Chapter IV: Foreword (4)

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The rural school problem will never be solved until we are able to provide teachers who are thoroughly prepared for the work which they have to do, and who look upon this work as being as important as any other profession. At present the rural school teachers fall into two rather large classes: first, the young, inexperienced, and often untrained teacher; and, second, the old, often out-of-date teacher, who has been unable to keep step with the progress of the town schools and has been pushed out into the country. Neither of these classes is fitted to give the best instruction in the rural schools; neither of them considers the position of a rural teacher as a permanent one, and in order to accomplish his best work the rural teacher should be expected to live in one community for a term of years so that he may fully understand and appreciate the problems of that community and become thoroughly acquainted with the patrons of his school.

The wages of the rural teacher should be such as will enable him to live in comfort, and as part of his wages the Government might very well assign him a parcel of land, together with living quarters, which would tend to make his residence in the district more permanent and which would enable him to carry on experimental work in agriculture at his own home.

There is no doubt but that the time will come when consolidated schools will be established in each _barrio_ for the benefit of the children of the community. In this way, better teachers, better school buildings, better equipment, and a better arranged schedule of studies can be provided, as an untrained teacher who works with poor facilities and who has to handle two different groups of children in the day and who may have six grades to teach, is working under a disadvantage which greatly handicaps the work. This is especially true when the teacher has no permanent interest in the rural school problem and regards his term of office there simply as a stepping-stone to a place in the graded school system of the town. In the annual report of the Commissioner of Education for 1914-15 we find the following data in regard to the rural schools of Porto Rico:

"The rural schools are located in the _barrios_ or rural subdivisions of the municipalities. Of the 1,200,000 inhabitants which comprise the total population of the Island, about 79 per cent live in this rural area and about 70 per cent of them are illiterate. At the present time there are approximately 331,233 children of school age (between 5 and 18 years) living in the barrios. Of these only 91,966 or 27 per cent were enrolled in the rural schools at any time during the past year. This shows a decrease from the figures reported last year, but the fact is accounted for by an order issued from the central office prohibiting rural teachers from enrolling more than 80 pupils. In some of the populous barrios the teachers were enrolling 150 pupils and sometimes more. Inasmuch as neither the material conditions of the school buildings nor the professional equipment of the teachers justified such a burden, it was deemed wise, even in the face of an overwhelming school population for which no provision is made, to limit the enrollment to a size compatible with a semblance of efficiency. The average number of pupils belonging during the year to the rural schools was 76,341. The average number of teachers at work in these schools was 1,243. This figure includes a number of teachers whose salary was paid by the school boards from their surplus funds. The corps of teachers for the entire Island is fixed by the legislature each year when the appropriations to pay their salaries are made, the commissioner being charged with its distribution among the various municipalities, but the school boards may, within certain limitations, increase the number allotted to them provided they pay their salaries from any surplus funds at their disposal. The average number of pupils taught by each teacher was about 63. The average daily attendance was 69,786, or 89.7 per cent, which gives an average of about 58 pupils receiving instruction daily from each teacher. About 59 per cent of the pupils were boys and 41 per cent girls. The average age of all pupils in the rural schools was 10.1 years.

"The above figures show, in a way, the magnitude of the problem to be solved before the people of Porto Rico can assume in full the duties and privileges of self-government. That enormous mass of illiterates, in its primitive, uncured condition, is not safe timber to build the good ship of state. We realize that there are serious social and economic problems to be solved before the people of Porto Rico reach the desired goal. But the pioneer work must be done by the rural school. Those people must be brought to a realization of their condition and to wish to improve it. The rural school, adapted more and more to actual conditions, is the one agency that can bring this about. At present, we are making provision for less than one third of the rural school population. It is as if we had an enormous debt and our resources did not permit us to pay the interest on it. The problem calls for heroic measures.

"Of the 1,243 teachers in charge of the rural schools during the past year, 1,217 or 91 per cent had double enrollment, i.e., one group of 40 pupils or less in the morning for three hours, and another similar group in the afternoon for the same period. The distribution of time among the various subjects of the curriculum depends, of course, on whether the school has double enrollment or not, as well as on the number of grades grouped in any one session.

"The course of study of the rural schools extends over a period of six years. Of the 91,966 different pupils enrolled during the year, 49.1 per cent were found in the first grade, 25.7 per cent in the second, 15.9 per cent in the third, 8.4 per cent in the fourth, and the remaining 0.9 per cent in the fifth and sixth grades. Of the total enrollment 93.2 per cent were on half time, the remaining 6.8 per cent receiving instruction six hours daily.

