﻿ix. d, 2 Cain: History of the Spanish Normal School 157 



THE FIRST PEDAGOGICAL CONTEST IN THE PHILIPPINES 



This contest was instituted by the Pedagogical Academy, 

 through its president, the director of the Superior Normal 

 School, for the purpose of stimulating interest in matters edu- 

 cational. The zest and enthusiasm with which the contestants 

 and the audience entered into the occasion show unmistakable 

 signs of an educational awakening. The range of subjects dis- 

 cussed and the manner of treatment are not without significance. 

 Incidentally, the occasion was representative of the rather strik- 

 ing type of literary entertainments which characterized the 

 Spanish schools of that day and is still common in the better 

 private schools of the Islands. 



This contest was held on December 3, 1895, exactly thirty 

 years after San Francisco Xavier was declared patron of the 

 normal school. We cannot do better than let the chronicler 

 of the time tell the story of the pedagogical contest in his own 

 way. 20 



The occasion was solemnly begun, and it took place in the chapel of the 

 Superior Normal School for teachers, the hall eloquent in its simple, but 

 fitting decoration. The top of the stage was protected by a curtain artis- 

 tically painted for the occasion. Under this artistic dais was placed a 

 presidential table which was occupied by the judges of the contest. Sitting 

 near this table was the honorary president, his excellency, the governor- 

 general of these Islands; on his right, the archbishop of the diocese; and, 

 on the left, the major-general of the naval squadron. On both sides, the 

 seats in the first row were occupied by the director-general of civil adminis- 

 tration, the president of the royal audiencia, and the fiscal and the governor- 

 general of Manila. The other seats were occupied by a numerous and 

 select audience. 



A symphony executed with great precision opened the meeting. Then 

 followed a short opening address by the chairman of the judges of the 

 contest. The speech may be summed up as follows: The exordium con- 

 sisted in declaring the solemnity, importance, scope, and transcendency of 

 pedagogical contests, emphasizing the fact that this, the first to be cele- 

 brated in the Philippines, opened a new era and should be marked with 

 golden characters in the annals of primary education in the Islands. 



The subject matter of the address was the following: The Greatness of 

 the Profession of the Primary Teachers, in which two principal arguments 

 were discussed and which formed the body of the address. These two argu- 

 ments were: The origin of the profession of teaching and the object of the 

 same. In the second argument was considered, in meaning words, the good 

 that it gives to individuals, as well as to the family and the community as 

 a whole. On the other hand were explained the evils that confront not 

 only the vicious teacher, but also the teacher who is negligent in the perform- 

 ance of his duties. 



2(1 This account is an abridgement of that which appears in Boletin 

 Oficial de Magisterio Filipino, 2, No. 1. See No. 23 of the bibliography. 



