Chương Chương 19 · Chapter XIX

A Schoolmaster's Difficulties

El vulgo es necio y pues lo paga, es justo

Hablarle en necio para darle el gusto. [62]

LOPE DE VEGA.

The mountain-encircled lake slept peacefully with that hypocrisy of

the elements which gave no hint of how its waters had the night before

responded to the fury of the storm. As the first reflections of light

awoke on its surface the phosphorescent spirits, there were outlined

in the distance, almost on the horizon, the gray silhouettes of the

little bankas of the fishermen who were taking in their nets and

of the larger craft spreading their sails. Two men dressed in deep

mourning stood gazing at the water from a little elevation: one was

Ibarra and the other a youth of humble aspect and melancholy features.

"This is the place," the latter was saying. "From here your father's

body was thrown into the water. Here's where the grave-digger brought

Lieutenant Guevara and me."

Ibarra warmly grasped the hand of the young man, who went on: "You

have no occasion to thank me. I owed many favors to your father, and

the only thing that I could do for him was to accompany his body to

the grave. I came here without knowing any one, without recommendation,

and having neither name nor fortune, just as at present. My predecessor

had abandoned the school to engage in the tobacco trade. Your father

protected me, secured me a house, and furnished whatever was necessary

for running the school. He used to visit the classes and distribute

pictures among the poor but studious children, as well as provide

them with books and paper. But this, like all good things, lasted

only a little while."

Ibarra took off his hat and seemed to be praying for a time. Then he

turned to his companion: "Did you say that my father helped the poor

children? And now?"

"Now they get along as well as possible and write when they can,"

answered the youth.

"What is the reason?"

"The reason lies in their torn camisas and their downcast eyes."

"How many pupils have you now?" asked Ibarra with interest, after

a pause.

"More than two hundred on the roll but only about twenty-five in

actual attendance."

"How does that happen?"

The schoolmaster smiled sadly as he answered, "To tell you the reasons

would make a long and tiresome story."

"Don't attribute my question to idle curiosity," replied Ibarra

gravely, while he stared at the distant horizon. "I've thought

better of it and believe that to carry out my father's ideas will be

more fitting than to weep for him, and far better than to revenge

him. Sacred nature has become his grave, and his enemies were the

people and a priest. The former I pardon on account of their ignorance

and the latter because I wish that Religion, which elevated society,

should be respected. I wish to be inspired with the spirit of him

who gave me life and therefore desire to know about the obstacles

encountered here in educational work."

"The country will bless your memory, sir," said the schoolmaster,

"if you carry out the beautiful plans of your dead father! You wish

to know the obstacles which the progress of education meets? Well

then, under present circumstances, without substantial aid education

will never amount to much; in the very first place because, even

when we have the pupils, lack of suitable means, and other things

that attract them more, kill off their interest. It is said that in

Germany a peasant's son studies for eight years in the town school,

but who here would spend half that time when such poor results are to

be obtained? They read, write, and memorize selections, and sometimes

whole books, in Spanish, without understanding a single word. [63]

What benefit does our country child get from the school?"

"And why have you, who see the evil, not thought of remedying it?"

The schoolmaster shook his head sadly. "A poor teacher struggles not

only against prejudices but also against certain influences. First,

it would be necessary to have a suitable place and not to do as I

must at present--hold the classes under the convento by the side of

the padre's carriage. There the children, who like to read aloud,

very naturally disturb the padre, and he often comes down, nervous,

especially when he has his attacks, yells at them, and even insults

me at times. You know that no one can either teach or learn under

such circumstances, for the child will not respect his teacher when

he sees him abused without standing up for his rights. In order to

be heeded and to maintain his authority the teacher needs prestige,

reputation, moral strength, and some freedom of action.

"Now let me recount to you even sadder details. I have wished to

introduce reforms and have been laughed at. In order to remedy the evil

of which I just spoke to you, I tried to teach Spanish to the children

because, in addition to the fact that the government so orders, I

thought also that it would be of advantage for everybody. I used the

simplest method of words and phrases without paying any attention to

long rules, expecting to teach them grammar when they should understand

the language. At the end of a few weeks some of the brightest were

almost able to understand me and could use a few phrases."

