Salvador, Angela Bettina O.

December 1, 2018
12HUMSS-10 Mr. Shane Laong

The Miseducation of the Filipino

Education is indeed one of the significant systems in a country. According to William Butler Yeats,
an Irish Poet, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” Education is not
simply encoding of information into the heads of the people but rather igniting the desire of the
people to make a better change.

Tracing back our history, colonization played a huge role in establishing the foundation of our
country. While there were advantages and benefits, there were also detrimental effects.
Unfortunately, one of the badly affected components is education. The educational system in the
Philippines severally changed through the course of time. The article provides clear and precise
details on how Spain and most specifically the United States changed our way of living. The
difference between Spain and the United States is that Spain didn’t teach Filipinos because they
perceived Filipinos as “Indios”, “lower class”, “slaves”. Learning opportunities during the Spanish
era were insufficient that it became the possession of a chosen few. While the U.S. took advantage
of our ignorance to advance their interests, pretending to protect and guide us and give us equality.
They have hidden agendas that were masked by their good deeds, making Filipinos believed that
their ally. While Spain does everything explicitly, the U.S. do it subtlety, slowly and quietly.

Americans taught Filipinos to think, speak, and live the American way. We are taught to believe
that without any foreign help, especially their help, we are hopeless, powerless, and disorganized
people. The Americans made Filipinos fool to believe in their false hope and promises— to restore
peace and give the independence that we fully wanted. They used education as a weapon to placate
the Filipinos in order for them to remove the fragments of resistance. As Filipinos serve new
masters, their nationalistic ideas were no longer to be seen.

Now that Americans have successfully introduced their education in our country, they now use it
as pawn whenever there’s a clash between the goals and interests of the Philippines and the United
States. The schools lead us toward thought and action which could progress American affairs.

In terms of the economic situation, the U.S. also dominated the country. Many affordable
American goods that came in duty-free were imported to the Philippines. The Filipinos shifted
from supporting local goods to patronizing Western goods. Americans had always preserved the
idea of the Philippines being an agricultural country and neither we nor they can change that.
That’s why Filipinos lacked interest toward industrialization. The schools that were headed by
Americans sealed our fate by instilling in our minds that we are inherently made to be farmers and
therefore must learn how to work at the field. We were never taught how to enhance our skills with
the use of technology. Yes, we have encountered different types of machinery and technologies.
But they were just introduced to us only to use it as it is. They did not teach us how to build it,
maximize it nor advance it.
In politics, Americans govern the whole country. Although later on, we were given a chance to
administer our own country, we still needed to consult and ask the advice of the U.S. regarding
our proposed action. Simply because they wanted us to adapt their political system while quietly
sabotaging our own. In case this happens, we will have an American type of democracy. Thus,
they can freely rule over the country without any questions since Filipinos are molded in schools
in such a way that they would not oppose the colonizer but rather support their ideals. We have
been made to believe that “same rules apply for everyone”.

The root cause of these complications is the deterioration of our educational system in the
Philippines. With American education, we slowly abandon our identity. The things that make up
a Filipino is losing its value. The education system in our country should unite and bind us all not
to separate the poor and the rich, the intellectual and the dunce, the white-collar worker and the
blue-collar worker. Education must not only be seen as a source of information but a common
ground for the people to contribute to the betterment of the country. Education must produce a
well-rounded man to help the society progress not to delay it. We are very different from the U.S.
We have to acknowledge the fact that despite being under their control, we have distinct political,
social, cultural, and economic interests and struggles from them. We have our own set of plights
and nightmares in which the Philippines and its men can only handle. Our actions and judgment
must come from our fellow Filipinos and it must be based according to our context, goals, and
interests.

It is a shame that most Filipinos favored that English should be the medium of instruction instead
of Filipino. It is a coward and hypocritical act that many of them questioned this decision yet they
are afraid to stand up and speak about it publicly. English became the new measurement of
intelligence, the new status symbol, and the new basis of proficiency. We became conversant, we
were recognized as excellent speakers, and we can comprehend English very well. However, if the
costs of using the Filipino language are insults and humiliation, I would rather experience it than
vomit my Filipino identity.

Each and every Filipino has the right to express their complaints, grievances, or suggestions in the
most comfortable means and mediums possible. No one shall impose what language the
Philippines will be using. English is not our mother tongue, therefore, it should not be strictly
observed. Learning a new language must not stop us from using our native language nor should
we not be ashamed for sticking to it because it is what makes us unique. It makes us who we are.
English nor any languages should not cause any hindrances in conveying our will and wishes for
the country. It should not be waived to any aliens who wish to change our individualities.

As Filipinos, we should be proud of who we are and how we came to be. Let us be mindful that
we are not slaves of our own country. Each one of us must be maneuvering the same steering wheel
into the correct path where the Philippines should be placed. We must not make the heroes who
fought and died for our independence to look like they were nothing but a fairy tale. Let’s not
make each and every generation tell their acts of bravery as if it was there to make our history
colorful and outstanding. They were not ornaments nor decorations that needed to be put in our
History books so that we can proudly say that someone has fought for us. They want all Filipinos
to know that they were dead because they chose not to escape from it. They could have just run
and hide into the shadows, but no, they did not. They were dead because they believed that the
Philippines is worth fighting and dying for. They died believing that the next generations will
continue their fight against colonization. Therefore, let us prove that we are worthy of their death
and be the person that is worth saving for.