Third world education

I am speaking on behalf of the whole Filipino people that English is the best thing
influence colonialism gave to us. English is widely used as our primary medium of instruction
because almost 98 percent of Filipinos speak and understand English. I believe that I was very
well taught in English up until I have to use it. Growing up, even though our textbooks were
written in English, The average Filipino instructors I had ever have in my life insert 2 to 3
sentences of English and a majority is Tagalog. We call that tag-lish.
When I came here to America I was at a shock because I could not communicate properly
with Americans. Different Americans have different ways to what I mean by that is, English have
different accents and every word is pronounced differently. There are mexican-american
pronunciations, there are Chinese American accents, there are old Wild West accent, there is
even Ebonics. Assimilation was not really that hard for I easily adopted.
Yes there are still hardships with my everyday application of the English language but I can
honestly say that I am surviving and so are my fellow brown brothers. Why am I giving a whole
lot of importance on a language? I am giving the English language a lot of credit because it
enlightened our people. Its true that the Spaniards were there for over 300 years but they never
intended to educate our people. Educating the Filipino mass happened during the American
colonial period from 1900 to 1941. Even though there are universities that were established
during the Spanish colonial period from 1565 to 1898, Spain did not establish a systematic
program for education .The main reason for the exclusion was that Spain feared that the Filipinos
would revolt against Spain if they knew too much (Bernardo,2004). When the Americans arrived
in the Philippines, the Filipino already had a flourishing literature but it was deemed uncivilized
(Martin, 2004).
Those who were educated during Spanish times were Filipino elites. A majority of these
elites have Chinese, Indian or Spanish ancestry. Theodore Roosevelt famously stated that
America was bound to lift the people of the Philippines out of savagery and into civilization.
While I found that statement by him hard to swallow- I totally agree with him because after the
Spanish occupation, only a small percentage of the Filipino population were educated, only the
elites had the chance to go the Spaniard built universities in the Philippines. The occupation of
the American government in the Philippines liberated and transformed the minds of the Filipino
people forever.
In the year 1901, United States army transports sailed out of the port at San Francisco
towards the Pacific Ocean. These transports however were not carrying army men, but teachers
to the Philippines. These teachers were called Thomasites. These teachers were tasked to provide
education and civilization to the newly acquired American territory (Wesling, 2007). Early
American instruction not only focused on teaching the English language, as well as classical
subjects like science, mathematics, and literature as time went on increasing focused was placed
vocational education. Girls were taught lacemaking, embroidery, hat and mat weaving and
basketry, while the boys were taught carpentry, blacksmithing and agriculture (Steinbock,Pratt ,
2012 pg.388).These early Filipino students were not only willingly to conform to American
instruction but they easily understood the purpose behind their lesson(Hawkins, 2012).
Today, the islands of the Philippines are a neo colony of the USA. Through the
International monetary fund-World bank, the economy is controlled by the imposition of trade

liberalization, privatization, and Deregulation. As a result, most of the Philippine resources are
exploited and controlled by a few elite families and multi-national companies. Most Filipinos
feel poverty (Ortiz, 2008). In 1990 the education system offered six years of elementary
instruction followed by four years of high school. Children entered primary school at the age of
seven. Instruction was bilingual in Pilipino and English, although it was often claimed that
English was being slighted. Before independence in 1946, all instruction was in English; since
then, the national language, Pilipino, has been increasingly emphasized. Until the compulsory
study of Spanish was abolished in 1987, secondary and higher education students had to contend
with three languages--Filipino, English, and Spanish.
Philippine education is currently governed and maintained by the department of education
They have direct supervision over public schools and set mandatory policies for private schools
as well (Dolan ,1991). The academic school year in the Philippines starts in June and ends in
March, covering a period of 40 weeks. Institutions of higher education operate on a semester
system with an optional summer semester. Education is offered through formal and non-formal
systems. The number of years of formal schooling in the Philippines is one of the shortest in the
world. The educational ladder has a 6+4+4 structure, (i.e., six years of elementary education,
four years of secondary education, and typically four years to gain a bachelors degree
(Clark,2009) .This was the educational structure that we had when I was still living in the
Philippines. In the academic year 2011-2012 there was a change in the structure when The K to
12 Program was implemented. Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of
primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School
[SHS]) to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners,
and prepare graduates for tertiary education (Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines)
According to 1988 Philippine government figures, which count as literate everyone who has
completed four years of elementary school, the overall literacy rate was 88 percent, up from 82.6
percent in 1970(Dolan ,1991). I believe that, the statistics alone tells us something about the
positive effects of colonialism. This is truly the direct effect of the efforts of the thomasian
teachers who were sent to bring enlightenment to a nation? Did the Filipino people needed
enlightenment? Filipino Nationalistic point of view says that, we didn't need any because we
already have our own ways of communicating; we even have our own writing systems, etc. I
think that even though we had a formal literature- it is not enough to become competitive in the
world dominated by western principles and ideologies. Should not the so called American
invasion happened would I be literate enough to even write this academic paper .
My ancestors benefitted from Colonial education .As a matter of fact my moms grandfather was
a Filipino elite who valued American education. The pensionado act of 1903 that was
implemented by the congress gave way for the Filipino elite to come here to the United States
and study in its universities(KQED,nd). He got his degree and he later joined the U.S army. He
died in Bataan and was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (See Directory of students
in the united states & the final inspection). If not for these unreliable website, his memory would
have been erased forever. The only concrete proof that we have now is his medal that the U.S
government issued which we have in our possession. My grandpa was only a year old when his
dad died in Bataan. The pension that the U.S army gave every month was enough to send my
grandpa to college and also send his five daughters to college. My mom who is the oldest of 5
became a doctor. They also have a lawyer, a nurse , a journalist and another doctor in the family.

My great grandfather gave education a lot of importance that his influence lasted to my grandpa
and to my mom. He got his early education when the thomasites took over and he was inspired to
pursue higher education. He brought home not only an American diploma but also American
ideologies .His stories and ideologies were passed down onto his descendants . My great
grandfathers story clearly reflects his love for American education, that love would later be
passed on to us. My mom was the one who is truly inspired by the story. When my dads
business was failing in the Philippines, it was my mom who volunteered to find a way to come
here in America because she knows that America was the only way to better our financial
situations.
Keli sikanto maka amu ditoy nga paragraphen. Ipalpas mon. adu unay napatang kon ket
kasla awan sense nan. I conclude mo ditoyen kailyan. Thanks ah. Yamanek la unay dagitoy
keli. Jay abstract napay

in 1905 that more Filipinos spoke English after only three years with American teachers than
spoke Spanish after 300 years with Spaniards(Thompson, 2003)---- keili detoy ket I
incorporate mo somewhere aya ti essay .

References

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