The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-10-24
100000
Filipino Children
Is HerCuIean Task

Mohonk Lake, N. Y, Oct. 25-The
beneficent work of the Philippine
School System and what is it doing for
Philippine freedom was described at
the Lake Mohonk Conference of
Friends of the Indians and Other De-
pendent Peoples today by DR.. Paul s.
Monroe, professor of the History of
Education in the New York Teachers
College. DR.. Monroe has just return
ed from year in the Orient, much
Of which was spent in the Philippines
He said, in part:
I'm this work are engaged 800 Amer
lean teachers, 1000 Filipino teachers.
instructing about 100000 Filipino chill
dren. This is about fifty per cent
of the children of school age. 1t is
estimated that there are about 100,-
900 natives who can understand and
use simple English. This in itself
is no small element in the new free
dom, for it gives them not only that
greater breadth of view and of ac-
ton which comes to anyone for the ac-
QUESTION of a language besides the
native one, but it gives him some
command Of a literature and of a Gull
ture which is but slightly developed in
his native tongue. This use of Eng
Hsh gives him command of the com
merciaI medium of communication of
the Orient, a free contact with those in
charge of the Government, but also
medium of communication among
themselves, for the twenty-seven dia-
IectS or languages into which the peO-
pie are divided gives them no COM
mon bond, and few estimates give
over per cent. of the people as even
using Spanish"
The speaker outlined various ser
vices being performed by the public
school system, among them the break
ing down of class distinction SO that
now the child of the Filipino aristo-
crat mingIes with the common crowd
in school work and play. The de-
velopment of manual training along
the lines of lace and embroidery max
ing, basket making cabinet making.
iron work, building, etc-now all
taught in certain schools-are tending
to remove the native prejudice against
industry, bringing added comforts to
Filipino homes, and raising the 1iv-
teaching of bookkeeping, surveying,
telegraphy, stenography, etc, which
appeal to the Fiipinos, makes the
graduates of those courses self-reliant
and self-supporting as does instruc-
ton in household industries and even
in arts and trades
DR.. Monroe pointed out specially that
scientific instruction in agriculture
not only benefits the F'ilipinos fnan-
cially through th1 larger crops thus
made possible, Mt benefitsN the ISL
ands as a whole because under the old
system agricultural methods where
practiced at all were so crude that
the land was not benefited, the crops,
considering the nature of the coun-
try, we're poor and the manufactured
products inferior-all because of un-
scientific methods. He places the in
PRODUCTION of free athletics high acong
the influences Improving not only the
physique but the minds of the Fill
pinos.
In conclusion the speaker said: $50
ella freedom, economic freedom, phys
zeal freedom, intellectual freedom,
personal freedom, freedom from class
prejudices, from poverty and oppres-
sion of the wealthy and powerful
freedom from unhea1thfu1 conditions,
and stunted physical growth, free
dom from ignorance and superstition;
the freedom of the lowest taxed peo-
pie in any civilized country, with JUS
tice to be obtained on demand; all
these are being given them"