Part 7

(_o_) Entrance into consular and diplomatic services be granted by competitive examination or to candidates presenting degrees issued by official institutions of higher commercial learning.

(_p_) Courses of ethics in preparatory studies and lectures on commercial ethics in higher institutions of commercial learning delivered by distinguished professional men be established.

TRAINING OF TEACHERS.

Uruguay has always been progressive in this field. In 1914 Señorita Leonor Hourticou, the directress of the Normal Institute for Girls, submitted to the national inspector of primary instruction a far-reaching and systematic plan of reform in the aims and methods of practice teaching. She urged the establishment of a general directorate of teachers’ practice training, composed of directors of normal institutes and the national technical inspector of schools, which body was to operate through a salaried secretary. Practice teaching for the first grade was to be required for one year with a minimum of 160 sessions and for the second year for at least three months with a minimum number of 60 sessions. Twelve schools for practice teaching were to be established at Montevideo. Local inspectors were to be appointed by the general directorate. While this scheme was not enacted into law, yet it had very great value in focusing the attention of the educational authorities upon the practical problem of reorganizing practice teaching.

These recommendations were allowed to lapse; but along with the demand for improved schools went a similar one for the improvement of the schools in towns and villages. In 1916 a committee of which the directress of the Normal Institute for Girls was chairman was appointed to formulate a training course for nonrural teachers which should be in keeping with the recognized needs of modern schools. In October, 1916, it presented as its report an outline of studies recommended to be incorporated in the three years’ training course for primary teachers.

Taking up for the present only the teachers of the first and second grades, the committee recommended the following courses: Arithmetic, accounting, algebra, applied geometry, penmanship and drawing, elements of biology, zoology, botany, mineralogy and geology, anatomy, physiology and hygiene, physics and chemistry, studies in industries, geography and cosmography, history (national, South American, and universal), constitutional law, sociology and political economy, literature and composition, French, philosophy, and pedagogy with practice teaching. By the approval of the executive these courses were to go into effect in September, 1917.

_Training of rural teachers._--The movement to improve the conditions of rural life which has been mentioned before began in earnest in 1914. In that year a report based upon an intensive study of the social and economic needs of the rural districts was presented to the general direction of primary instruction by a committee of teachers especially appointed for that purpose. Though no official action was taken at the time, the ventilation of the subject was very opportune and aroused public interest in a field so vital to the welfare of the nation. In every phase of rural education, and especially in the training of the teachers required, practical reforms were recognized as urgently necessary. From the strictly pedagogical point of view, the projects for teacher training as laid down in that report were of supreme interest, as constituting the basis upon which all subsequent suggestions have rested. They called for the establishment of a normal school exclusively for women rural teachers, which was preferably to be located either within the capital city or within easy access of it. This school was to work along the three main lines of agriculture, horticulture, and domestic science. For admission there was to be required, in addition to the usual certificates of mental, moral, and physical fitness, the certificate of completion of at least the third year of the program of the rural schools.

The courses were to cover at least two years, preferably three, with provision for four-year courses for pupils aspiring to the post of rural inspectors, an aspiration which was encouraged in the report. Only two or three scholarships were to be offered in each department, and the number of pupils was to be restricted to 50 for the first year. No purely theoretical instruction whatsoever was to be allowed. Increasingly specialized work in the practice school annexed was to be required of every pupil each year. For the last two years the work of practice teaching was to be so arranged as to alternate by semesters with the classroom work assigned. The latter, toward the end of each semester, was to review all the work from the beginning.

The projected institute was to be provided with all grounds, buildings, and equipment necessary for the teaching of every phase of rural life, including the care of fowls and cattle, with library and laboratories, with a modern gymnasium, with a hall for the teaching of the fine arts, and, most important of all, with a mixed practice school under the direction of the authorities of the institute, consisting of at least three grades and preferably four.

Summer courses for teachers, both men and women, were to be offered, emphasizing practical work in all courses related to rural life. Traveling schools of agriculture were outlined to appeal especially to youths of years beyond the rural school age and already engaged in farming, each class to have not less than 8 pupils and not more than 15, and to continue for periods ranging from one week to two months according to the demand in each locality. These traveling schools were to be organized for the same unit of territory as the rural schools already in existence. Each course was to be arranged in cycles as follows: (1) Three years’ course in dairying; (2) four years’ course in domestic science; (3) three years’ course for rural teachers, men and women. Suitable certificates were to be awarded students satisfactorily completing these courses.

