Miseducation of a Filipino by Renato Constantino

THE MISEDUCATION OF THE FILIPINO

Prof. Renato Constantino

Education is a vital weapon of a people striving for economic emancipation, political independence and cultural renaissance. We are such  a people. Philippine education therefore must produce Filipinos who are aware of their country's problems, who understand the basic solution to these problems, and who care enough to have courage 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 which were crystallized and articulated by the late Claro M. Recto, there were jealous demands for the recognition of Philippine sovereignty on the Bases  question. 

There were appeals for the correction of the iniquitous economic relations between the Philippines and the United States.

For a time, Filipino businessmen and industrialists rallied around the banner of the FILIPINO FIRST policy, and various scholars and economists proposed economic emancipation as an

intermediate goal for the nation.

In the field of art, there have been signs of a new appreciation

for our own culture. 
Indeed, there has been much nationalist activity in many areas of endeavor, but we have yet to hear of a well-organized campaign on the part of our educational leaders for nationalism in education.

Although most of our educators are engaged in the lively debate on techniques and tools for the improved instructions, not one major educational leader has come out for a truly nationalist

education. 

Of course some pedagogical experts have written on some aspects of nationalism in education. 
However, no comprehensive educational programme has been advanced as a corollary to the programmes for political and economic emancipation. 
This is a tragic situation because the

nationalist movement is crippled at the outset by a citizenry that is ignorant of our basic ills and is apathetic to our national welfare.

New Perspective

Some of our economic and political leaders have gained a new perception of our relations with the United States as a result of their second look at Philippine-American relations since the turn of the century. 

Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  2

The reaction which has emerged as economic and political nationalism is an attempt on their part to revise the iniquities of the past and to complete the movement started by our revolutionary leaders of 1896. 

The majority of  our educational leaders, however, still continue to trace their direct lineal descent to the first soldier-teachers of the American invasion army. 

They seem oblivious to the fact that the educational system and philosophy of which they are proud inheritors were valid only within the framework of American colonialism. 

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

Capturing Minds

The most effective means of subjugating a people is to capture their minds. Military victory does not necessarily signify conquest. 

As long as feelings of resistance remain iin the hearts of the

vanquished, no conqueror is secure. 
This is best illustrated by the occupation of the Philippines

by the Japanese militarists during the Second World War.

Despite the terroristic regime imposed by the Japanese warlords, the Filipinos were never conquered. Hatred for the Japanese was engendered by their oppressive techniques which in turn

were intensified by the stubborn resistance of the Filipino people. 

Japanese propagandists and psychological warfare experts, however, saw the necessity of winning the minds of the people.

Had the Japanese stayed longer, Filipino children who were being schooled under the auspices of the new dispensation would have grown into strong pillars of the Greater East Asia CoProsperity Sphere. Their minds would have been conditioned to suit the policies of the Japanese imperialists.

The moulding of men's minds is the best means of conquest. Education, therefore, serves a a weapon in wars of colonial conquest. This singular fact was well appreciated by the American

military commander in the Philippines during the Filipino-American War. 

According to the census of 1903:

"....General Otis urged and furthered the reopening of schools, himself selecting
and ordering the textbooks. Many officers, among them chaplains, were detailed
as superintendent of schools, and many enlisted men, as teachers..."

The American military authorities had a job to do. They had to employ all means to pacify a people whose hopes for independence were being frustrated by the presence of another conqueror. 

The primary reason for the rapid introduction, on a large scale, of the American public school system in the Philippines was the conviction of the military leaders that no measure could so quickly promote the pacification of the islands as education. 

General Arthur McArthur, in recommending a large appropriation for school purposes, said:

"...This appropriation is recommended primarily and exclusively as an adjunct to
military operations calculated to pacify the people and to procure and expedite the
restoration of tranquility throughout the archipelago..."

Beginnings of Colonial Education Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  3

Thus, from its inception, the educational system of the Philippines was a means of pacifying a people who were defending their newly-won freedom from an invader who had posed as an ally.

The education of the Filipino under American sovereignty was an instrument of colonial policy.

The Filipino has to be educated as a good colonial. 
Young minds had to be shaped to conform to American ideas. 
Indigenous Filipino ideals were slowly eroded in order to remove the last vestiges of resistance. 