"Any enrichment of the rural course of study has been necessarily conditioned by the meager professional equipment of the rural teaching force, many of whom entered the service with nothing more than a common-school education and a few scraps of information about school management gotten together for the examination. Up to the present the academic requirements for admission to the examinations for the rural license have been limited to the eighth-grade diploma or its equivalent, and the examinations for the obtention of the license have covered the following subjects: English, Spanish, arithmetic, history of the United States and of Porto Rico, geography, elementary physiology and hygiene, nature study, and methods of teaching. It has been announced already that in all probability candidates for the rural license will have to present four high-school credits for admission to the examinations. The excess of teachers now obtaining and the increasing output of the Normal School will afford opportunity for selection and will raise the standard of efficiency of the force. At its last quarterly meeting the board of trustees of the University of Porto Rico voted to raise the entrance requirements of the Normal Department from four high-school credits to eight. In view of this, the Department of Education will probably increase the requirements for admission to the examinations for the rural license sufficiently to bring them up to the standard established by the board of trustees for admission to the Normal Department of the University.

"The rural teachers are elected by the school boards, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Education, who pays their salaries from an Insular appropriation. The teachers are divided into three salary classes, as follows: First class, $40; second class, $45; third class, $50. All rural teachers begin at the $40 salary, and after three years of experience pass to the $45 class and after five years to the $50 class. Last year all rural teachers received a salary of $38 only, due to financial embarrassment.

"The rural schools were housed in 1,193 separate buildings, containing a total of 1,250 classrooms. Of these 1,193 rural buildings, 320 are owned by the school boards and were especially constructed for school purposes from plans approved by the Department of Education and the sanitary officials. Most of the rural school buildings contain but one room, although not a few have two, three, and even four, the tendency toward the centralized school growing steadily. In all, 24 new rural school buildings have been erected during the year. Most of these are frame structures, but some are built of reënforced concrete and have a very pleasing appearance."

THE SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNITY

THE movement toward using the schoolhouse as a center for the social activities of the community is gaining ground every year and through this movement the school, as an organization consisting of the teacher and pupils, is rapidly coming to have much more influence in the community life than was formerly the case when the school was considered as merely an organization for the teaching of academic subjects. The need of a social center in the country districts is especially marked, inasmuch as there is a decided tendency among the country people to gather in small groups, based upon relationship or intimate friendship, to the exclusion of the wider interests of the community. Little attempt is usually made to direct in any way the outside activities or the recreation hours of the young people and often their activities take a direction which is distinctly unsocial.

The school in adapting itself to the community in order that it may serve as a social center must make certain investigations, because the need of social service and the kind of service which shall be instituted, depends upon existing local conditions. Some of the most necessary lines of investigation to be made by the teacher and pupils before the most effective aid can be rendered, are those which follow:

First.--The number of farmers who own the farms upon which they live and the number of tenant farmers.

Second.--The average size of the farms; the number of well-arranged homes; the total number of acres devoted to each of the important crops.

Third.--The distance to the nearest market, and the number of miles of well-kept roads.

These three points will determine largely the direction which any social movement must take, because upon them is based the economic situation of the community. In addition to considering the community from the economic point of view, we may also consider the sanitary conditions that prevail in the district, and the teacher and pupils should make a survey of the district with the following points in mind:

First.--The sources of water supply. If water is from open wells, where are they located, and what is the distance from barns and outhouses; are they built in accordance with specifications from the Department of Sanitation?

Second.--How is garbage disposed of in the neighborhood; are common drinking cups and the common towel prohibited in the schoolroom? Is the school furnished with a covered water tank, and does it have facilities for washing the hands and face? Do the people of the neighborhood know the regulations of the Department of Sanitation in regard to sanitary conditions; is there much preventable illness in the district, and to what extent are patent medicines used by the patrons of the school?

Third.--Are the houses, including the schoolhouses, well ventilated and well located as far as distance from standing water or other mosquito-breeding places is concerned? Is the floor of the schoolhouse swept every night, and are foot scrapers and doormats provided? Does the teacher inspect the outhouses, and are they built according to specifications from the Department of Sanitation?

A union of all the patrons of the district is necessary if any movement is to be carried out with telling effect, and the teacher should find out if there is or has been any organization of the men, women, girls, or boys in the district of a social or civic type; has the school done anything up to the present time to improve the social life in the district, and has it ever encouraged local fairs or exhibits of school or agricultural products, and has it founded boys' or girls' agricultural or home economics clubs?

