings have been constructed without cost to the municipal treasury — materials and labor have been furnished free. In a few places there are standard buildings on standard school sites. The course of study for barrio schools is better defined now than it has ever been. The teachers are now a little better prepared, and consequently instruction has improved.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

In spite of these and other signs of progress, however, the barrio schools are still nearer to zero than one hundred per cent. There are still too many barrio children housed in unsuitable buildings; too many buildings without proper equipment; too many schools without sites or with inadequate sites; too many structures that cannot meet the demands of modern sanitation; too many one-room schools that could better be managed if consolidated; too many overcrowded classes or classes not properly organized; too much poor instruction or inadequate interpretation of the curriculum; too wide scattering of barrio schools in large districts, making supervision difficult; and too httle money to carry on the work efficiently. Surely there is room, much room, for improvement. What some of these improvements may be we shall now proceed to consider.

SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS

1. Better buildings. At the close of December, 1915, for the 4386 schools in operation there were only 723 permanent buildings, 383 semi-permanent buildings, and 955 temporary buildings. (5) Of the permanent buildings 344 were of standard Bureau of Education plan. It is very evident that a large majority of the schools in the Islands are inadequately housed. Various laws, such as Act No. 1275, Act No. 1580, Act No. 1688, Act No. 1801, Act No. 1914, Act No. 1974, Act No. 1954, Act No. 1961, Act No. 1988, Act No. 1994, Act No. 2029, and Act No. 2059, have been enacted that are favorable to schoolhouse construction, but the funds made available have been insufficient to carry out any considerable part of the building program. (6)

There is need of further legislation and greater cooperation to push the building program. More and better buildings are imperative. Permanent schoolhouses should be preferred. Speaking of substantial and permanent structures one Director of Education quite appropriately said:

There is a sense of permanency about them which is of particular value; typhoons come and go, and while other buildings in the vicinity are swept to the ground, the schoolhouse of such permanent material remains. The effect upon pupils and people is quite different in cases where the schoolhouse is destroyed by every strong wind. Furthermore, there is a great deal of time lost from school work when temporary buildings are blown down. It generally happens that a great number of buildings are destroyed in the vicinity, and that it will be impossible to secure at once the labor to reconstruct the schoolhouse. The loss of a few months is a serious thing in the school life of the pupil. It often happens that, as a temporary expedient, school is again started in some other building which is generally entirely inadequate for school purposes. Furthermore, in the concrete building provision can be made for proper interior equipment and arrangement and for the protection of school supplies. Again, the permanent building lends itself to use as a social center in a way which a temporarybuilding cannot. The people look to it with a pride which is lacking where buildings are of poor temporary construction. If there were any way of assigning a money value to such advantages as these, it would be clearly shown that the considerable sums spent in permanent construction constitute a far better investment than the smaller sums which are repeatedly invested in temporary buildings. (7)

In order to help solve the problem of housing the barrio schools, it would seem desirable (1) to carry out the "unit" system of construction whereby additions may be made without injury to the original structure.

(2) to have foresight in setting aside a definite sum per year in the municipal presupuestos, or budgets, for building purposes, (3) to maintain a creditable standard for temporary buildings, and (4) to require the provision of a fairly decent and adequate temporary building before opening any new barrio school.

2. More adequate school sites. During the school year 1915-16, 3994 municipal primary public schools were in operation. For the same period there were 2174 sites, of which 71 were provincial sites, 704 were municipal central sites, and 1399 were municipal barrio sites. (8) Of these sites about one third are standard in size and adequate for the school purposes, the standard being one-half hectare for a rural school and one hectare for a central school. It is deemed important that the school site be ample " (1) to display the building properly, (2) to provide for additional buildings to accommodate industrial activities or increase in attendance, (3) to provide for gardening, (4) to provide grounds for baseball and other games, and (5) to make possible the placing of the building at a distance from other houses, thus allowing a free circulation of air, the maintenance of sanitary conditions about the schools, and freedom from noises which may disturb school work." (9)

From the statistics just given, it is obvious that many schools are without sites and that some have inadequate sites. It is therefore necessary to put forth an effort for a period of years to secure more first-class sites. A first-class site is one which (1) has a minimum area of one-half hectare for every 200 pupils of the annual enrollment, or fraction thereof, up to 2 hectares for 800 pupils or more, (2) is well located and easily accessible, (3) is well drained and sanitary, (4) allows the proper laying out of athletic field and playground, and (5) has soil suitable for gardening and agricultural activities. (10)