As regards the courses in rural schools, the committee found that the advantages accruing did not justify instructing pupils below 8 years of age in formal agriculture, satisfactory progress being made if the pupil was awakened to a love of nature and an interest in the life of the farm. Pupils above 8 were to be instructed in agricultural courses progressively adapted to their maturity and to the peculiar conditions of locality, soil, and climate.

As regards courses in domestic science, though the subject does not permit of a sharp age line of cleavage, yet the youngest girls might most profitably be given the elements, while the older girls might, in the discretion of trained teachers, take up the formal and technical study of food values in connection with elementary chemistry, physiology, and biology.

Anticipating the establishment of the normal schools for the exclusive training of teachers for the projected rural schools, the executive in November, 1917, sent to the Congress, along with the accompanying message, the project of a law for establishing two normal schools of agriculture in the Departments of Colonia and San Jose. These schools were intended to minister to the special need of these outlying departments. Their courses were to be intensive in character, adapted especially to the training of teachers for these localities, and to cover a year. Indeed, the bill specifically mentioned their purposes as intimately related with the forthcoming rural schools. The bill at once became a law, and the schools were to begin operation in March, 1918.

HIGHER EDUCATION.

In the field of university education no changes, administrative or instructional, are recorded for the past biennium; but there has been a certain amount of dissatisfaction with the administrative government of the University of Montevideo. In September, 1918, the executive sent to the Congress, along with an accompanying message, the project of a law clearly defining the constitution of the directive councils of the several faculties of the University of Montevideo as established by the laws of 1908 and 1915. Contention had arisen as to the right of electing representatives to each of these councils. By the new law each such council was to have 10 members and a dean. In the faculty of law four of these were to be elected by the attorneys who were also professors; four attorneys to be selected by those neither professors nor substitutes; one minor attorney by those neither professors nor substitutes; one student delegate by the students themselves.

In the faculty of medicine four members were to be elected by the professors, substitutes, and chiefs of clinics and laboratories; three members to be elected by the physicians not embraced in the above categories; one member to be elected by the pharmacists; and one by the dentists not included in the categories above; one member to be elected by the students of medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry.

In the faculty of engineering four members were to be elected by the professors and substitutes; three members to be elected by the engineers; and two by the surveyors who were neither professors nor substitutes; one member to be elected by the students of engineering and surveying.

In the faculty of architecture five members were to be elected by the professors and substitutes; four members to be elected by architects who were neither professors nor substitutes; one member to be elected by the students of architecture.

By decrees of 1917 enacted into law, seven years of advanced courses were required for the degree of doctor of medicine and five years for the degree of architect. Special courses of one and two years in construction and materials, leading to certificates but not to degrees, were formulated and allowed by the ministry of public instruction.

In pursuance of the policy of exchanging professors between the various countries of South America formulated at the Pan American Conference held at Buenos Aires in 1910, special exchange was arranged with Chile in 1916.

EDUCATION IN VENEZUELA.

Primary education in Venezuela, during the biennium under consideration, has enlisted the practical interest of the National Government as never before. This has taken shape primarily in the two fundamental administrative decrees of the Provisional President, Dr. Bustillos. The first, issued in February, 1917, outlines the general requirements laid down in the organic law of public instruction under certain regulations for primary public schools. These are divided into three main heads: (_a_) The primary elementary schools, in which only those subjects belonging to compulsory primary instruction are taught; (_b_) higher primary schools, in which are taught the subjects belonging to higher primary instruction; (_c_) complete primary schools, in which instruction is given in both the above divisions at once.

The decree requires that each school be equipped with all modern appliances for the physical well-being of the pupils. Children are not admitted below 7 years of age; only those below 7 years are admitted to the mothers’ schools or the kindergartens; only those above 14 are admitted to the schools for adults.

The subjects required in the elementary primary schools are: Reading, writing, and elements of Spanish; elements of arithmetic and the metric system; rudiments of geography and history of Venezuela; rudiments of ethics and civic instruction; rudiments of behavior and hygiene; the national hymn and school songs; the first elements of manual arts, and, for girls, of sewing.

