The History of Cuba, vol. 5Johnson, Willis Fletcher
History
The History of Cuba, vol. 5
Johnson, Willis Fletcher
Cuba -- Economic conditions; Cuba -- History
The summer work at Harvard was a revelation. The educational seed fell
upon receptive soil, and the young teachers who were fortunate enough to
be selected as guests of that institution gave an excellent account of
themselves in work that followed during the early days of the Republic.
Incidentally Mr. Frye chose one of these young teachers as his companion
through life. After Mr. Frye’s departure, Lieut. Hanna, at the
suggestion of General Wood, made some changes and additions to the
public school system of Cuba, conforming it somewhat to the methods then
in vogue in the State of Ohio.
With the installation of the Cuban Republic in 1902 public instruction
came directly under the supervision of the Central or Federal
Government, and the Secretary of Public Instruction was made a member of
the President’s Cabinet, adding thus dignity and importance to that
branch of work on which the character of succeeding generations
depended. Unfortunately for the cause of education it has been found
rather difficult to separate the Department of Public Instruction from a
certain amount of political interference, which has tended to mar its
efficiency and retard progress.
With the beginning of the second Government of Intervention in 1906, Dr.
Lincoln de Zayas was made Secretary of Public Instruction under Governor
Magoon, and with his untiring devotion to the cause of true knowledge,
as well as his keen insight into the modern or more improved methods of
teaching, interest in public instruction in Cuba was greatly revived,
and English began to assume a far more important role in the primary and
grammar schools than in former days.
The services of an excellent teacher, Miss Abbie Phillips, of
California, was secured as General Superintendent of English throughout
the Republic, and under her direction was formed a corps of remarkably
competent Cuban women, who accomplished much in a short time towards
making the study of English in the public schools more popular than it
had been. With the death of Dr. de Zayas the cause of public instruction
seemed again partially to relapse into its former desuetude. Yet in
spite of the misfortune that thus befell it, the work has proceeded more
satisfactorily than might have been expected, owing to the strong
desire on the part of the youth of the Republic to learn, and to shake
off the fetters that had previously kept them in a kind of a respectable
ignorance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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