CULTURAL HERITAGE
Revisiting our Home Economics and Industrial Arts Subjects
At grade 5 and 6, we, the elementary pupils of Baclayon Central Elementary School before, had to go to barangay Pisong for some of our studies. It was because, Baclayon Central School at the Poblacion, did not have enough rooms to accommodate grade 5 and 6 students. We enjoyed the set up as going to Pisong was a change of scenery for us. The pupils from the Lujong Sawang had to pass by the town cemetery going to and from school. They were fortunate, though, that they had Mr. Vicente Real, our Geography teacher, who walked with them in going home since his residence was in Montaña. Those from the center of barangay Poblacion had to walk through Butong in coming down to the main highway from barangay Pisong. We were (and still are) at the Baliaut side, so it was easier for us to just go straight home. Passing through the cemetery was a big deal and seemed like an ordeal, with all of frightening stories of San Telmo or santelmo including the wailing sounds (which I never heard) coming from the cemetery.I remember our Home Economics building and it was designed as a model house for the tropics. It had high posts and its wooden floor was slightly above the ground – just giving us enough space to walk underneath, Ang akong ipasabot sa enough space mao ang luna nga ma-igo gyud mi nga makabarog ug mosu-ong sa ilawom diin makab-ot namo ang sawog sa struktura. It was in this “enough space” where we stored the pieces of firewood we gathered to be used for our cooking lessons in grade 6.I could also remember fully the layout of the building. We had to climb a few steps to get to the porch. The porch served as the sala’s anteroom. Going farther would show you the sala or living room and to our right was the door leading to the bedroom. There was a dividing arch leading to the dining room. And from the dining room, there was our classroom where we did our industrial arts activities with the teacher’s guidance. Grade 5 was focused on needlecraft and needlework.The first few months in school were spent doing the different kinds of stitches with our first project: the making of a handkerchief using batiste cloth with embroidery in one corner of the handkerchief using a combination of colors for such embroidery.Our second project was the making of the nightgown-bata. We had white royal poplin for the project with an embroidery on the neckline using the DMC embroidery thread. At that time, we were not taught yet the use of the sewing machine. So our bata was sewn from home. I could recall that the colors I chose for my embroidery were yellow and violet.From our classroom, we could proceed to a kitchen and a store room; and to the left side of the native kitchen was the sink where the water flowed down to the ground through a bamboo pipe.When we were already in Grade 6, we made our apron and hairband. These were to be used in our cooking class: the apron to protect us from getting spills and stains on our clothes and the hairband to hold our hair back. In our cooking class, we were grouped into 4 where each group was taught table setting and the use of appropriate chinaware and cutlery. We took turns in listening to sessions about table manners including proper conversations during meals. At a young age, we were taught how to speak English. The discipline in speaking the language was very effective. Ug mag Binisaya mi, paga multahan mi ug singko sentabos. Maniguro gyud mi ug sulti ug Iningles, kay singko ra gud pud among bawon. Ug ibayad kadto namo sa multa, mahurot among kuarta.As to the boys, they went to the Industrial Arts shop. The shop, then, was equipped with carpentry tools: from the smallest tool to the biggest tool. And mind you, it was taboo to allow the girls going inside the shop where the boys were. Our projects which we called “industrial” were all done in school. This is one of the main reasons we were able to practice in school, what was taught in school. We never bothered our parents doing our “industrial” for us.With pride, I would say I loved my needlework. I had good grades in those projects. However, I failed in tatting. I found the art of tatting a bit difficult. Google says that Tatting is a process by which a fabric akin to lace is made of thread with a small hand shuttle and the fingers. It was once a widely practiced craft, known in Italy as occhi and in France as la frivolité. The resulting product appears to be quite fragile but is indeed both strong and durable. Galisud ko sa tatting kay kanunay mabitik akong tanod sa akong mga tudlo. I was not able to finish a single motif. However, I was almost perfect in my crochet work. In fact, right now, doing the crochet is a stress reliever to me. Yet, I noticed that we now lack the crochet threads. Ug naa man ugaling, mahal na kaayo.I wish our Home Economics and Industrial Arts subjects will be taken by my grandchildren. They will surely love both.
Baclayon Central Elementary Scho
An Example of Home Economic Class
A Picture of Carpentry Class