The schoolmaster paused and seemed to hesitate, then, as if making

a resolution, he went on: "I must not be ashamed of the story of

my wrongs, for any one in my place would have acted the same as I

did. As I said, it was a good beginning, but a few days afterwards

Padre Damaso, who was the curate then, sent for me by the senior

sacristan. Knowing his disposition and fearing to make him wait,

I went upstairs at once, saluted him, and wished him good-morning

in Spanish. His only greeting had been to put out his hand for me to

kiss, but at this he drew it back and without answering me began to

laugh loud and mockingly. I was very much embarrassed, as the senior

sacristan was present. At the moment I didn't know just what to say,

for the curate continued his laughter and I stood staring at him. Then

I began to get impatient and saw that I was about to do something

indiscreet, since to be a good Christian and to preserve one's

dignity are not incompatible. I was going to put a question to him

when suddenly, passing from ridicule to insult, he said sarcastically,

'So it's _buenos dins, eh? Buenos dias!_ How nice that you know how

to talk Spanish!' Then again he broke out into laughter."

Ibarra was unable to repress a smile.

"You smile," continued the schoolmaster, following Ibarra's example,

"but I must confess that at the time I had very little desire to

laugh. I was still standing--I felt the blood rush to my head and

lightning seemed to flash through my brain. The curate I saw far,

far away. I advanced to reply to him without knowing just what I was

going to say, but the senior sacristan put himself between us. Padre

Damaso arose and said to me in Tagalog: 'Don't try to shine in borrowed

finery. Be content to talk your own dialect and don't spoil Spanish,

which isn't meant for you. Do you know the teacher Ciruela? [64]

Well, Ciruela was a teacher who didn't know how to read, and he had

a school.' I wanted to detain him, but he went into his bedroom and

slammed the door.

"What was I to do with only my meager salary, to collect which I

have to get the curate's approval and make a trip to the capital of

the province, what could I do against him, the foremost religious

and political power in the town, backed up by his Order, feared by

the government, rich, powerful, sought after and listened to, always

believed and heeded by everybody? Although he insulted me, I had to

remain silent, for if I replied he would have had me removed from my

position, by which I should lose all hope in my chosen profession. Nor

would the cause of education gain anything, but the opposite, for

everybody would take the curate's side, they would curse me and

call me presumptuous, proud, vain, a bad Christian, uncultured,

and if not those things, then anti-Spanish and a filibuster. Of a

schoolmaster neither learning nor zeal is expected; resignation,

humility, and inaction only are asked. May God pardon me if I have

gone against my conscience and my judgement, but I was born in this

country, I have to live, I have a mother, so I have abandoned myself

to my fate like a corpse tossed about by the waves."

"Did this difficulty discourage you for all time? Have you lived

so since?"

"Would that it had been a warning to me! If only my troubles had been

limited to that! It is true that from that time I began to dislike

my profession and thought of seeking some other occupation, as my

predecessor had done, because any work that is done in disgust and

shame is a kind of martyrdom and because every day the school recalled

the insult to my mind, causing me hours of great bitterness. But what

was I to do? I could not undeceive my mother, I had to say to her that

her three years of sacrifice to give me this profession now constituted

my happiness. It is necessary to make her believe that this profession

is most honorable, the work delightful, the way strewn with flowers,

that the performance of my duties brings me only friendship, that the

people respect me and show me every consideration. By doing otherwise,

without ceasing to be unhappy myself, I should have caused more

sorrow, which besides being useless would also be a sin. I stayed on,

therefore, and tried not to feel discouraged. I tried to struggle on."

