Gunnison news-champion., 1919-06-27

n toe present oAte thAn they were NJ
the beginning Of the American school
system in the islands The pupils al
50 help in combating epidemics- Med
ical and dental instructions are given
Physical education for every pupil
has long been the ain Of the public
schools. and II is believed that mill
tary drill has helped in its attainment
Specialized athletics are only for the
few, but nevertheless, serve . very
useful purpose in stimulating a gener-
al interest in athletics In May 1917,
the Far Eastern Ga -es were held at
Tokyo. China, Japan and the Phil
ippines sent 333 athletes. and 10000
spectators witnessed the contests
The following were the scores:
Japan-lll. Philippines-e6, China
9l. These show that the Philippines
have improved much in field and
track athletics despite their recent in
PRODUCTION into the islands by the
Americans The physical education
program of the Bureau of Education
may be said TO have as its main .pur-
pose the conservation and develop
ment Of the human resources of these
islands A sane system of physical
education. such as is now carried on in
the public schools, not only means
greater national strength, but fosters
economic, mental, and moral progress.
The most significant work Of the
public schools is that of spreading
such knowledge Of English as will
make il the common language of the.
Archipelago. From the standpoint,
both Of national solidity and of maxi
mum progress in commerce, industry,
and science. the importance of the diff
fusion in English cannot be oSeresti-
mated.
Democratic government. to be sue
cessfDl. must rest upon an enlightened
and effective public opinion The
school system is one of the agencies
that most efficiently leads in the de-
velopmen Of such u mass of public
opinion.
School activities, especially indus
trial instruction and instruction in
agriculture, are contributing factors
in increasing industrial efficiency of
the country. They have not only
helped raise the standard of living,
but have met the demands of the new
standard. II must be remembered
that, If the resources Of the Philip
pines are ever adequately developed
must be increased and they must be
taught how to. labor TO satisfy these
needs.
The effect upon the community of
school instruction is especially notable
in the case of some of the schools
where agriculture is taught. The life
of the farmers in the region surround
ing agricultural and farm schools has
been affected by the activities of these
schools. They have been assisted in
selecting seeds and have been given
the opportunity to observe scientific
methods of farming.
The establishment of an effective
public school system has benefited
the community indirectly by causing
standards in private schools to be
raised. In recent years Immediately
following the organization of the pub
lie school system many private schools
were started. The Bureau of Educa-
tion investigated their courses of stu
dy and curriculum and it was found
that they were below the standard.
So, the Bureau issued decree that
unless their standards were raised to
the same level with that of the public
schools, they could not be accredited.
~ NdS df>O dpDplHttu
to look after the welfare OF. these pri-
yate schools.
With regard TO the public higher
institutions of learning in the islands,
the Philippine legislature enacted an
act for the purpose of founding a
university for the Philippine Islands.
The University of the Philippines, To-
Gated in the city of Manila, has the
same standard as the State Univera-
ties in the Union, and its purpose is
to provide advanced instruction in
literature, philosophy. science, and
arts, and to give professional and
technical training. 1t maintains the
following colleges and schools: Col
lege of Liberal Arts, College of Edu-
cation, College of Engineering and
Mining, College of Veterinary Science.
College of Agriculture, School of
Forestry, School of Medicine, School
of Dentistry, School of Pharmacy.
School of Music, School of Commerce,
and Graduate School.
The action of the United States in
making education the keystone of its
Philippine policy naturally attracted
the attention of colonial governments
in the Far East. Just how far the
influence Of these changes in educa-.
tional practices extend is not known,
but it is safe to assert that the success
achieved in the islands has led to
less questioning attitude toward the
wisdom of the policy and perhaps to
a more careful consideration of the
educational needs of other peoples
The Philippine public school system
has also proved an object of interest
to other than colonial governments.
Several commissions and many in
dividuals have visited the Philippines
for the purpose of studying her edu-
cational system. A number of Chin
ese commissions spent considerable
periods investigating the Philippine
public schools. The visit of . Siamese