How does the religious condition affect the community, and what is the attitude of the community toward these matters and toward social affairs? How do the young men and young women spend their leisure time? Has the school any magazines or farm papers in its library, and how many homes in the district have any library, or any musical instruments?

What has been the attitude of the previous teachers in the district toward the affairs of the community; how long has each remained in the district? Are changes in the position of the teachers frequent, and if so, what is the reason? Have previous teachers actually resided in the community or have they lived in the nearest town? Have the previous teachers been professionally trained, and have they taken any interest in the affairs of the community outside of their regular school duties?

When the school has succeeded in getting together the information noted in the above paragraphs, it will then be in a position to determine what lines of social activity will be best for the particular community.

The organization of men's clubs and women's clubs for the discussion of topics of general interest and for the purpose of arousing a feeling of community interest should be undertaken as soon as possible, the teacher always remembering that the management of these organizations should be in the hands of the members who compose them, and that the teacher should act only as an adviser in case advice may be necessary. The people should feel that on them rests the responsibility of developing the civic and social life of the community, and the teacher should not allow them to shift this responsibility. The organization of boys' clubs and girls' clubs will present no difficulties to the teacher who has made a study of the situation and who is prepared for his work. The boys and girls are in the most easily influenced period of their lives, and whether or not they will develop a sense of civic and social responsibility, depends very largely upon the attitude which their teachers take in regard to these matters.

Rural life in any community has a tendency to be monotonous and deadening to the finer qualities. Uninterrupted and unduly prolonged physical labor tends to the detriment of both the physical and the mental abilities of the individual. The isolation of the country home tends to narrow and restrict social intercourse, and the difficulty of travel and communication increases the monotony of country life. These circumstances do a great deal to offset the advantage of living in the country and have contributed a great deal to the stigma that has always been attached to the countryman.

If there is to be any reform in this isolated social life of the community, the reform must come about through the schools. The Government can aid to a great extent through the provision of well-kept roads and by the establishment of means of communication such as the telephone and the telegraph. The man who is in touch with the large affairs of life forgets his own petty annoyances in the contemplation of problems of greater importance, while the man who has nothing to think about except the annoyances of his own life tends to become self-centered and narrow.

Rural social center work in the United States has made great progress within the last few years and has been successful in practically all the places where it has been tried, especially if the teacher is a person of tact and intelligence. A great deal depends upon the attitude which the teacher has in this work, and it is not enough that the teacher should undertake such work as a burden added to the already overcrowded curriculum of the day, but the teacher should enter into the movement with a sincere desire to improve the condition of the community and bring the patrons of the district to a higher degree of efficiency as workmen and as citizens. In every community there are many young women and young men who are above the average school age who are compelled to work during the day, and who are fast becoming fixed in the monotonous life that has surrounded the older people of the community, who might easily be interested by the teacher and influenced through the formation of social clubs, so that they would form the nucleus for a better coming generation of citizens. The meetings of young people should partake of recreation as well as of serious study, and while the avowed intention of new clubs formed by the school should be for the purpose of bettering the social and civic condition of the people of the community, they must be placed in as favorable a light as possible, for it should be remembered that people will often undertake a movement which will have decidedly beneficial results if it is disguised under the form of recreation, when they would hesitate to give their continued assistance to such a movement if it partook entirely of the nature of serious study.

The Department of Education in the Island of Porto Rico is making a special effort at the present time to interest the older girls and the women of the towns in social betterment through the medium of mothers' clubs and girls' clubs, organized under the direction of the teachers of home economics. These clubs have been organized in practically all of the towns of the Island and are meeting with general success. In many cases the girls' clubs assume an aspect of economic improvement in that they undertake the production of certain salable articles such as embroidery or handwork, and the teacher in charge of the group provides the market for the articles produced. Little has been done up to the present in organizing the men and boys into social groups. Boy scout organizations were widely established through the Island several years ago, but on account of the lack of some individual to devote his time to the organizing side of the movement they have decreased in number and in influence. Anyone who is at all familiar with the social situation in Porto Rico, especially in the rural districts, will see at once the necessity of organizations of the kind mentioned above and will be impressed with the possibilities for good in a community which can be exercised by the rural school under the direction of an efficient, well trained, enthusiastic teacher. The democratic form of government which the Island enjoys demands the highest possible development of civic and social ideas and obligations, and in order to fulfill its highest mission the school should undertake such lines of work as will tend to develop not only better educated people of academic attainments, but also better trained citizens in the social and civic sense.