In the higher primary schools are taught the following: Elements of Spanish grammar, elementary arithmetic, metric system, geography and history of Venezuela, elements of universal geography and history, elementary science, ethical and civic instruction, behavior and elementary hygiene, elements of drawing and music, manual arts and elements of agriculture and cattle raising for boys, sewing and domestic economy for girls, gymnastic exercises.

Religious instruction is imparted to pupils whose parents or guardians require it, provided that the number of such be at least 10. The celebration of school festivals as required by law, the establishment of libraries in each school accessible to both pupils and teachers, and the keeping of books and registers by teachers and directors are among the general provisions emphasized in the regulations.

The second decree, issued by the Provisional President in July, 1917, sets forth the regulations for the official inspection of public instruction. It expressly concerns the following schools:

1. Those maintained or aided by the Federal Union.

2. Those of primary, secondary, and normal instruction, maintained or aided by the States or by the municipalities.

3. Public and private schools satisfying legal requirements of good conduct and school hygiene.

The official inspection of schools has its ultimate authority vested in the following grades of functionaries:

1. Committees (juntas) constituted by law in localities maintaining a school.

2. Technical inspectors of primary, secondary, and normal instruction for the Federal District and the States of the Union.

3. A superintendent for the Federal District.

4. Inspectors necessary for the operation of higher and special instruction.

5. Commissioners appointed for special educational cases.

The duties and responsibilities imposed by law upon the juntas of primary instruction are detailed at greatest length, as upon them rests the proper execution of the law and the success of the entire system. Most important of all these duties are those pertaining to the enforcement of compulsory primary instruction. The juntas are required to keep themselves informed of the primary instruction imparted to all children of school age in their district, whether in schools public or private or at home; to require all parents and guardians of children of school age to have such children instructed as required by law; to keep themselves informed of the progress of all such children; to impose fines as required by law upon all parents or guardians who neglect the instruction of children; to see that the children admitted to schools of all grades conform in age, state of health, etc., to the requirements of the law; to visit the schools in their district frequently and regularly; and to keep registers of all facts pertaining to the attendance upon such schools.

The duties and responsibilities of the inspectoral juntas of secondary instruction and those of normal instruction are full and exacting and along the lines already laid down.

The technical inspectors as a group have charge of all three grades of instruction, each in the district assigned to him. As fixed by ministerial decree, there are 10 of these, excluding the superintendent for the Federal District. These functionaries are the direct agents of the ministry of public instruction, and form the connecting link between that office and the local juntas. They are vested with complete power to compel the execution of the law by the local juntas under penalties prescribed by law. They are instructed to work in complete harmony with the juntas, to call meetings, and to outline to them their duties under the law. They are also required to instruct teachers in their duties. In short, the inspectors are the element upon which the successful working of the machinery of the regulations depends.

The superintendent of public instruction in the Federal District is directly under the authority of the minister of education.

The inspectors of higher and special instruction have duties and responsibilities analogous to those of the inspectors already mentioned, though these, for obvious reasons, are not outlined at such length.

In the field of primary instruction the interest aroused in rural schools has been the most marked feature in the past biennium. The ministry of public instruction has paid special attention to the project of establishing rural schools, fixed or traveling, in the vicinity of the main manufacturing, industrial, or commercial centers of the country, and the President by decree of July, 1917, in commending the project, urged upon the juntas wherever possible to develop this type of schools. Especially in the agricultural or cattle-raising sections was the project received with enthusiasm, applying, as it did, directly to the problems of illiteracy and the training of the country population in practical subjects related to daily life. By special decree the President urged the introduction of elementary courses in agriculture in the established schedule of studies.

Among the States which definitely established such schools the State of Trujillo, fourth in population, took the lead by establishing 14, with predominant emphasis upon practical courses in agriculture and related subjects. Such schools began at once to serve as centers for the instruction not only of the children of school age but of the population generally in new methods, the use of machines, cooperative societies, etc. Similarly in sections devoted to cattle raising they were centers of inspiration and instruction in related subjects.