Education served to attract the people to the new masters and at the same time to dilute their nationalism which had just succeeded in overthrowing a foreign power. 
The introduction of the American educational system was a means of defeating a triumphant nationalism. 

As Charles Burke Elliot said in his book, The Philippines:

"...To most Americans it seemed absurd to propose that any other language than English should be used over which their flag floated. But in the schools of India and other British dependencies and colonies and, generally, in all colonies, it was and still is customary to use the vernacular in the elementary schools, and the immediate adoption of English in the Philippine schools subjected America to the charge of forcing the language of the conquerors upon a defenseless people.

Of course, such a system of education as the Americans contemplated could be successful only under the direction of American teachers, as the Filipino teachers
who had been trained in Spanish methods were ignorant of the English language...

Arrangements were promptly made for enlisting a small army of teachers in the United States. At first they came in companies, but soon in battalions. The transport Thomas was fitted up for their accommodations and in July, 1901, it sailed from San Francisco with six hundred teachers -a second army of occupation- surely the most remarkable cargo ever carried to an Oriental colony.." 

The American Vice-Governor

The importance of education as a colonial tool was never underestimated by the Americans. This may be clearly seen in the provision of the Jones Act which granted the Filipinos more

autonomy.
Although the government services were Filipinized, although the Filipinos were being prepared for self-government, the Department of Education was never entrusted to any Filipino.

Americans always headed this department.

This was assured by Article 23 of the Jones Act which provided:

"..That there shall be appointed by the President,  by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, a vice-governor of the Philippine Islands, who shall have all the powers of the governor-general in the case of a vacancy or temporary removal, resignation or disability of the governor-general, or in case of his temporary absence; and the said vice-governor shall be the head of the executive department known as the department of Public Instruction, which shall include the bureau of education and the bureau of health, and he may be assigned such other executive duties as the Governor-General may designate..."

Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  4

Up to 1935, therefore, the head of this department was an American. And when a Filipino took

over under the commonwealth, a new generation of "Filipino-American" had already been

produced. There was no longer any need for American overseers in this filed because a captive

generation had already come of age, thinking and acting like little Americans.

This does not mean, however, that nothing that was taught was of any value. We became literate

in English to a certain extent. We were able to produce more men and women who could read

and write. We became more conversant with the outside world, especially the American world.

A more widespread education such as the Americans would have been a real blessing had their

educational programme not been the handmaiden of their colonial policy. Unfortunately for us,

the success of education as a colonial weapon was complete and permanent. In exchange for a

smattering of English, we yielded our souls. The stories of George Washington and Abraham

Lincoln made us forget our own nationalism. 

The American view of our history turned our heroes into brigands in our own eyes, distorted our

vision of our future. The surrender of the Katipuneros was nothing compared to this final

surrender, this leveling down of our lst defenses. Dr. Chester Hunt characterizes this surrender in

these words:

"...The programme of cultural assimilation combined with a fairly rapid yielding

of control resulted in the fairly general acceptance of American culture as the goal

of Filipino society with the corollary that individual Americans were given a

status of respect..."

This in a nutshell was (and to a great extent still is) the happy result of early educational policy

because, within the framework of American colonialism, whenever there was a conflict between

American and Filipino goals and interests, the schools guided us toward thought and action

which could forward American interests.

Goals of American Education

The educational system established by the Americans could not have been for the sole purpose of

saving the Filipinos from illiteracy and ignorance. Given the economic and political purposes of

American occupation, education had to be consistent with these broad purposes of American

colonial policy. The Filipinos had to be trained as citizens of an American colony. The

Benevolent Assimilation proclamation of President McKinley on December 21, 1898 at a time

when Filipino forces were in control of the country except Manila, betrays the intention of the

colonizers. Judge Blount in his book, The American  Occupation of the Philippines, properly

comments:

"..Clearly, from the Filipino point of view, the United States was now determined

to 'spare them from the dangers of premature independence,' using such force as

might be necessary for the accomplishment of that pious purpose..."

Despite the noble aims announced by the American authorities that the Philippines was theirs to

protect and guide, the fact still remained that these people were a conquered nation whose Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  5

national life had to be woven into the pattern of American dominance. Philippine education was

shaped by the overriding factor of preserving and expanding American control. To achieve this,

all separatist tendencies were discouraged. Nay, they had to be condemned as subversive. With

this as the pervasive factor in the grand design of conquering a people, the pattern of education,

consciously or unconsciously, fostered and established certain attitudes on the part of the

governed. These attitudes conformed to the purposes of American occupation.