RELATION OF THE TEACHER TO THE COMMUNITY

IN rural sections the school should be a factor of much more importance than it is in the urban centers for the reason that the country people are almost entirely shut off from other educative institutions such as public libraries, free lectures, and association with their fellow-citizens, privileges which the urban resident is able to use to great advantage. To carry out effectively the mission of the rural school in a community and to make it a center from which there may be spread an influence for social betterment, as well as for intellectual improvement, the teacher is the all-important factor. There are certain duties which a teacher owes to his profession, in case he is working in the country, which cannot be neglected if he is to obtain the results which he should obtain. Following are some of the most important of these duties:

First.--The teacher should visit all homes and get acquainted with the patrons. This is important in order that he may get an insight into the conditions under which the people are living, and that he may know the particular difficulties of the pupils with whom he has to deal. Moreover, acquaintance on the part of the parents with the teacher will often aid in avoiding disciplinary difficulties, inasmuch as the parents come to have increasing confidence in him and his work as their acquaintance with him increases.

Second.--The teacher should study conditions from all angles so as to adapt the school work to the needs of the community. Even in so small an island as Porto Rico, we have distinctly different occupations centered in different parts of the Island, and the teacher should remember that the majority of his pupils will undoubtedly grow up to take a part in the prevailing industry of the community in which they are born and raised. The schedule and work of the rural school should not be an attempt to imitate the plan of study of the urban schools, inasmuch as the problems are entirely different, and until a teacher has convinced himself of this fact and has made an attempt to model his work on the needs of the community, the school will not accomplish its full mission.

Third.--The teacher should live in the district seven days in the week during the school term. More and more the idea is becoming prevalent that rural teachers should be provided with a house and a small plot of ground near the school in order to become permanent residents of the district. The average farmer is very conservative and needs visual demonstration of the merits of new ideas before he will accept them. No amount of theoretical teaching will improve farming conditions to any great extent, and unless the teacher is able to become a demonstrator of his ideas by actually putting them into practice on the plot of ground which he himself manages, he cannot expect to influence to any great extent the agricultural movements of the community in which he works. The school should aim not only for the education of the children who are actually enrolled, but also for the betterment of the agricultural and social conditions of the community.

Fourth.--The rural teacher should be loyal to his pupils and patrons. The teacher who feels himself an individual superior to the members of the community whom he is serving and allows this feeling to express itself in his attitude toward them, loses the greater part of his influence through this action. The countryman likes to be met on equal terms and does not enjoy a condescending attitude any more than does his brother who lives in the town. The teacher should have in mind only the benefits which he may bring to the community, and if he actually and actively takes part in the social movements of the place he will come to learn that human nature is the same in the country as in the town, and he will be able to acquire a sincere liking for the people with whom he works.

Fifth.--The teacher should so conduct himself outside of the school as to win respect for himself and for his profession. The idea that a teacher's duty to the school ends with the closing of the actual school day is a mistaken one. Any action on the part of the teacher outside of his school work which would tend to lower him in the estimation of his pupils or their parents, inevitably tends to reduce the amount of influence which he can exert. A teacher is on duty constantly and cannot limit his working hours or his working habits to certain defined periods of time.

Sixth.--The teacher should stay more than one year in a district, unless a change means decided professional and financial advancement. Short term teachers are often of more harm than benefit to the children of a community. The advent of a new teacher means a change in plans and usually a change in methods of work. These changes tend to upset the minds of the children who naturally like to follow well-defined lines of work. The constant change of teachers also means that none of them stays sufficiently long to learn the needs of the community and the best method of meeting these needs. School boards should offer inducements to rural teachers in the way of increasing the salary for increased length of service, and thus there would be less desire on the part of the teacher to move from one district to another.

Seventh.--The teacher should arouse an interest in the school and do his part to convince the patrons of the need of a better school to meet the demands of the present day. A great part of the teacher's work lies outside of his actual teaching, and more and more we are coming to conceive the school as a social as well as an educational institution, and by means of parents' meetings, using the school as a social center and making the schoolhouse a gathering place for the patrons of the district, where they may meet and discuss the problems with which they are confronted, the present-day teacher supplements his actual teaching duties. There are few other ways in which the social needs of the country people can be better met than through the rural school. Moreover, by means of these meetings it is possible to show parents the progress which is being made by their children in the school work and to impress them with the necessity of regular and punctual attendance. One of the surest ways to win the approval of men and women is by interesting them in the progress of their children, and the wise teacher will take advantage of every opportunity which presents itself, and go to great lengths to make opportunities for cultivating the interest of the parents in the school, through this means.

