The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898; Volume 46, 1721-1739 / Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

by Unknown

INTERIOR REGULATIONS OF THE SCHOOLS OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION FOR THE NATIVES OF THE PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO

Of the interior arrangement of the schools

Article 1. The edifice destined for a school must consist at least of a room proportioned in size to the number of children, an antehall, and a dwelling for the teacher and his family.

The furniture shall be composed of the following chattels: One table with drawers, one chair, one inkwell, and one bell for the teacher; desks with one lid, and benches for the children, one inkwell for each two children, one blackboard with an easel, one clock, and four chairs.

In the front of the hall, a crucifix shall be placed under a canopy, and under that the picture of the chief of the state.

The schools for girls shall have the same fixtures, and in addition, scissors, needles, thimbles, and sewing thread.

Of the teachers

Art. 2. Teachers and assistants must be in the school half an hour before classes begin, in order to prepare everything necessary for the teaching.

The teacher will daily look after the cleaning of the schoolrooms, and all the furniture in them.

He shall keep books entitled Libro de Matricula [i.e., Matriculation book] and Registro diario de asistencia [i.e., Daily register of attendance]. In the first he shall note: 1—the number of matriculations; 2—the names and surnames of the children; 3—their age; 4—the names and surnames of their parents; 5—the profession of the latter; 6—whether they pay and what sum; 7—the date of their entrance into the school; 8—the progress of their instruction; 9—the date when they leave school; 10—remarks on their character and deportment.

In the register of attendance he shall note daily the number of children absent and present, all in accordance with models which shall be drawn up.

He shall also keep a book with the list of those present, in order to note those children who are late at school morning and afternoon, in accordance with the corresponding model.

Art. 3. Before the fifth day of every month, the teacher shall send to the provincial chief a list of those children present in the school on the last day of the preceding month, in which shall be set down the names of those who pay for their education, as well as of those who have entered and left during the month, according to the respective model, and a copy of the Registro diario de asistencia for the same time. These documents must be visoed by the reverend or secular parish priest, for which purpose the teacher shall present to him the books referred to above.

Of the pupils

Art. 4. Children of both sexes will be admitted to the schools from the age of six to that of fourteen, but when they reach the latter age they shall cease to attend them.

Children shall attend school with clean faces, hands, and clothing, and shall not be received without fulfilling that requirement.

Art. 5. Children who suffer from any contagious disease shall not be admitted. As soon as the teacher shall observe any disease in anyone he shall advise his parents or guardians so that they may cease to send him to school until he is completely cured.

Art. 6. Every child who arrives at the school after the beginning of the class, without satisfactorily explaining the reason for his tardiness, shall be punished in proportion to the lateness of his arrival.

When any child is frequently absent from school, without his guardians giving the reason therefor, the teacher shall call it to the attention of such guardians, and if such child continues to be absent in the same manner, the teacher shall inform the religious or parish priest thereof.

Art. 7. Pay children shall meet their fees for the entire month, whatever be the day of their entrance and departure from the school.

Of school days and hours

Art. 8. School days shall be all those of the year except the following: 1—Sundays, and feast days marked in the calendar with two or three crosses; 2—All-Souls’ day; 3—from Christmas until the day after Epiphany; 4—Ash Wednesday; 5—the six days of Holy Week; 6—the day of St. Joseph of Calasanz;[41] 7—the saint’s day and the birthday anniversaries of their Majesties, the king and queen, and of his royal Highness, the prince of Asturias; 8—the feast day of the village; 9—the saint’s day of the superior civil governor and of the bishop of the diocese.

Art. 9. Classes shall begin every season at seven in the morning, and shall conclude at ten; and in the afternoon they shall begin at half-past two, and end at five.

During the months of April, May, and June, there shall be no school in the afternoon, but the morning classes will last one hour longer, ending at eleven instead of ten.

Of the progress of education

Art. 10. In the morning at the hour assigned by the parish priest supervisor, the teachers, both for boys and girls, shall assemble with their pupils in the church and shall hear mass, during which they shall recite a part of the rosary. After the conclusion of mass, boys and girls shall go out separately, formed in two rows headed by their teachers and with the cross in front shall walk through various streets, whenever they may do so, to their respective schools. At seven, the children shall enter their class, salute the teacher, form into two ranks, and the teacher shall inspect the cleanliness of their bodies and clothing. Then they shall kneel down with their faces toward the front of the hall, and shall make the sign of the cross while repeating the prayers which the master shall say slowly. These prayers, as well as those which shall be said at the end of class, shall be those prescribed by the bishop of the diocese. The roll shall be called; the class in writing shall last until eight o’clock; the class in reading until nine; the grammar class until ten; prayers, as at entrance, and salutation; departure from the school whence they shall go to the church to leave the cross in the same manner as they took it. In the afternoon, the children shall also assemble at the church, and shall do the same as in the morning until reaching the school. At half-past two they shall enter, salute, have inspection of cleanliness, prayers, and roll call as in the morning; arithmetic class until half-past three, lessons in doctrine, ethics, and sacred history until half-past four; and what time is left they shall alternate day by day with rules of deportment, principles of geography and history, and principles of agriculture, until five. At the latter hour they shall leave the school, taking the cross back to the church, whence the children shall retire to their homes.

Sunday afternoon shall be exclusively employed in a general review of doctrine, ethics, and sacred history, lessons in vocal music, and in reciting a portion of the rosary, until the hour when the salve and the litanies are sung in the church, at which they shall be present accompanied by their teachers.

On Sundays and feast days marked with two or three crosses the children shall go to hear mass headed by their teacher, and then shall go to visit the regular or secular parish priest. Conferences in regard to Christian doctrine and ethics shall be at the hour that the latter prescribes.[42]

Every three months, on the day prescribed by the parish priest, the teacher shall take the children, who are ready for it, to confess and receive communion.

Of rewards and punishments

Art. 11. Ordinary rewards shall consist of vales [i.e., merits], namely, a card or a bit of paper with the abovesaid word, and shall serve to liberate the scholars from the punishment which they deserve for slight faults. Extraordinary rewards shall consist of letters of advice to the parents of those who excel in application and good deportment; and a letter of recommendation of those who are excellent to the regular or secular parish priest.

Art. 12. Punishments will be in proportion to the degree of fault, and shall consist: 1—to remain standing or kneeling for the maximum time of one hour; 2—to do additional reading or writing; 3—to remain in the school writing or studying one hour after the end of the class; 4—in any other moderate and proportionate correction, at the judgment of the parish-priest supervisor, in accordance with the degree of the fault.

In no case shall any punishment not comprehended in the preceding article be imposed. The teacher who infringes this rule shall be admonished twice by the parish-priest supervisor, and if he does not correct himself shall be suspended from his employment.

Of examinations

Art. 13. Every year, at the time of election of justices for the villages, examinations shall be held in the schools. They shall be presided over in the chief provincial cities by the provincial commissions of primary instruction, and in the villages by the parish priest together with the gobernadorcillo and two persons appointed by the first.

A reward according to rank, which shall consist of books, samples, thimbles, scissors, or any other object analogous to the subject, shall be given at the judgment of the examiners to the child who excels in the exercises of the doctrine, reading, writing, arithmetic, and grammar. For this object each school shall contribute twenty reals per year.

Art. 14. The orders of these regulations may be modified by the superior civil governor, after the previous report of the superior commissions of primary instruction. The regular and secular parish priests shall inform that authority of their results and of the reforms which are necessary, especially in what refers to the duration of class hours and their distribution.

Madrid, December 20, 1863. Approved by her Majesty,

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