Here he paused for a while, then resumed: "From the day on which I

was so grossly insulted I began to examine myself and I found that I

was in fact very ignorant. I applied myself day and night to the study

of Spanish and whatever concerned my profession. The old Sage lent me

some books, and I read and pondered over everything that I could get

hold of. With the new ideas that I have been acquiring in one place

and another my point of view has changed and I have seen many things

under a different aspect from what they had appeared to me before. I

saw error where before I had seen only truth, and truth in many

things where I had formerly seen only error. Corporal punishment, for

example, which from time immemorial has been the distinctive feature

in the schools and which has heretofore been considered as the only

efficacious means of making pupils learn--so we have been accustomed

to believe--soon appeared to me to be a great hindrance rather than

in any way an aid to the child's progress. I became convinced that

it was impossible to use one's mind properly when blows, or similar

punishment, were in prospect. Fear and terror disturb the most serene,

and a child's imagination, besides being very lively, is also very

impressionable. As it is on the brain that ideas are impressed,

it is necessary that there be both inner and outer calm, that there

be serenity of spirit, physical and moral repose, and willingness,

so I thought that before everything else I should cultivate in the

children confidence, assurance, and some personal pride. Moreover,

I comprehended that the daily sight of floggings destroyed kindness

in their hearts and deadened all sense of dignity, which is such a

powerful lever in the world. At the same time it caused them to lose

their sense of shame, which is a difficult thing to restore. I have

also observed that when one pupil is flogged, he gets comfort from

the fact that the others are treated in the same way, and that he

smiles with satisfaction upon hearing the wails of the others. As for

the person who does the flogging, while at first he may do it with

repugnance, he soon becomes hardened to it and even takes delight in

his gloomy task. The past filled me with horror, so I wanted to save

the present by modifying the old system. I endeavored to make study

a thing of love and joy, I wished to make the primer not a black book

bathed in the tears of childhood but a friend who was going to reveal

wonderful secrets, and of the schoolroom not a place of sorrows but a

scene of intellectual refreshment. So, little by little, I abolished

corporal punishment, taking the instruments of it entirely away from

the school and replacing them with emulation and personal pride. If

one was careless about his lesson, I charged it to lack of desire

and never to lack of capacity. I made them think that they were more

capable than they really were, which urged them on to study just as

any confidence leads to notable achievements. At first it seemed that

the change of method was impracticable; many ceased their studies,

but I persisted and observed that little by little their minds were

being elevated and that more children came, that they came with more

regularity, and that he who was praised in the presence of the others

studied with double diligence on the next day.

"It soon became known throughout the town that I did not whip

the children. The curate sent for me, and fearing another scene I

greeted him curtly in Tagalog. On this occasion he was very serious

with me. He said that I was exposing the children to destruction,

that I was wasting time, that I was not fulfilling my duties, that

the father who spared the rod was spoiling the child--according

to the Holy Ghost--that learning enters with blood, and so on. He

quoted to me sayings of barbarous times just as if it were enough

that a thing had been said by the ancients to make it indisputable;

according to which we ought to believe that there really existed

those monsters which in past ages were imaged and sculptured in the

palaces and temples. Finally, he charged me to be more careful and to

return to the old system, otherwise he would make unfavorable report

about me to the alcalde of the province. Nor was this the end of my

troubles. A few days afterward some of the parents of the children

presented themselves under the convento and I had to call to my aid

all my patience and resignation. They began by reminding me of former

times when teachers had character and taught as their grandfathers

had. 'Those indeed were the times of the wise men,' they declared,

'they whipped, and straightened the bent tree. They were not boys but

old men of experience, gray-haired and severe. Don Catalino, king of

them all and founder of this very school, used to administer no less

than twenty-five blows and as a result his pupils became wise men

and priests. Ah, the old people were worth more than we ourselves,

yes, sir, more than we ourselves!' Some did not content themselves

with such indirect rudeness, but told me plainly that if I continued

my system their children would learn nothing and that they would be

obliged to take them from the school It was useless to argue with them,

for as a young man they thought me incapable of sound judgment. What

would I not have given for some gray hairs! They cited the authority

of the curate, of this one and that one, and even called attention

to themselves, saying that if it had not been for the whippings

they had received from their teachers they would never have learned

anything. Only a few persons showed any sympathy to sweeten for me

the bitterness of such a disillusioning.