Eighth.--The teacher in a rural school should have as the aim of rural education "better men, better farming, and better living." The country teacher who appreciates and realizes this is aware of the chief factors in the solution of the farm problem. He must also remember that he is a public servant and that the public has a right to expect him to put his whole soul into the welfare of the community. The schools are held to be largely responsible for ineffective farming and the low ideals of country life. A great many of our rural teachers are not at all in sympathy with rural ideals and rural customs. They regard their position as merely temporary, and express, even though it may be involuntary on their part, the idea that the town is much preferable to the country, and in this way inculcate in the children a distaste for the life of the country, when it should be their duty to present the best features of rural life in order to persuade the children to remain on the farms.

Ninth.--The teacher should be able to discriminate between essentials and non-essentials and omit the latter, thus giving more time to the problems of country life. He should get away from the formalism of textbooks, using them only as tools, and adapt all his work to the needs and interests of the community. He should not attempt to be too scientific, but should teach in terms of child life. And even in his intercourse with the patrons of the school he should put himself, in manners and conversation, on terms of equality with them. The teacher should learn to use his energy for better and more definite planning, and in the schoolroom should do for the children fewer of those things that may be done by the pupils themselves. There is no reason why pupils should not be taught to study and work independently, and the school that fulfills its highest mission trains children to become independent workers. Especially is this true in the country, where pupils should work as well as study and recite. Mere academic training in the rural school will defeat the purpose of the school and will be very apt to produce young men and young women who are dissatisfied with the conditions under which they must live after leaving school.

PRESENT-DAY RURAL SCHOOL MOVEMENTS

WITHIN the last few years, rural education in the United States has received a great deal of attention, and many plans have been suggested for the betterment of rural teaching. Conferences of state and national educators have been held for the purpose of discussing the rural school question, and out of the mass of school movements, discussions, and ideas which have been presented, there are some which might be made applicable to the situation as it exists in Porto Rico.

The following ideas seem to indicate the spirit which underlies rural education of the present day. They are the result of a conference held in Kentucky in 1914 by people who were especially interested in rural school problems:

First.--The greatest social need of the century is the organization and consequent up-building of the rural life of America.

Second.--This must be the outgrowth of the self-activity of rural life forces.

Third.--Outside forces can only assist in the work.

Fourth.--There is a need of raising the general level of living in the country in order to keep the brightest and best people from leaving the country in too great numbers.

Fifth.--To educate the young in the schools, to elevate their ideals, to arouse their ambitions without raising the level of living and offering them a broader field for the exercise of their talents, may do as much harm as good.

Sixth.--The school is only one of the agencies for community up-building.

Seventh.--There must be coöperation among the rural life forces, all working together for a common end.

Eighth.--The farmer, the country woman, the country teacher, the country editor, the country doctor, and the country business man must all join hands for better living along every line in the country.

Ninth.--The community is the proper unit for rural development.

Tenth.--The community must learn how to educate, to organize, and to develop itself.

In attempting to carry out the ideas expressed in the statements quoted above, emphasis has been laid upon educational rallies, school farms, farmers' Chatauquas, and other means which have as their aim the idea of arousing community pride and community coöperation, not only for the benefit and betterment of the school, but also for the benefit and betterment of the members of the community who are not of school age. A great deal of emphasis has been laid upon rural school extension work, that is, work carried on under the supervision of school officers but which really devotes its main efforts to adults who are living in rural communities. One of the most recent steps in this direction was the passing of the bill known as the "Smith Lever Act" by the Federal Congress in 1914, which ultimately carries with it an appropriation of over $4,500,000 for agricultural extension and rural welfare. Under this bill, Porto Rico receives $10,000 per year for extension work among the farmers, the work being carried out under the supervision of the Federal Experiment Station located at Mayaguez.

Another movement which is prominent in rural school affairs at present, is the tendency toward a larger unit of organization for taxation and administration. The rural schools of Porto Rico are already under the municipal unit of school administration, which probably will not be changed, as close supervision demands rather small units of organization. In the report of the Commissioner of Education for 1915-16 a suggestion is made that the appropriation of money for schools throughout the Island be determined by the school population in a given community and not by the taxable wealth of that community. It frequently happens that the wealthiest municipalities are the ones which are least in need of additional school facilities, and this recommendation tends to make the unit for school taxation and appropriation of funds an Insular rather than a municipal unit, as we have to-day. The idea, of course, is based upon the fact that Porto Rico is small enough so that every citizen should be interested in the education of all the children of the Island, and that the movements in education should be Insular in unit rather than municipal.