An Uprooted Race

The first and perhaps the master stroke in the plan to use education as an instrument of colonial

policy was the decision to use English as the medium of instruction. English became the wedge

that separated the Filipinos from their past and later to separate educated Filipinos from the

masses of their countrymen. English introduced the  Filipinos to a strange, new world. With

American textbooks, Filipinos started learning not only a new language but also a new way of

life, alien to their traditions and yet a caricature of their model. This was the beginning of their

education. At the same time, it was the beginning of their mis-education, for they learned no

longer as Filipinos but as colonials. 

They had to be disoriented form their nationalist goals because they had to become good

colonials. The ideal colonial was the carbon copy of his conqueror, the conformist follower of

the new dispensation. He had to forget his past and unlearn the nationalist virtues in order to live

peacefully, if not comfortably, under the colonial order. The new Filipino generation learned of

the lives of American heroes, sang American songs, and dreamt of snow and Santa Claus. 

The nationalist resistance leaders exemplified by Sakay were regarded as brigands and outlaws.

The lives of Philippine heroes were taught but their nationalist teachings were glossed over.

Spain was the villain, America was the savior. To this day, our histories still gloss over the

atrocities committed by American occupation troops  such as the "water cure" and the

"reconcentration camps." Truly, a genuinely Filipino education could not have been devised

within the new framework, for to draw from the wellsprings of the Filipino ethos would only

have lead to a distinct Philippine identity with interests at variance with that of the ruling power.

Thus, the Filipino past which had already been quite obliterated by three centuries of Spanish

tyranny did not enjoy a revival under American colonialism. On the contrary, the history of our

ancestors was taken up as if they were strange and foreign peoples who settled in these shores,

with whom we had the most tenuous of ties. We read  about them as if we were tourists in a

foreign land.

Economic Attitudes

Control of the economic life of a colony is basic to colonial control. Some imperial nations do it

harshly but the United States could be cited for the subtlety and uniqueness of its approach. For

example, free trade was offered as a generous gift  of American altruism. Concomitantly, the

educational policy had to support his view and to soften the effects of the slowly tightening

noose around the necks of the Filipinos. The economic motivations of the American in coming to

the Philippines were not at all admitted to the Filipinos. As a matter of fact, from the first school-Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  6

days under the soldier-teachers to the present, Philippine history books have portrayed America

as a benevolent nation who came here only to save us from Spain and to spread amongst us the

boons of liberty and democracy. The almost complete lack of understanding at present of those

economic motivations and of the presence of American interests in the Philippines are the most

eloquent testimony to the success of the education for colonials which we have undergone. 

What economic attitudes were fostered by American education? It is interesting to note that

during the times that the school attempts to inculcate an appreciation for things Philippine, the

picture that is presented for the child's admiration is an idealized picture of a rural Philippines, as

pretty and as unreal as an Amorsolo painting with its carabao, its smiling healthy farmer, the

winsome barrio lass in the bright clean patadyong, and the sweet nipa hut. That is the portrait of

the Filipino that our education leaves in the minds of the young and it hurts in two ways.

First, it strengthens the belief (and we see this in adults) that the Philippines is essentially meant

to be an agricultural country and we can not and should not change that. The result is an apathy

toward industrialization. It is an idea they have not met in school. There is further, a fear, born

out of that early stereotype of this country as an agricultural heaven, that industrialization is not

good for us, that our national environment is not suited for an industrial economy, and that it will

only bring social evils which will destroy the idyllic farm life.

Second, this idealized picture of farm life never emphasizes the poverty, the disease, the cultural

vacuum, the sheer boredom, the superstition and ignorance of backward farm communities.

Those who pursue higher education think of the farm as quaint places, good for an occasional

vacation. Their life is rooted in the big towns and cities and there is no interest in revamping

rural life because there is no understanding of its economic problems. Interest is limited to

aretsian wells and handicraft projects. Present efforts to uplift the conditions of the rural masses

merely attack the peripheral problems without admitting the urgent need for basic agrarian

reform.

