The Miseducation of the Filipino

By Renato Constantino

Renato ConstantinoRenato Constantino was an influential Filipino Historian. He was a great orator, debater and in The University of The Philippines he became

the youngest Philippine Collegian editor.During the Japanese Occupation, his family struggled and from time to time

transferred to towns to hide from them.Renato Constantino had several successful careers as a diplomat, a college

professor, a museum director, a journalist and an author of many books. He was the Executive Secretary of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations from 1946 to 1949 and Counsellor of the Department of Foreign Affairs from 1949 to 1951. He published a book on the United Nations in 1950. His career in the academe spans more than three decades during which time he taught in Far Eastern University, Adamson University, Arellano University and University of the Philippines, Manila and Diliman.

Constantino was a prolific writer. He wrote around 30 books and numerous pamphlets and monographs. Among his well-known books are A Past Revisited and The Continuing Past (a two-volume history of the Philippines), The Making of a Filipino (a biography of Claro M. Recto), Neo-colonial Identity and Counter-Consciousness, and The Nationalist Alternative. Several of his books have been translated into Japanese and The Nationalist Alternative has a Malaysian translation.

(March 10, 1919- September 15, 1999)

Some related people...

Manuel L. Quezon Claro M. Recto Thomasites

Importance of Education• ~> Education is a vital weapon of a people

striving for economic emancipation, Political independence, and cultural renascence. Philippine education, therefore, must produce Filipinos who are aware of their country’s problems, who understand the basic solution to these problems and care enough to work and sacrifice for their country’s salvation.

Nationalism In Education

In recent years, in various sectors of our society, there have been nationalist stirrings demanding for the recognition of Philippine Sovereignty on the bases question. Some are:

-Correction of iniquitous economic relations between RP and US-Filipino First Policy-Appreciation of our own culture-Nationalism in educationThough many educators participate in debate on techniques and

tools for improved instructions, not one major educational leader has come out for a truly nationalist education.

New perspectives Economic and Political leaders gained a new

perception of our relations with the US, the reaction, which has emerged as economic and political nationalism is an attempt to revive inequities of the past and to complete the revolutionary movement of 1896.

The educational system introduced by the Americans was designed to correspond to economic and political reality of American conquest.

Capturing Minds

• Inception―the best way of subjugating a people is to capture their minds. Planting an idea to people to kill the old views, as well as the resistance and expose them to a new life governed by the colonizers, since military and political victory does not signify full conquest.

• -Erasing memories of deceit, harshness of the colonizers to make anew, better perception of self to the people being influenced.

• Education, therefore, serves as a weapon in colonial conquest, which prevents subjugation of mind and limits influence from oppressors.

• -Americans launched a rational large scale reopening of schools to start their influence and remoulding of the Filipinos as well as to calm their struggle.

Beginnings of Colonial Education

• -Education is the framework of American colonization.

• -Pacifying people by introducing new kind of education.

• -Education by Americans became instrument of colonial policy

• -Filipinos ideals slowly eroded in order to remove resistance.

• Dissolved Nationalism as it attracted Filipinos to adapt other culture (acculturation) and made an image that Americans are our Allies, our heroes who saved us from the wicked Spain.

• Since English was used as a medium of instruction, America really pushed Filipinos to learning a new way of learning and adapting new ideas which the locals and leaders won’t understand, which made inception more easy.

• July 1901, The Ship Thomas from San Francisco came to the Philippines with 600 teachers who were actually military veterans.

Thomasites• is a group of about six hundred

pioneer American teachers sent by the U.S. government to the Philippines in August 12 1901.

• stayed at the walled city Intramuros, Manila before being given initial provincial assignments which included Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur Sorsogon, Masbate, Samar, Zambales, Aparri, Jolo, Negros, Cebu, Dumaguete, Bataan, Batangas, Pangasinan and Tarlac.

Thomasites• The Thomasites built upon the contributions laid

down by the U.S. Army. They built elementary schools and learning institutions such as the Philippine Normal School (now Philippine Normal University) and the Philippine School of Arts and Trades (now Technological University of the Philippines) in 1901, the Tarlac High School on September 21, 1902 and the Quezon National High School (now, Tayabas High School), also in 1902

The role of the American Vice Governor

• Though the government was ‘Filipinized” for the nation is being prepared for self government, the sector of education was never entrusted to Filipinos.

• Supported by Article 23 of Jones Act, which makes the American Vice-Governor the head of the department in case of seat vacancy or late appointment of the Governor-general.

Jones Law• The Jones Law also known as the Jones Act,

the Philippine Autonomy Act or the Act of Congress of August 29, 1916, was an organic act passed by the United States Congress which replaced the Philippine Organic Act of 1902. The Jones Law acted like a constitution for the Philippines until 1934 when the Tydings–McDuffie Act creating of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. It established for the first time an elected upper house, which would eventually become the Philippine Senate.

• -It was until 1935, where the Commonwealth and the new generation of “Filipino-Americans” emerged. They, of course, have already been influenced by the Americans so the act, think and live like them.

Goals of American Education

• Benevolent Assimilation (December 21, 1898) - Proclamation about the Philippines by U.S.

President William McKinley during the Philippine-American War saying that it is the mission of the United States is to substitute the mild sway of justice and right for arbitrary rule for every Filipino and protect them from any further political domination.

• The “White man’s Burden”• Not only for “Saving Filipinos” from illiteracy and

ignorance but also to prepare them for self rule.• Economic and Political objectives• Philippines was US to protect and guide like a

mother-child relationship• Subconsciously or even either conscious or not,

they invaded people and pattern them to the way they like.