Demonstration schools for rural communities have been organized with a view to showing the people in a definite and concrete way what a school can do for a community. These demonstration schools are usually placed in a central location and put under the charge of the teachers of greatest experience and ability. All of the children in the different grades included in the rural school course have a course of study to complete in the schoolroom, and another equally emphasized course of study to complete in the home and on the farm.

Experiments and studies are being carried on which involve the use of every day throughout the year. To accomplish this end, the father and mother have become the assistant supervisors of the home work and the farm work, and they receive the advice, the suggestion, and the instruction of the rural supervisors of schools. While working to get the best possible results from the efforts made, and to establish the facts by samples, by photographs, and by financial relations of cost and return, these undertakings are accompanied by neighborhood meetings of many kinds which have had the effect of enlarging community interest, community support, and community improvement. Out of these efforts have come better social conditions, more harmonious relations, a development of better ideals, and a higher conception of life.

These demonstration schools, in addition to being a force among the people in the community where they are located, also serve as educational centers which are to be visited by the other rural teachers of the community in order that the inexperienced and untrained teacher may receive the benefit of the teacher of more experience. In addition, these schools also serve the purpose of experimental schools where many ideas are worked out and put into effect, and new methods of teaching as well as untried methods of farming are given a trial.

The rural school situation is being studied more to-day than ever before, for it is being realized that our country schools are not functioning to the best advantage. The social side of the task, extension work among the patrons of the district, consolidated and more efficient schools, and better trained teachers are only a few of the phases of this movement toward making the rural school a real force throughout the country. The movement is gaining ground each year, and though there are many problems to be solved and many difficult situations to be met, yet there is every reason to believe that out of this mass of experiments there will evolve the rural school of the future, which will be a more vital factor in the community than has been the case up to the present day.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND LONGEVITY

THE anthropometric examinations given in the University of Porto Rico during the last two years have provided data from which to determine the physical development of the Porto Rican. A total of 1,412 examinations has been made, including 616 men and 796 women. These students ranged in age from fifteen to thirty years.

A comparison of the physical development of American and Porto Rican boys and girls of the same age shows that the Porto Rican surpasses the American in nearly every point, at the ages of fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen. At eighteen the physical development is about the same, but from that time there seems to be little additional growth on the part of the Porto Rican, while the American continues to develop up to and including the twenty-second year. This seems to confirm the generally accepted theory that a person matures earlier in the tropics than he does in a temperate climate. That the slighter physical development is the effect of geographic or climatic conditions, and is not entirely due to race, is proved by the fact that measurements of Chilean boys, who are of Spanish blood, more nearly approximate those of North American boys than they do those of Porto Ricans. The following tables show a comparison of the development of the Porto Rican students with the average development of American men and women. The measurements are in pounds and inches.

TABLE I

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|Average measurements | Average
| of Porto Rican male |measurements of
|students from 16 to 28 | American men
| years of age |from 17 to 30
| | years of age
---------------------------+-----------------------+----------------
Height | 64.94 | 67.6
Weight | 110.67 | 138.6
Chest, transversal | 10.26 | 10.8
Chest, anterior-posterior | 7.92 | 7.5
Shoulders | 15.06 | 16.1
Neck | 13.05 | 13.9
Chest, contracted | 30.63 | 33.7
Chest, expanded | 33.25 | 36.7
Waist | 27.92 | 29.1
Right forearm | 9.33 | 10.4
Left forearm | 9.20 | 10.4
Right arm up | 9.61 | 11.9
Right arm down | 8.45 | 10.4
Left arm up | 9.42 | 11.8
Left arm down | 8.22 | 10.3
Right thigh | 17.97 | 20.3
Left thigh | 17.83 | 20.2
Right calf | 12.64 | 13.8
Left calf | 12.66 | 13.8
---------------------------+-----------------------+----------------