During the last biennium the industrial plants located in the centers of Venezuela have established primary schools for the children of their operatives, with the approval of the authorities, State and municipal. The minister of public instruction, in his memoria for 1918, urge upon the Congress the passage of a law recognizing the work of these schools, arranging for their inspection by the governmental technical inspectors and the classification and certification of pupils completing the courses offered in them. Such schools have also done much in combating the illiteracy among adults by means of night schools, and they have in many places, by employing excellent teachers, served the very useful purpose of raising the standard of requirement in various districts for the public schools, State or municipal.

Secondary education in Venezuela, according to the memoria referred to, suffers much from the insufficiency and irregularity of the revenues devoted to it, with the consequent inefficient equipment for modern and scientific subjects and the inadequate salaries of the teachers. On the pedagogical side the memoria found the effects experienced by secondary education from the mechanical and memory instruction, too largely prevalent in primary education, a permanent obstacle to any hope of real reform in secondary education.

The colegios, a type of secondary school peculiar to the Spanish-American countries, of grade preparatory to the liceos, seem to be disappearing from Venezuelan education. There are now left only 13 Federal colegios, all the others maintained by the States and municipalities having lapsed. The explanation probably lies in the exaggerated theoretical instruction they offered and its lack of adaptation to the actual needs of the nation. A number of them occupied buildings of some size and pretension, and the minister in his last memoria suggested that the vocational and industrial schools needed in the educational system might well be installed in these buildings.

Interest in the education of girls has made progress in Venezuela, an especially promising liceo for girls having been established at Caracas, offering advanced courses covering two years, with special attention to physical training and modern subjects.

Education in arts and crafts for men has long been popular in Venezuela, perhaps largely because of the national talent in those subjects. The school at Caracas, established in 1916, offers a four-year course, with English as the only foreign language. Within two years it reached an enrollment of 288 in the regular classes and 213 in the night courses.

Commercial education and training in political science courses have grown in popularity during the last biennium. Schools of the former have been established at Caracas, Maracaibo, Ciudad Bolívar, and Puerto Cabello; and of the latter, at Caracas, subsidized by the Government and regarded as an important adjunct in training for the legal profession.

In the field of the primary normal schools, the ministry has seen the necessity of their serving more largely the educational needs of the nation by supplying more and better teachers to the schools. It is, therefore, proposed to revise them thoroughly, especially in regard to the chief defect observed since their establishment, namely, the poor preparation of students who enter. It is proposed to offer, preparatory to the normal school proper, a perfecting course in essentials covering two or three years, to which would be added French, drawing, gymnastics, and music. Such a course would preferably be offered in the higher primary schools. The pupil should then proceed to the specialized subjects of pedagogy, methodology, psychology, and the history of education, these subjects to cover one year.

Another serious problem is the great difficulty experienced in securing suitable candidates for the scholarships offered in the primary normal schools by the several States and Territories. In many of them the memoria reports that the appointments had to lapse in view of the fact that no candidates qualified for them. The minister therefore suggested that a system of boarding departments, annexed to the normal schools, each accommodating about 20 boys of 10 to 13 years, should be established as feeders to the normal school system.

By presidential decree, dated July, 1917, special courses in practical agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, and domestic sciences were established in the primary normal schools, with the view of especially equipping teachers for the rural schools, whose establishment has come to be regarded as so necessary for the nation.

By presidential decree of March, 1917, an experimental station of agriculture and forestry, with an acclimatization garden, was established near Caracas. It is intended to serve as a model for other such stations in other parts of the country. “The objects of the station are the improvement of the methods of cultivation of the chief agricultural products of Venezuela; the introduction, selection, and distribution of seeds; experiments in reforestation; the suitability of soils to crops and of crops to various regions; and practical work for the training of agricultural foremen and forest rangers.”

Transcriber’s Notes

Page 6: “Quezaltenango” changed to “Quetzaltenango”

Page 13: “themselves especialy” changed to “themselves especially” “educationaly advanced” changed to “educationally advanced”

Page 21: “original justfication” changed to “original justification” A repeated “the” was removed.

Page 22; “The Goverment” changed to “The Government”

Page 29: “Artice 1.” changed to “Article 1.”

Page 31: The original text skips from Article 19 to Article 24. Articles 20-23 appear to have been omitted.

Page 45: “longest posisble” changed to “longest possible”

Page 46: “several localties” changed to “several localities”

Page 49: “schools of Montevido” changed to “schools of Montevideo” “hygenic considerations” changed to “hygienic considerations”