Effects of American system of education

• Positive effects• - American Educational system has brought

peculiar benefits also, such as more conversant, more knowledgeable Filipinos but has been a real blessing if only it was not a colonial style one.

• -The Philippine Education system improved since it has patterned and absorb many of the modern educational techniques from the Americans

• Filipinos became the third largest English-speaking country in the world since then, opening more job opportunities and advantage of being bilingual.

• It became easier for Filipinos to understand other concepts that cannot be translated in our own language, which English itself was used as a link for our native languages (example: Ifugao-Tagalog converse in English)

Negative effects• Unfortunately, success of education as a colonial

weapon was concrete and permanent. We became less nationalistic, adapting American culture and history as if it was ours and let them distort our future the way they wanted it to be.

- Gave way to “Colonial mentality” and Neo-colonialism.

- Decreased Nationalism- Language conflict- Conflict on Medium of instruction- Barrier to democracy- “Degradation” of Public schools compared to

Private schools

An Uprooted Race

• Use of the American Language became a wedge that separated Filipinos from their past and culture

• Filipinos as “ideal colonial”, carbon copy of their conquerors

• Adoption of American culture and local heroes regarded as brigands and outlaws

• Spain was the villain, America was the hero.

Economic Attitudes• United States used a unique approach of

economic policy needed to govern a colony• Idealization of Philippines as a rural, agriculture

land, not foreseeing the possibilities of being transformed into an industrialized nation

• Portraits of Country life strengthen this belief as well as overlooking disease, poverty and cultural vacuum the nation has and suggests that we should not change that.

• Filipinos becoming a “new kind” of Americans

Dalaga (with the carabao) (1936) By Fernando Amorsolo

Transplantation of Political institutions• American Education in effect transplanted

American political institutions and ideas into the Philippines.

• Filipinos are made to believe in certain political doctrines as absolute for all peoples.

• Therefore, Filipinos were bound by western political procedures (or even by other developed countries) and thought they can’t carry out on their own

Re-examination demanded

• -New demands for economic emancipation and assertion of Political Sovereignty leave our educators no choice but to re-examine their philosophy, their values, and their general approach to the making of the Filipino who will institute, support and preserve the nationalist aims.

• - Education must both be seen not as an acquisition of information but as the making of man so that he may function most effectively and and usefully within his own society.

• Not only do we imitate Western education, we have patterned our education after the most technologically advanced western nations. The gap between the two societies is very large. In fact, they are two entirely different societies with different goals

Description of Western Values• Economically, the US is an industrial nation. It is a

fully developed nation, economically speaking. Our country has a colonial economy with a tiny industrial base -in other words, we are backward and underdeveloped.

• American education, understandably lays little emphasis on the kind of nationalism we Filipinos need

• Filipinos try so hard to pattern themselves to how Americans do themselves, which is wrong since the gap in between the two nations is very great.

Un-Filipino Filipinos

• We love Foreigners complementing about our country, complacently allowing them to control our economy but we ourselves don’t see the beauty of our country and the opportunity/potential we have to improve ourselves with it.

• Little emphasis of Nationalism in Schools• The concept of “Freedom” distorted by the

past Colonizers

The Language Problem

• One of the most Vital problem of the Philippines is about Language

• Native vs. Foreign language as the medium of instruction

• The use of native is a bit controversial, and more Filipinos are even in favour of using the foreign one

Barrier to Democracy• English was supposed to be the “Language of

Democracy” but in the long run it also produced privileged ‘Illustrados’ that were the products of American education. These men like their Hispanicized counterparts led the way of life of the new colonizers.

• Though considered “language of democracy”, English rather became a barrier since those who knew it neglected the mother tounge and abide using it.

• English became available only to these new group of men which started a class, which composed the nation’s leaders. Politics remained in vacuum for the higher-ups can’ reach out easily to the masses.

• English has became a status symbol, as the native language was looked down upon

Impediments to Thought

• Foreign language is an impediment to thought• Foreign language is first taught and mastered

before the native language is taught.• As a move to promote Native Language, the

Institute of National Language was organized in 1935.

• Started the stir in what language was to be used as the medium of instruction.

The Private sector• Before World war II. Philippine public school

system looked down upon their counterparts in the private schools.

• Today, public schools are looked down upon. Only the poor send their children to these schools. Those who can afford it, or those who have social pretensions, send their children to private institutions. The result has been a boon to private education, a boon that unfortunately has seen the proliferation of diploma mills

Other Educational Media

• The almost unilateral source of news, films and other cultural materialstends to distort our perspective. American films and comics, American press services,fellowships in America, have all contributed to the almost total Americanization of our attitudes.A distinct Filipino culture can not prevail if an avalanche of western cultural materials suffocatesour relatively puny efforts in this direction.

Needed: Filipinos• The education of the Filipino must be a Filipino

Education―it must be based on the needs and goals of the nation.

• The primary objective is not to make people who can write, read, but citizenry that appreciates and is conscious of its nationhood and has national goals for the betterment of the country.

• Educations should first all assure national survival.

Weaknesses

- Focused on the American regime as the start of the Philippines Miseducation instead of pointing out Spaniards as the one who really started it

Strengths

- Effectively stressed the points how Americans miseducated the Filipinos

- Chronologically arranged order of thoughts- Pointed out how Filipino nationalism was

degraded- Discussed how Filipinos tried so hard to imitate

Americans and they failed, resulting to worse consequences

-END-Thanks for watching! Made by Group 5Faye ButaranDon Angelo VenguaEmmanuel Nathan D. Baoas