TABLE II

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| Average measurements | Average
| of Porto Rican women | measurements of
| students from 16 to | American women
| 28 years of age | from 17 to
| | 30 years of age
--------------------------+-----------------------+------------------
Height | 61.78 | 62.9
Weight | 107.82 | 116.
Chest, transversal | 9.35 | 10.
Chest, anterior-posterior | 6.93 | 6.8
Shoulders | 13.64 | 14.4
Neck | 11.98 | 12.1
Chest, natural | 29.19 | 29.7
Chest, contracted | 28.57 | 29.6
Chest, expanded | 31.29 | 32.
Waist | 25.14 | 24.3
Hips | 33.76 | 35.7
Right forearm | 8.71 | 8.8
Left forearm | 8.61 | 8.6
Right arm down | 8.44 | 9.8
Left arm down | 8.40 | 9.7
Right arm up | 8.99 | 10.8
Left arm up | 8.82 | 10.6
Right thigh | 18.79 | 21.1
Left thigh | 18.65 | 21.
Right calf | 12.66 | 13.
Left calf | 12.64 | 13.
--------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------

If it is true that the Porto Rican reaches the height of physical development at the age of eighteen, then we may consider that an average of the measurements of the men and women from and after that age will give us what is practically the representative physical development of the Porto Rican adult. These averages are found in the following table.

TABLE III

_Representative development of Porto Rican students at the University
of Porto Rico, of more than 18 years of age._

===============================================
| Men | Women
---------------------------+----------+--------
Height | 65.87 | 61.83
Weight | 116.21 | 107.93
Shoulders | 15.39 | 13.67
Chest, transversal | 10.39 | 9.34
Chest, anterior-posterior | 8.07 | 6.98
Neck | 13.32 | 12.01
Chest, muscular | 32.74 | 30.27
Chest, natural | 31.87 | 29.45
Chest, expanded | 33.84 | 31.30
Chest, contracted | 31.36 | 28.23
Waist | 27.96 | 25.08
Hips | 32.13 | 33.45
Right arm down | 8.62 | 8.49
Right arm up | 9.79 | 8.95
Right forearm | 9.53 | 8.61
Left arm down | 8.43 | 8.36
Left arm up | 9.61 | 8.83
Left forearm | 9.46 | 8.29
Right thigh | 18.38 | 18.76
Left thigh | 18.15 | 18.61
Right calf | 12.85 | 12.68
Left calf | 12.90 | 12.64
---------------------------+----------+--------

For the purpose of comparing the Porto Rican boys with boys of Spanish blood, but of another climate, Table IV, which shows the comparative development of Porto Rican and Chilean boys from 16 to 20 years of age, is given. The measurements for the Chilean boys were furnished by the Museo Nacional of Santiago, Chili.

TABLE IV

--------------------------+------------+----------
Sixteen years | Porto Rico | Chili
--------------------------+------------+----------
Number observed | 16. | 340.
Height | 64.42 | 64.49
Weight | 105.44 | 123.64
Chest | 31.01 | 33.09
Chest, transversal | 9.69 | 10.34
Chest, anterior-posterior | 7.79 | 7.66
Waist | 27.28 | 25.11
| |
Seventeen years | |
| |
Number observed | 75. | 248.
Height | 64.41 | 65.43
Weight | 113.41 | 128.48
Chest | 32.06 | 33.52
Chest, transversal | 10.11 | 10.72
Chest, anterior-posterior | 7.99 | 7.97
Waist | 25.05 | 25.54
| |
Eighteen years | |
| |
Number observed | 92. | 138.
Height | 65.72 | 65.86
Weight | 118.43 | 133.32
Chest | 32.61 | 34.33
Chest, transversal | 10.36 | 11.04
Chest, anterior-posterior | 8.14 | 8.09
Waist | 28.08 | 26.09
| |
Nineteen years | |
| |
Number observed | 107. | 65.
Height | 65.47 | 65.94
Weight | 111.53 | 133.98
Chest | 32.33 | 34.66
Chest, transversal | 10.27 | 11.35
Chest, anterior-posterior | 8.15 | 8.17
Waist | 27.15 | 26.13
| |
Twenty years | |
| |
Number observed | 78. | 18.
Height | 65.91 | 66.18
Weight | 113.32 | 113.52
Chest | 32.36 | 34.71
Chest, transversal | 10.39 | 11.43
Chest, anterior-posterior | 7.77 | 8.33
Waist | 27.58 | 26.44
--------------------------+------------+----------

A study of the census of 1910 showing the distribution of the population of Porto Rico by race and by age periods gives some interesting information. If the situation given there is taken to be typical of general conditions, by considering the number of children of each class under one year of age, we find that the highest birth rate is among the mulattoes; next in order come the native whites of native parentage, next the blacks, and last the native whites of foreign or mixed parentage. The actual percentage of each class under one year of age is as follows: mulattoes, 3.9 per cent; native whites of native parentage, 3.6 per cent; blacks, 2.5 per cent; native whites of foreign or mixed parentage, 2 per cent. The percentage of the population under five years of age in each class tends to confirm this statement. It is as follows: mulattoes 17.9 per cent; native whites of native parentage, 14.7 per cent; blacks, 12.2 per cent; native whites of foreign or mixed parentage, 9.5 per cent.