"In view of all this I had to give up my system, which, after so much

toil, was just beginning to produce results. In desperation I carried

the whips bank to the school the next day and began the barbarous

practice again. Serenity disappeared and sadness reigned in the faces

of the children, who had just begun to care for me, and who were my

only kindred and friends. Although I tried to spare the whippings and

to administer them with all the moderation possible, yet the children

felt the change keenly, they became discouraged and wept bitterly. It

touched my heart, and even though in my own mind I was vexed with the

stupid parents, still I was unable to take any spite out on those

innocent victims of their parents' prejudices. Their tears burned

me, my heart seemed bursting from my breast, and that day I left

the school before closing-time to go home and weep alone. Perhaps

my sensitiveness may seem strange to you, but if you had been in my

place you would understand it. Old Don Anastasio said to me, 'So the

parents want floggings? Why not inflict them on themselves?' As a

result of it all I became sick." Ibarra was listening thoughtfully.

"Scarcely had I recovered when I returned to the school to find the

number of my pupils reduced to a fifth. The better ones had run away

upon the return to the old system, and of those who remained--mostly

those who came to school to escape work at home--not one showed any

joy, not one congratulated me on my recovery. It would have been the

same to them whether I got well or not, or they might have preferred

that I continue sick since my substitute, although he whipped them

more, rarely went to the school. My other pupils, those whose parents

had obliged them to attend school, had gone to other places. Their

parents blamed me for having spoiled them and heaped reproaches on

me for it. One, however, the son of a country woman who visited me

during my illness, had not returned on account of having been made

a sacristan, and the senior sacristan says that the sacristans must

not attend school: they would be dismissed."

"Were you resigned in looking after your new pupils?" asked Ibarra.

"What else could I do?" was the queried reply. "Nevertheless, during my

illness many things had happened, among them a change of curates, so

I took new hope and made another attempt to the end that the children

should not lose all their time and should, in so far as possible, get

some benefit from the floggings, that such things might at least have

some good result for them. I pondered over the matter, as I wished that

even if they could not love me, by getting something useful from me,

they might remember me with less bitterness. You know that in nearly

all the schools the books are in Spanish, with the exception of the

catechism in Tagalog, which varies according to the religious order to

which the curate belongs. These books are generally novenas, canticles,

and the Catechism of Padre Astete, [65] from which they learn about

as much piety as they would from the books of heretics. Seeing the

impossibility of teaching the pupils in Spanish or of translating so

many books, I tried to substitute short passages from useful works

in Tagalog, such as the Treatise on Manners by Hortensio y Feliza,

some manuals of Agriculture, and so forth. Sometimes I would myself

translate simple works, such as Padre Barranera's History of the

Philippines, which I then dictated to the children, with at times a

few observations of my own, so that they might make note-books. As

I had no maps for teaching geography, I copied one of the province

that I saw at the capital and with this and the tiles of the floor

I gave them some idea of the country. This time it was the women

who got excited. The men contented themselves with smiling, as they

saw in it only one of my vagaries. The new curate sent for me, and

while he did not reprimand me, yet he said that I should first take

care of religion, that before learning such things the children must

pass an examination to show that they had memorized the mysteries,

the canticles, and the catechism of Christian Doctrine.

"So then, I am now working to the end that the children become changed

into parrots and know by heart so many things of which they do not

understand a single word. Many of them now know the mysteries and

the canticles, but I fear that my efforts will come to grief with

the Catechism of Padre Astete, since the greater part of the pupils

do not distinguish between the questions and the answers, nor do they

understand what either may mean. Thus we shall die, thus those unborn

will do, while in Europe they will talk of progress."

"Let's not be so pessimistic," said Ibarra. "The teniente-mayor has

sent me an invitation to attend a meeting in the town hall. Who knows

but that there you may find an answer to your questions?"

The schoolmaster shook his head in doubt as he answered: "You'll see

how the plan of which they talked to me meets the same fate as mine

has. But yet, let us see!"