With American education, the Filipinos were not only learning a new language; they were not

only forgetting their own language; they were starting to become a new type of American.

American ways were slowly being adopted. Our consumption habits were molded by the influx

of cheap American goods that came in duty-free. The pastoral economy was extolled because

this conformed with the colonial economy that was being fostered. Our books extolled the

western nations as peopled by superior beings because they were capable of manufacturing

things that we never thought we were capable of producing. We were pleased by the fact that our

raw materials could pay for the American consumption goods that we had to import. Now we are

used to these types of goods, and it is a habit we find hard to break, to the detriment of our own

economy. 

We never thought that we too could industrialize because in school we were taught that we were

primarily an agricultural country by geographical location and by the innate potentiality of our

people. We were one with our fellow Asians in believing that we were not cut out for an

industrialized economy. That is why before the war, we looked down upon goods made in Japan

despite the fact that Japan was already producing commodities at par with the West. We could

never believe Japan, an Asian country, could attain the same superiority as America, Germany or Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  7

England. And yet, it was "Made in Japan" airplanes, battleships and armaments that dislodged

the Americans and the British from their positions of dominance during the Second World War.

This is the same attitude that has put us out of step with our Asian neighbors who already realize

that colonialism has to be extirpated from their lives if they want to be free, prosperous, and

happy.

Transplantation of Political Institutions 

American education in effect transplanted American  political institutions and ideas into the

Philippines. Senator Recto, in his last major address at the University of the Philippines,

explained the reason for this. Speaking of political parties, Recto said: 

"...It is to be deplored that our major political parties were born and nurtured

before we had attained the status of a free democracy. The result was that they

have come to be caricatures of their foreign model with its known characteristics -

-patronage, division of spoils, political bossism,  partisan treatment of vital

national issues. I say caricatures because of their chronic shortsightedness

respecting those ultimate objectives the attainment of which was essential to a

true and lasting national independence. All throughout the period of American

colonization, they allowed themselves to become more and more the tools of

colonial rule and less and less the interpreters of the people's will and ideals.

Through their complacency, the new colonizer was able to fashion, in exchange

for sufferance of oratorical plaints for independence, and for patronage, rank and

sinecure, a regime of his own choosing, for his own aims, and in his own selfinterest." 

The Americans were confronted with the dilemma of transplanting their political institutions and

yet luring the Filipinos into a state of captivity. It was understandable for American authorities to

think that democracy can only mean the American type of democracy, and thus they foisted on

the Filipinos the institutions that were valid for their own people. Indigenous institutions which

could have led to the evolution of native democratic ideas and institutions were disregarded. 

No wonder we too look with hostility upon countries who try to develop their own political

institutions according to the needs of their people without being bound by western political

procedures. We have been made to believe in certain political doctrines as absolute and the same

for all peoples. An example of this is the belief in the freedom of the press. Here, the consensus

is that we cannot nationalize the press because it  would be depriving the foreigners of the

exercise of the freedom of the press. This may be valid for strong countries like the United States

where there is no threat of foreign domination, but certainly, this is dangerous for an emergent

nation like the Philippines where foreign control has yet to be weakened. 

Re-examination Demanded 

The new demands for economic emancipation and the assertion of our political sovereignty leave

our educators no other 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 Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  8

aims. To persist in the continuance of a system which was born under the exigencies of colonial

rule, to be timid in the face of traditional opposition would only result in the evolution of an

anomalous educational system which lags behind the urgent economic and political changes that

the nation is experiencing. 

What then are the nationalist tasks for Philippine education? 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. Therefore, education can not be divorced from the

society of a definite country at a definite time. It is a fallacy to think that educational goals

should be the same everywhere and that therefore what goes into the making of a well-educated

American is the same as what should go into the making of the well-educated Filipino. This

would be true only if the two societies were at the same ploitical, cultural, annd economic level

and had the same political, cultural and economic goals. 

But what happened in this country? 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. 

Adoption 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. Politically, the U.S.  is not only master of its own house; its

control and influence extends to many other countries all over the world. The Philippines has

only lately emerged from formal colonial status and it still must complete its political and

economic independence. 

Culturally, the U.S. has a vigorously and distinctively American culture. It is a nation whose

cultural institutions have developed freely, indigenously without control and direction from

foreign sources, whose ties to its cultural past are clear and proudly celebrated because no

foreign power has imposed upon its people a wholesale inferiority complex, because no foreign

culture has been superimposed upon it destroying, distorting, its own past and alienating the

people from their own cultural heritage. 

