Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1903-07-16

ence what hide-and-go-seek and base
/ ball meant, but they never became
adopts in foot ball. for so well had
| they learned the lesson of cleanliness
that they were unwilling to soil their
hands or their white linen suits In
sentence making and word building, |
gave them single letters from maya
zines, and asked them to make words
OF them. At one end of the room |
mad a large blackboard. with a space
allotted TO each pupil in the school.
ana as fast as any one would make a
new word DOT would be added to
MS name. The manner in which they
struggled to see the line grow was
4 surely gratifying. But, for a success
1ul teacher it means a continual
search to find lines of least resistance.
lhefe was one thing always certain
j 10 appeal to the children, namely,
their love for the spectacular. Ac-
cordingly, frequent entertainments
We're given, when we allowed the
children the pleasure of being some
body else" Parents were invited in
and the proud youngsters would
show off, their accomplishments
Some of the girls had been taught to
sew, and while l do not claim to be
proficient in the art, everything
counted and the study was taught.
Others had shown tendency to draw
ing, while others had utilized the
seeds which | had brought with me
from America, and made pretty gar
dens. few modelled in clay or mud,
and IN other cases new dishes were
constructed of this same material
In fact, my whole effort for these
people was devoted to showing them
how to live. They became more
friendly, more anxious to visit my
home and to learn how the children
in America did this or that. The best
results were obtained, think, through
companionship with them through the
feeling that you were really interested
in them, whether you were or not.
Oftentimes it was necessary for me
to visit their shacks, squat down on
the floor, and eat rice with my fingers.
la Filipino. Some one may ask, Did
they learn rapidly? To this | shall
have to say, no. We were inclined to
look upon them as bright merely in
comparison with the conception which
We had formed as to their sayageness.
but, compared with an American child.
thnTn ,InT
they fall far behind, except in their
power of mimicry, and in their inabil-
ity to tell the truth. The Filipino
child, like the whole race, is of even
temperament, and not at all what yoU
would expect after years of control by
the Spaniards. The children are
for the most part loyable and easy to
manage. although | found a strong
distinction between those of a light
and a dark complexion, the former
being much more tractable.
Whether the educational system is
successful or not, depends entirely
upon the individual teacher. 1t will
take years of wedding out to find those
adapted to such work. In case of fail
ure, | think the fault can be attributed
to the desire of many pedagogs to
rule tyrannically. in a way, over the
Filipino government of the various
towns Many Of the teachers felt that
they should be the ruling power. Like
wilful child. these little boards of
Filipinos. which exist in every town.
can be easily managed, provided you
SIMPLY allow them to think they are
having their own way. The govern
ment in these towns may not be thor
oughly understood, Every barriO has
its presidente and board correspond
ing to mayor and aldermen; every
province has governor, whose duty
it is to oversee the work of the presi-
dente, and to report to the. commission
in Manila. These officials, outside
those in Manila, are all Filipinos. with
the exception that in the settlement
Chinese an almost separate govern
ment is held But the important
factor in the smaller town is the prest
dente. to whom the common people
bow low His power is almost ahsC-
Lutte, and seldom is he removed. never
except by the governor He comes
nearer to our typical Tammany hall
politician than anything | know Of. 1t
is, then, as one can readily see, almost
essential for the American teacher to
he a friend of this dctator-in-chief.