Note 4 — EDUCATIONAL SUGGESTIONS

Schools exist in all the villages. The teacher is paid by the government, and usually receives two dollars [i.e., pesos] per month without either lodging or board. In large villages, the pay is as high as three and one-half dollars, but he must pay an assistant out of that. The schools are under the supervision of the parish priests. Reading and writing are taught, the instruction being in Spanish. The teacher is properly required to teach his scholars Spanish, but he himself does not know it. On the other hand, the Spanish officials do not understand the native languages. The priests, moreover, have no inclination to alter these conditions, which are very useful for their influence. Almost the only Indians who know Spanish are those who have been in the service of Europeans. A sort of devotional primer is read in the native speech (Bicol) at first, and later the Christian doctrine. The reading book is called Casayayan. On an average, half of the children attend school, usually from the seventh to the tenth year. They learn to read somewhat, and some learn also a little of writing, but they forget it soon. Only those who later enter service as clerks write easily, and most of them have a good hand. Some pastors do not allow boys and girls to attend the same school, in which case they also pay a special schoolmistress at the rate of one dollar per month. The Indians learn to reckon with great difficulty. They generally rake shells or stones to help them, which they heap up and then count. See Jagor’s Reisen in den Philippinen (Berlin, 1873), pp. 128, 129. ↑