The Elbert County tribune., 1899-07-06

when ! renched Porto R,cor.
the educational activities Of tbs ue usa1e
were based on the Spanish sch.Iah1
Of 1857. as modified by later rrsv av
crees," said General John F,.n q
has just returned from pass VI
where he was charged with ,Sa b.o h'c,
sibie duties OF reorganizing the nrss
schools The educational wort y'u0e
braced what may be called N. u
mentary, auxiliary and rural sch.ss III u
a school Of Industry, a norma, ,I.nooS ass
for girls and n collegiate insti,r,sn ,snsa
boys. The cost of mnintaIn,ne 70
school Of industry, the norma, he
snd the collegiate institute w.. seha
from the insular treasury. as G tbs. ~
II. and the expenses of the e,ar,, eaa
and rural schools were paid hv ~
inequalities, of which there a,a ~. my n.
seventy in the island. sne
THE question Of introducin,
lish was a delicate one. Tbers lug
those who thought II would crs. we
ritation, but the plan adopted w.. i, u
natural one. A reader In Fny,,sh' 'oe
put into the schools and no "a
were assigned regular lessons IN Xxx. ,h,.
simple reader. The island was d,.ss
into sixteen divisions and suns,,,a %'
Ing teacher in English was assi..as
to each division. who visited s.se
school and saw that the English ..a
correctly pronounced. These sunerv,.
Ing teachers were selected from sn,,.- :,
Americans who resided In por,o p..
and the soldiers who were sen, Az. ~
from the United States. althouyh 1, ~ y.
necessary In n few instances 10 ,srs y
10 this country for assistants. 'a
The English reader we adon,sa i.
very simple. and the native teaeh.,s
are required to use 1t. The s,inerr,s.,
assists the native teachers in prononaa
ing the English words. There ara ~.
fewer than 10000 children now ls.-u NY
Ing English, and instead of opnos,aa.
TO the introduction OF our langusrs
there is great desire for II. The rasg
lar teachers are pleased that they bsrs
an opportunity to learn it, and NJ
children take TO II with special nts,.
est. Writing in English was also ia
troduced, and patriotic songs in IN,
lish. including The Borinquen.' tbe u.
tlonal air of Porto Rico. One Of Ns
most delightful things down there r,.
the presentation of national far IA
each school by the Lafayette Cos, 4
the Grand Army of the Republic \,
New York. Now a visitor who ros<
Into the schools of Porto Rico will fpa
the flag saluted In English with 4,
much enthusiasm and as beautlfuly
as anywhere in the United States. Tbs
school children sing the American ain
with great deal Of enthusiasm.
"Under the old Spanish law" contIp.
ued General Eaton, education va,
compulsory. That Is, children between
the ages of q and years were com.
PEELED TO attend schools. 1t will be our
purpose to extend the limit and compel
attendance between the ages Of Q and
16. The children did not get enough
education to benefit them. The new
scheme of instruction embraces only
American ideas, from the Kindergarten
up, including normal schools. both men.
tai and manual training, and profes
sional school. Two languages will b1
taught-English and Spanlsh-bu the
Spanish will be more pure Castilllan
than In the pTtt. All sectarian instruc
tlon has been withdrawn from the
schools, as under our constitution 4
could not be continued. The people are
in favor of excluding religious InstrW-
tion from the public schools.
II had to adapt American principles
and methods of education to the condI.
tions in Porto Rico. AS have stated
was able to find among the American
soldiers and residents many persons
competent to act as instructors In Eng
| lish, but various municipalities have
asked for teachers In addition 10 those
provided By the insulhr government.
There is one school In Ponce known Is
the American school. and II is veT
popular Not few children are shed
ding tears because they cannot obtain
admission to it."-Chicago Record.