It will be of assistance in securing more adequate school sites (1) if we put forth effort to develop public opinion favorable for acquisition of standard school sites and the erection of permanent schoolhouses, (2) if we make it widely known that nothing can be done in the way of securing insular aid for permanent school building, unless there is adequate school site, and (3) if we open no new school unless there is an adequate school site provided. (11)

3. Better equipment. In barrio schools today hundreds of children sit on benches without backs or at desks not properly adjusted. Some even have to sit on the floor. There are classrooms without a table or a chair for the teacher or an aparador for objects, materials, books, and supplies. Concerted action is needed to secure sufficient desks properly adjusted to the size of pupils; to furnish each classroom with a chair, a table, and an aparador; and to have a set of the pictures prescribed in the bulletin on Good Manners and Right Conduct framed in wood and covered with glass. Bulletin boards and waste baskets should be included in the list of equipment to be provided. In addition to these, provision must be made for tools needed in gardening and school-ground improvement, equipment for domestic science, tools and supplies for woodworking, bamboo and rattan furniture, or other industrial courses offered. While the list is by no means complete, to have these things alone will do much to improve our barrio schools. (12)

4. Better sanitation. It should be needless to mention that buildings used for school purposes ought to be spacious and sanitary. There should be proper lighting and ventilation. At least two sanitary outhouses, one for boys and another for girls, should be found in every standard school site. Flush closets and permanent outhouses are, of course, the best. Where it is not possible to have these, there must at least be semi-permanent or temporary buildings of the "pail" or "pit" type. In several provinces very satisfactory movable temporary outhouses have been devised. It will add to the beauty of the grounds if these accessory buildings are screened with climbing vines or judiciously planted trees.

A sanitary water tank or jar with good, clean water, preferably boiled water, should be found in every barrio school. Sanitary drinking cups or individual cups should be used. Practical lessons in hygiene and sanitation are essential among barrio pupils, who should take a part in the activities to clean and beautify the school and premises. "One of the saddest things I saw," said Booker T. Washington, "was a young man . . . sitting down in a one-room cabin, with grease on his clothing, filth all around him, and weeds in the yard and garden, engaged in studying a French grammar." (13) It would indeed be the height of folly to turn out barrio school children learned in book knowledge but ignorant in good living.

5. Consolidation. Partly due to the natural desire of the people to have a school close to their homes, a number of one-room schools have been established. For years to come many of these schools in isolated hamlets will be a necessity. It is, nevertheless, true that much loss in school eflSciency results from the existence of an unnecessarily large number of separate httle schools which could well be combined into larger schools in more central locations. The consoHdation movement, begun in Massachusetts, after the middle of the nineteenth century, has been a great factor in the improvement of the American rural schools during the last two decades, especially in the states of the Middle West. History, it seems, repeats itself not only from age to age but from country to country. Now that the barrio schools in the Philippines are more or less in the formative stage, it would be the part of wisdom for administrative and supervisory officers to have an eye to consolidation. The idea of consolidation should be borne in mind in the establishment of barrio schools in the future, especially in fast-growing communities or in localities with potential possibilities of growth. The establishment of intermediate schools or high schools, if, indeed, it is not now a problem, will surely become one in the future. Intelligent foresight is necessary in the choice of location for barrio schools, therefore. The consolidation idea should furnish a key to the question, making possible their future expansion.

6. Organization and supervision. Barrio schools of two grades and even of three grades under one teacher are not unknown. There are barrio schools where one teacher has charge of about 100 pupils. There are also barrio schools with classes organized under the "split session" plan. Under this arrangement a first or second grade class comes in the morning from 7 : 30 to 10: 00 under one teacher and another class of third or fourth grade comes the rest of the morning and in the afternoon under the same teacher. It is needless to say that under these conditions the best work cannot be done. Better organization, with the size of classes regulated, is obviously necessary. We shall not at this time dwell at length on organization. We merely wish to quote what a California superintendent said: "We do not beheve that it is possible for a teacher to face forty different little personalities and individualities, and assume the responsibility for their mental, spiritual, and physical development, and do it successfully. It is beyond human power." (14)

The opening of the book is shown; the full text loads in the reader.

Loading the full text…

Barrio life and barrio education

About this book

Preface

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

The end

Barrio life and barrio education

About this book

Preface

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

The end

Related books

From the same collection, nearest in year