While the mulattoes have the highest birth rate, it is also true that, as a general thing, they are the shortest lived of any of the classes mentioned. The class which generally has greatest longevity consists of the negroes; next in order come the native whites of mixed or foreign parentage, then the native whites of native parentage, and last, the mulattoes. Thus the order, as regards length of life, is nearly the reverse of what it is as regards birth rate.

It is observed also that while native whites of foreign or mixed parentage have a comparatively great length of life and a comparatively low birth rate, their children, who fall in the class of native whites of native parentage, have shorter lives and tend to produce larger families, than did the parents. In each class the females outnumber the males, the proportion being 100 females to 99.4 males for the total population, which, however, includes the foreign-born whites, where the males outnumber the females. In the classes of native-born citizens, the difference between the numbers of the sexes is greater than the ratio for the total population would indicate, being the greatest among the mulattoes, where the ratio is 93.6 males for every 100 females. In each class it is found that the women enjoy greater length of life than do the men.

The following table shows what proportion of the total number of each class of the population falls under the age groups designated.

Transcriber's Note: The following abbreviations were used to keep this
table to a reasonable width:

M = Males
F = Females

TABLE V

=====================================================================
| | | | Native |
| | | Native | white |
| Negroes | Mulattoes | white | of foreign| Foreign
| | | of native | or mixed | born white
| | | parentage | parentage |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----
| M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F
---------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----
Under | | | | | | | | | |
5 years | 12.9| 11.6| 18.3| 17.4| 17.1| 16.4| 10.1| 8.9| .8| 2.1
5 to 24 | 42.3| 42.5| 48.2| 47.1| 46.2| 46.4| 45.6| 45.9| 18.8| 20.8
25 to 54 | 34.4| 34.8| 29. | 30.1| 31.7| 31.5| 36.6| 35.6| 64.6| 57.2
55 to 84 | 9.7| 10.5| 4.4| 5.3| 5. | 5. | 7.4| 9.3| 15.6| 19.2
85 years | | | | | | | | | |
and over | .7| .8| .1| .2| .1| .2| .1| .3| .2| .8
---------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----

It will be noticed that above the age of 55 there is a larger proportion of women than men in each class. Judging the median age for each group to be the year which divides the total number of that group into two equal divisions, so far as number is concerned, we find the following median ages: blacks, 23; mulattoes, 18; native whites of native parentage, 20; native whites of foreign or mixed parentage, 22; foreign-born whites, 37. These results correspond exactly with the statements previously made regarding the longevity of each group. This would, of course, only give the median age for each class at the time the census was taken, in 1910, but as practically the same age distribution is also found in the census of 1899, it may be concluded that the results are approximately correct. This means that 50 per cent of each group does not live beyond the age indicated, and is sometimes known as the "mean length of life." Data for calculating the average length of life are not available.

A comparison of the age groups in the United States and in Porto Rico shows that the proportion in the younger ages is greater in Porto Rico than it is in the United States.

TABLE VI

==================+==============+===============
| Native white | Colored
+------+-------+------+--------
| Porto| United| Porto| United
| Rico | States| Rico | States
------------------+------+-------+------+--------
Under 5 years | 16.5 | 13.5 | 17.1 | 12.9
5 to 14 years | 26.3 | 23. | 27.1 | 24.4
15 to 24 years | 20. | 20.3 | 19.8 | 21.3
25 to 44 years | 25.4 | 26.5 | 24.2 | 26.8
45 to 64 years | 9.6 | 13. | 9.4 | 11.3
65 years and over | 2.2 | 3.6 | 2.4 | 3.
------------------+------+-------+------+--------

Undoubtedly the work of the Department of Sanitation and of the Institute of Tropical Medicine will do much to change the death rate within the next few years, and to prolong life. We may well expect the next census to show a much larger percentage of the population in the higher age groups.

Comments

Social Problems in Porto RicoChapter IV: Foreword (4)

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