Public School in the Philippines: Rule and Renewal

For better or worse, American colonial rule has left several legacies in the Philippines, from governmental structure to popular culture. The Pilipino public education system is no exception.

When the United States took control over the Philippines in 1898, one of their first tasks was to implement an Americanized public school system that would educate the Pilipino people and enlighten them about the American way. By 1901, the United States sent over 600 teachers dubbed as “Thomasites.” On the one hand, the shift towards an Americanized public system led to drastically improved literacy rates throughout the Philippines, free primary education for all, and the founding of the University of the Philippines, the nation’s first public university.

On the other hand, controlling the entire country’s education system was another means of maintaining imperial authority over Pilipinos, using the classroom to quell nationalistic ideas and impose Western values. As English became the official language of the Philippines, it also became the primary language of instruction for students over their native tongue. According to psychologist Kevin Nadal, the legacy of the Thomasites continues even today as “most Philippine educational systems have adopted American curricula, although it may not necessarily be culturally appropriate.” The extent of indoctrination that the United States has imposed over the years has stricken many Pilipinos with a colonial mentality through which they learn to value Western ideals over native ones.

In many ways, the purpose for establishing a public education system in the Philippines is similar to the origin of public schools in the United States. The father of American public schools, Horace Mann, believed that “public schools should be means of social control through the teaching of Christian based morals.” This factory-model that the American public school system was founded upon is now being highly contested by education reformers in the United States who argue that the standardization of student learning stifles the creativity and critical thinking skills that are necessary to be competitive in today’s global economy.

As American education reformers are diverging away from the old standardizing model of education, the Philippines is following suit. In 2001, the Philippines adopted a reform program on school-based management, an approach that decentralizes the public education system and empowers local school officials to charge their own curriculum design and administration. School-based management has been shown to “yield various positive results such as improved academic performance of students [and] increased participation of parents and the community.”

In 2002, the Makabayan curriculum was introduced to improve critical and creative thinking development and promote Pilipino values. Makabayan is described as “a learning area that serves as a practice environment for holistic learning to develop a healthy personal and national self-identity” and includes subjects such as social studies, music, health education, and values education.

So what might this mean for the upcoming generations of young educated Pilipinos? We can hope that these reform efforts will develop proud citizens who value the strengths of their culture and confidently skilled students who will help propel the Philippines into a world player. Of course, when it comes to the complex issue of education there are still loads of problems waiting for solutions, from resources to poverty and accessibility. Perhaps this is at least one step in the right direction.

Photo Credit: philippines1900.tumblr.com

The Northern Philippines as a Filipino Identity Sampler

 

The Philippines has a rich history and culture, but we sometime do not understand it well enough to realize to what extent. It is not a question of whether we have it or not, rather, it is of how much we really know and are aware of it. For those who would want to get reacquainted with the Filipino identity and our past, I usually recommend taking a nativist-themed trail up north. The beauty of the Northern Philippines lies on the fact that it is home to three UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites.

What does this mean?

A World Heritage Site (WHS) is any given natural or cultural place, monument or landscape that holds outstanding universal values critical to the development of humanity and diversity. Some of the more popular WHS around the world include the Great Wall, the Italian cities of Venice, Rome and Florence, the Taj Mahal, Chitchen Itza, the Great Barrier Reefs, and even the Statue of Liberty. Regardless of popularity and fame, all of these places are treated with equal degree of importance under UNESCO conventions.

With the recent addition of Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary in Mindanao, the Philippines now has six sites listed as WHS. Two of which are the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and Tubattaha Reefs Marine Park -- both are marine natural sites in Palawan. The other three are cultural sites found in the Northern Philippines: the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, the Historic Town of Vigan, and the Baroque Churches of the Philippines.

From Manila, one can make a Do-It-Yourself trip to take on this cultural heritage trail. A bus from Manila can take you to Banaue, the jump-off point for the rice terraces. From there, vans can be arranged to bring you down to Vigan. Sta. Maria is also along the way to Vigan, and finally, going further north by bus will bring you to Paoay in Ilocos Norte. Each place offers a taste of the depth of Philippine history.

Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

Agricultural terracing is not unique to the Philippines. China, Indonesia, and Viet Nam have it. Peru and even Switzerland have this method, too. What makes the rice terraces in the Philippines unique is that they are the oldest and most extensive continually-used rice terraces in the world. As a comparison, these rice terraces have been around much longer than Machu Picchu or Angkor have! The more noticeable distinguishing marks of these engineering marvels would be their heights that reach as high as 1,500 metres from the base, and their steepness that defies limits with 70 degrees maximum angulation.

