Name: Guadalupe D.

Abapo

The Town Schools in the Philippines

In this article, Rizal evaluates the primary education given in the town is schools that was established

under the provision of the Education Decrees of 1863 and offers a proposal for its improvement. The

article was originally in Spanish entitled La Instruction. In this article, Rizal exposed his observance

towards the miserable conditions of the town schools in the Philippines, in terms of the physical

condition of the rooms, curriculum, methods, and principles of teaching.

Here, he gives attention to the moral and intellectual condition of the people which was criticized by

other foreign people that we don't know if whether we deserve it or not. Like for instance, german,

English, and French finds us backward. We Filipino are backward and ignorance, which rizal believed

that the cause of our backwardness and ignorance is the lack of means of education. Because of it we

cannot propose a reform to order the government. Our voice is too unauthorized to obtain the

impossible dream.

He pointed out his observance in the town schools, which he observed that the schools

depends on the wealth, commerce and number of inhabitants like one or two school for both

boys and girls. Regularly, one school is administered by a teacher for boys. School towns near

the capitals are made of masonry or perhaps a simply nipa or bamboo, or some are residential

houses. Other schools place either in the barracks, in jail or town hall, because they do believe

that knowledge occupies no place. Facilities are not enough like libraries and books.

Usually, the teacher is young either one who graduated from the normal schools or a retired

directorcillo, a clerk or a former student who had been absorb in textbooks and have

knowledge in Latin. If the number of students is very large, a teacher can ask for an assistant

who is paid for 7 pesos, this assistant is usually the brightest among the pupils or a graduate

of normal school. Regarding for women teachers, which is rare to find in certain provinces.
Education is very limited more or less. The curriculum is very limited, offers only reading, writing, and

arithmetical operations. In terms of girls education, girls were given lessons in sewing and women's

work like household crafts. He points out the way of teaching, the medium of language use was

spanish that gives discouragement of the students because almost cannot understand it well enough.

In the arithmetical operations, the students never taught in a practical way nor they given problems to

solve. It turns out that they forget them easily and afterwards they count only with the use of fingers.

In short, why does student need to enter school and left his youth at the end of two, three or more

years. What does the students gets of those unfortunate nurseries of education. In the towns, only few

can understand the official language as the result that that the rest of inhabitants based only on what

they heard of it. Therefore, so long as the Filipino do not speak and understand the spanish language,

all teaching in this language will be useless, as all efforts and proposal. He even mentioned the

indolence of the Filipinos, he who believe that indolence exist only as the offspring of ignorance and

not as an essential qualities that they tribute to the country and to the climate. Rizal commended that

the indio must teach and educate and enlighten the indifference, lack of concern and indolence will

disappear. Rizal clearly expressed that Filipino's to learn to progress, to seek to the direct good, to let

everyone fulfill the duties and obligations, not only for the sake of complying with and not falling the

mandate, but for the good and help the common suffering and humanity. He stated that fellowmen

should examine, analyze, try to put a remedy to what is given to cure and improve.