What are the characteristics of America today which spring from its economic, political and

cultural status? What should be the characteristics of our own education as dictated by our own

economic, political and cultural conditions? To contrast both is to realize how inimical to our

best interests and progress is our adoption of some of the basic characteristics and values of

American education. 

By virtue of its leadership and its economic interests in many parts of the world, the United

States has an internationalist orientation based securely on a well-grounded, long held

nationalistic viewpoint. U.S. education has no urgent need to stress the development of American

nationalism in its young people. Economically, politically, culturally, the U.S. is the master of its Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  9

own house. American education, therefore, understandably lays little emphasis on the kind of

nationalism we Filipinos need. 

Instead, it stresses internationalism and underplays nationalism. This sentiment is noble and

good, but when it is inculcated in a people who have either forgotten nationalism or never

imbibed it, it can cause untold harm. The emphasis is on universal brotherhood, on friendship for

other nations, without the firm foundation of nationalism which would give our people the

feeling of pride in our own products and vigilance  over our natural resources, has had very

harmful results. Chief among these is the transformation of our national virtue of hospitality into

a stupid vice which hurts us and makes us the willing dupes of predatory foreigners. 

UnFilipino Filipinos 

Thus we complacently allow aliens to gain control of our economy. We are even proud of those

who amass wealth in our country, publishing laudatory articles about their financial success. We

love to hear foreigners call our country a paradise on earth, and we never stop to think that it is a

paradise only for them but not for the millions of  our countrymen. When some of our more

intellectually emancipated countrymen spearhead moves for nationalism, for nationalization of

this or that endeavor, do the majority of Filipinos support such moves? 

No, there is apathy because there is no nationalism in our hearts which will spur us to protect and

help our countrymen first. Worse, some Filipinos will even worry about the sensibilities of

foreigners lest they think ill of us for supposedly discriminating against them. And worst of all,

many Filipinos will even oppose nationalistic legislation either because they have become the

willing servants of foreign interests or because, in their distorted view, we Filipinos can not

progress without the help of foreign capital and foreign entrepreneurs. 

In this part of the world, we are well nigh unique  in our generally non-nationalistic outlook.

What is the source of this shameful characteristic of ours? One important source is surely the

schools. There is little emphasis on nationalism. Patriotism has been taught us, yes, but in

general terms of love of country, respect for the flag, appreciation for the beauty of our

countryside, and other similarly innocuous manifestations of our nationality. 

The pathetic results of this failure of Philippine  education is a citizen amazingly naive and

trusting in its relations with foreigners, devoid of the capacity to feel indignation even in the face

of insults to the nation, ready to acquiesce and even to help aliens in the despoliation of our

national wealth. Why are the great majority of our people so complaisant about foreign economic

control? Much of the blame must be laid at the door of colonial education. Colonial education

has not provided us with a realistic attitude toward other nations, especially Spain and the United

States. The emphasis in our study of history has been on the great gifts that our conquerors have

bestowed upon us. A mask of benevolence was used to hide the cruelties and deceit of early

American occupation. 

The noble sentiments expressed by McKinley were emphasized rather than the ulterior motives

of conquest. The myth of friendship and special relations is even now continually invoked to

camouflage the continuing iniquities in our relationship. Nurtured in this kind of education, the Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  10

Filipino mind has come to regard centuries of colonial status as a grace from above rather than a

scourge. Is it any wonder then that having regained our independence we have forgotten how to

defend it? Is it any wonder that when leaders like Claro M. Recto try to teach us how to be free,

the great majority of the people find it difficult to grasp those nationalistic principles that are the

staple food of other Asian minds? The American architects of our colonial education labored

shrewdly and well. 

The Language Problem  

The most vital problem that has plagued Philippine education has been the question of language.

Today, experiments are still going on to find out whether it would be more effective to use the

native language. This is indeed ridiculous since an individual can not be more at home in any

other language than his own. In every sovereign country, the use of its own language in

education is so natural no one thinks it could be otherwise. 

But here, so great has been our disorientation caused by our colonial education that the use of our

own language is a controversial issue, with more Filipinos against than in favor! