Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-07-19
Gy0RGE MZZz47T 6EATTLF

knowledge of the English language. The element of novelty was doubtless an important factor also. The schools possessed all the attractions of new toy. Soon, however, many adults found that English could not be ac- quired by few weeks attendance at night school, and they dropped out. Some of the children ceased to be amused by school exercises and failed to attend, while others stopped in or der to assist their parents once more in their various agricultural opera tions. In some cases forces hostile to the public schools, with their purely secular education, became effective and school attendance accordingly di- unfinished.
 The Philippine commission has planned from the first to give the schools a better teaching force than the provisional one they found neces. sary to use, and in its first legislation establishing public school system 1t made provision for Normal school in Manila for training native teachers. This school was opened in 1901. under the leadership of Dr. Bryan, formerly of the faculty of Indiana university. The school organized advance. classes of students who had received instruc- tion in Spanish schools and since 1903 has graduated classes of from 12 to IS members.
 Year by year the standard haA been raised until admission to the reg ular classes of the Normal school is now conditional on preparation for the equivalent of the first year of an American high school. Graduates are entitled to enter the civil service as teachers without further examination. In one or two more years large classes will be sent out.
 Glasses fin each of the elementary grades are maintained as training school, and students are given care full drill in practice teaching before being allowed to graduate. Cooking. housekeeping, gardening and wood work are parts of the regular course. and the students are trained to teach these things in their appropriate places in the grades.
 Tt is safe to say that no other phase of education attracts so much attention or excites more sympathetic interest among the Filipinos at' pres ent than the various forms of indus trial work that have been incorporated into their school system. At first. Spanish ideals concerning the dignity of manual labor constituted serious obstacles. but practical opposition of this kind no longer requires consider ation.
 ''The academic work of the course approximately parallels that of the ordinary American high school, En- glish taking the place usually allotted to foreign languages. History is mod flied to meet the needs of the sltua- tion by making Philippine and CO lonial history preliminary in that line. Science is given unusual prominence. the laboratories for physics. chemis- try. botany and zoology being well equipped.
 Probably no other feature of tho school offers such opportunities and has furnished such results as has the dormitory for young women. A ma jority of the women students live in this home with one of the American .n..kaw. rar,f,o f-,v,. oT x.-f. .4 the islands. with different languages and customs. they here use a common language and learn the essentials Of American social customs. Being rep resentatives of the best Filipino famf- lies. on returning to their homes they become social leaders. spread their new-found ideas widely and become potent factors in introducing Ameri- can ideals among their people.
 Although the Normal school vas established for the purpose of train ing native teachers. it's superior equip ment has made it necessary to throw open its doors to students looking to- ward other lines of work than teach ing. There are in the school at pres ent classes of students preparing for work in schools of law. medicine and engineering; and for reasons of econ omy the nautical school classes re- ceive their shore instruction at the same institution.
 "In short. In the Normal school to day may be found in embryo the Uni yersiiy of the PhilippineS.@