The incredible mixture of purely man-made terraces, the mountains, the muyongs (forest caps), traditional hamlets, and other visible cultural artefacts in the region certainly does not disappoint. The Food and Agriculture Organization has cited the rice terraces as an outstanding example of “worldwide, specific agricultural systems and landscapes (that) have been created, shaped and maintained by generations of farmers and herders based on diverse natural resources, using locally adapted management practices.” The American Society of Civil Engineers also named the rice terraces as a 'Historic Engineering Landmark' for water supply and control. In 1997, the same group came to the Philippines and formally declared (through a marker) the rice terraces as the [original] 8th Wonder of the World.

For the Filipinos, with the mode of farming and the people’s lifestyles largely unchanged, these ancient rice terraces are an enduring portrait of the ways of life of the Ifugao for over 2,000 years. The WHS-listed clusters are Batad, Bangaan, Hungduan, Mayoyao and Nagacadan rice terraces.

Historic Town of Vigan

Why does this small town merit a special place in the collective memory of the Filipino people? It is one of the few towns in the country that was spared from destruction during the World War II (Intramuros, Manila's walled district, was razed to the ground and only one building was left standing there after the war). Being the best preserved Spanish colonial-era trading town in Asia, Vigan presents itself as an intact and authentic old town. It boasts a good collection of original houses where in the ground floors are characterized as Hispanic, while its upper floors and windows suggest Chinese and Oriental influences. The best of these houses can be seen along Calle Crisologo, a cobblestone street.

One will notice that the town faithfully follows the historical “quadricula”, “plano ortogonal”, or the better known synonym "grid" streetplan. This, believe it or not, is the most 'Hispanic' feature of the town.

The interior of a typical Vigan villa can be seen when visiting the likes of the Sy-Quia mansion, the family house of the former President Quirino.

In 2012, Vigan bagged the  'Best Management Practices for a World Heritage City' award in a worldwide competition by UNESCO. This year, Vigan reached the final stage in the search for the New Seven Wonders Cities of the World. (To vote for Vigan, visit: http://www.n7w.com/cities/en)

Baroque Churches of the Philippines: Sta. Maria

Aside from the San Agustin church inside Intramuros and the Miag-ao church in Iloilo, the Northern Philippines boasts two of the best examples of Philippine Spanish-era churches. The town of Sta. Maria, some 40 minutes south of Vigan, houses a citadel church built on top of a fortified hill. In the older days, the only way to reach the church is through the 82-step staircase made of granite slabs, making the complex easily defended.

Made of red bricks, the Sta. Maria dela Asuncion church boasts a set of massive buttresses that supports the structure from the damages of earthquakes. The pagoda-shaped bell tower is leaning due to the collapsing retaining walls around the hill, which placed this church in the '100 Most Endangered Sites' in 2010 by the World Monument Watch.

Baroque Churches of the Philippines: Paoay  

The crowning gem of the “earthquake baroque architecture” is the San Agustin church in Paoay. This edifice is largely made of coralstones that have been glued together using egg whites, lime powder and mollases. This important church features a mixture of Oriental, Malay, and Western influences in its design. This comes as no surprise as long before the Spaniards reached present-day Paoay, the site was already a trading settlement known as Bombay in earlier records.

Keen eyes will notice some fading carvings and bas-reliefs around the church. The most important exponent of this church are definitely its beautifully-constructed buttresses on its sides. Paoay church is considered to be as a masterpiece of the Filipino reinterpretation of the baroque movement, fusing European principles with local Filipino craftmanship. The bell tower is also separated from the church as a precautionary measure against the effects of earthquakes – this architectural innovation is unique to Philippine churches.

The churches of the Philippines are unique, and, thus, cannot be compared to those found in Europe or Latin America. As religious monuments, they are key in spreading further the Christian faith in the region (Southeast and East Asia, and the Pacific Islands). While as cultural specimens, they embody the artistic, technological, and intellectual interchange between the West and the East for more than three centuries.

While knowing and understanding Philippine history and culture is a large part of what I do as a heritage advocate, the biggest challenge is in making others see and appreciate things the way I do.

I often have a hard time convincing friends who have already settled abroad to come back home to re-experience their native land. Most of them would rather spend their vacations going around Europe or elsewhere in Asia to see cultural and grand ancient monuments or old towns, believing none exist here.

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Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero is a self-confessed cultural junky. Based in the Philippines, he has delivered several talks on tourism, destination promotion and management, and the importance of cultural conservation. As a heritage advocate and consultant, he has assisted and appeared in some features by the Euronews, NGC-Asia, Solar TV, ABS-CBN Regional News Network, as well as being cited by the Philippine Star and the PIA. He enjoys ticking off as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as possible. So far, Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, the Preah Vihear Temple in Cambodia, and the Philippines' Apo Reef and Ifugao Rice Terraces are the best places he has seen in SE Asia.

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Discover other similar posts on Bernard's blog.

Photo credit: theberntraveler.wordpress.com

Pilipino Heroes: José Rizal

José Rizal is one of the Philippines’s most celebrated heroes. His efforts to gain independence for his homeland from Spain have been praised time and time again. In addition to graduating summa cum laude at Ateneo de Manila and the Dominican University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Rizal studied medicine at Universidad Central de Madrid, University of Paris, and University of Heidelberg in order to learn ophthalmology as a result of his mother’s growing blindness. While in Europe, Rizal fine-tuned his skills in art, literature, and science, excelling in various areas such as poetry, sculpting, cartography, martial arts, and more. His studies in Europe would have a profound impact on his beliefs in the relationship between state and religion. As he was studying, he published two of his most famous works—Noil Me Tángere, published in Berlin in 1887, and its sequel, El Filibusterismo, published in Ghent in 1891. These novels angered Spanish and Pilipino elites as a result of its explication on the injustice of Spaniards and the government of the Philippines. In both novels, Rizal analyzes the relationship between Catholicism and Pilipino individuals as well as the influence of Spanish colonization on the government and its corruption. Noli Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo were crucial in sculpting a national Pilipino identity as well as rustling up discussion on the rights of Pilipinos under Spanish rule. His criticisms about the influence of Catholic priests on every day Pilipino life as well as their ungodly actions put him in the spotlight as someone to watch out for. At the end of Spanish rule, Catholic priests owned about 400,000 acres of land. They were known for killing off those who threatened their wealth and power, but were seen as father figures to the Pilipinos as the head authority figures in all decisions, and as Luis H. Francia puts it, a “god-king.”

In 1981, Rizal visited Hong Kong where he came into contact with fellow expatriates, who gave him a better assessment on the situation in the Philippines. Upon finding out that the people in his hometown of Calamba had been dispossessed of their land by Dominicans, Rizal proposed creating a settlers’ colony in Sandakan, which is now a part of Malaysia today. The Spanish rejected his request, worried that the colony could someday turn into a headquarters for rebellion.

Rizal returned to the Philippines the next year and formed La Liga Filipina, an organization dedicated to creating a community of Pilipinos devoted to the reform of the Pilipino government and industry. La Liga Filipina raised money for scholarships, legal aid, and loans, in order to create an independent community. Catholic friars feared the organization and conspired to have Rizal exiled to the northwestern coastal town of Dapitan in Mindanao.

During his exile, Andrés Bonifacio, a former member of La Liga Filipina, formed Kataasta-asan Kagalagalangan Katipunan, commonly known as Katipunan, a secret anti-Spanish society dedicated to the independence of the Philippines through force. When contacted by Bonifacio about his opinion on the organization, Rizal greatly disapproved of the society’s use of violence. Bonifacio was upset about Rizal’s disapproval but still used Rizal’s name as a password, which in later years would lead authorities to assume Rizal’s involvement.

During the Spanish American War, Rizal volunteered to work as a doctor for the Spanish forces in Cuba in order to show loyalty to Spain, but upon landing Barcelona, he was arrested for his part in the revolution. He was sent back to Manila where he was found guilty of treason, despite the incredibly strong defense.

On December 30, 1896, José Rizal was executed by a firing squad of fellow Pilipinos. Spanish troops stood behind the countrymen with rifles to their backs, just in case they did not pull the trigger. Before he was shot down, Rizal whispered, “Consummantum est” or “It is finished,” the same as Jesus Christ.

Seen as a martyr, Rizal’s death exalted his fame as well as strengthened the Pilipino fight for independence from Spain. His novels, Noil Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo, cultivated a Pilipino identity, similar to how Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin helped fuel the abolitionist movement in America during the 1850s. Rizal’s characters represented typical Pilipinos and the plight of the novels’ main characters allowed Pilipinos to sympathize and relate to each other.

A country can only be successful if it has a nation, and Rizal was a critical part in forming the Pilipino national identity. Without a nation, the Pilipinos would not have had the drive to start a revolution against the Spanish and retake their land. José Rizal rightly deserves the praise he has received as one of the Philippines’s greatest heroes.

Photo Credit: Michael Francis McCarthy and Lauren Lalicon

Becoming Victoria - Georgina Tolentino

By Georgina Tolentino, guest contributor I first learned of Victoria Manalo Draves when I read her obituary in the New York Times in 2010. The person who handed me the newspaper in a restaurant said, “Wow, you look just like this woman,” and walked away.

I did see the resemblance. She was half-Filipino and English. I was Filipino with a half-Portuguese mother and Italian-Spanish-Native American father.

Victoria was born and raised in San Francisco at a time when her parents couldn’t walk together in public. She grew up when pools were “whites only” facilities and had one dedicated day a month for people of “color” (this also meant immigrants, including Jewish and Italians). This allowed “internationals” to swim before the pool was sanitized for use the next day.

At the 1948 Olympics in London, Victoria Manalo Draves became the first Fil-Am woman to win two gold medals in diving. However, she faced a lot of racial prejudice along the way.

I grew up watching IFC, the Sundance Channel and loving film. I worked for three companies in LA — Maybach and Cunningham, LET Films and Divya Creative — while taking acting classes and auditioning during lunch breaks. Honestly, I got tired of the extremely limiting roles available for women: “cynical hottie #2” or “girl having affair.” I was also tired of being told, “Well, you’re not Asian enough.”

However, I believe that a beautiful shift is happening in independent filmmaking, television and media, which women like Vicki had fought for in their fields. As my passion for telling her story grew, I decided to both produce and play Victoria in an independent narrative film with the help of Brittany del Soldato, Reggie Elzey and what today is Icarus Film Studios.

I started the process of making Vicki’s film by interviewing her husband, Lyle Draves, who also was her coach. I also got in touch with Sammy Lee, coach of diving star Greg Louganis, who was himself a legendary Olympic diver and Korean American icon. Jack Lavery, a friend who introduced her to diving at Fleishhacker saltwater pool in the 1930s in San Francisco, was also helpful. Then Connie, Victoria’s twin sister, shared great stories, like when they sent the same Christmas card to each other by accident.

Sammy Lee recalled that when Vicki first joined the team at the Oakland Athletics, they all wanted to push her into the pool as a hazing prank. But she found out about it, so she covered herself in baby oil. This made everyone else fall into the pool, making everyone laugh and see what a funny person she was. I believe her sunny attitude enabled her to endure the obstacles thrown in her way.

Vicki’s spirit was alive through these people; they are already in their nineties, and yet still joke and tell stories about her, keeping her spirit alive. There is an energy and light in their eyes that can’t be explained. Jack Lavery started laughing, held my hand and said, “Well you have Vicki’s smile – so that’s good.” I was so moved.

When we drove Jack to Sammy Lee’s house, they hugged as old friends, and we became invisible, which made me laugh. Jack had planted a “Sammy Lee plant” in his garden, and after six years finally was able to give it to Sammy. They began talking as if they were back in their twenties. We just watched in amusement, happy to give them that moment.

I have gotten to know Victoria through these friends of hers. The first time I saw a video of her, I started crying because she was no longer a photo. I felt as though I was meeting her in that moment, watching her smiling and winning. I knew what that moment of victory felt like for her, when losing her dad drove her to win in his honor. I really want people to recognize that Vicki fought for both her name and her family’s honor. I only want to do the same.

Preparing for the role has been a commitment. I got a trainer who is amazing and helped me through my back injury, with inversions, building stamina to train the muscles for diving and understanding a diet that improves performance. I go to diving class twice a week in Santa Monica or in Pasadena, and recently started taking private sessions. I also attend ballet class once or twice a week. I’ve begun understanding diving as an “aerial” sport.

When I don’t want to get up at 8 a.m. to dive, I try to remember that when Vicki first dove at the Fairmont Club, they only let her in once she changed her name to Taylor, her mother’s English maiden name. She had a special club where she was the only member. In one competition her father wasn’t allowed into the facility to watch her; so she refused to dive until they let him in.

I didn’t understand why she dove until I started diving. She, like me, had a fear of heights and drowning, ironic for a woman who won gold in 10m and 3m springboard. She dove for her father, for her mother, for the community that accepted her as an equal in sports. She dove for her friends who faced Japanese internment and for women who were being held back. She dove for her English aunt who married a Filipino and faced threats at work because her marriage was deemed “disgusting and wrong;" her aunt was later found dead in an elevator shaft. She dove not for what America was, but for what it could and should become.

Like Vicki, I was also born and raised in San Francisco. I am proud because it is a city full of activists and grassroots movements working to change society for the better. In English, Vicki's maiden name, Manalo, means to win. It's an apt name for a fighter. So, I fight for the rights and opportunities I have -- and for Vicki’s story to be told.

Join me in telling the story of Victoria Manalo Draves. Contributions help us meet our goal of $12,000. Help us build the momentum for a story that needs to be told by being a supporter and by encouraging your friends to do so as well.

You can donate by visiting our campaign here. 

Facebook: Vicki Manalo Film Instagram: @vickimanalofilm Twitter: @vickimanalofilm #vickimanalofilm Website: www.victoriamanalofilm.com

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Georgina Tolentino is an actor and independent film producer from Los Angeles CA.

The original version of this post originally appeared on Positively Filipino and has been reprinted with permission. 

Photo credits: Brittany Del Soldato and Vanessa Cabrillas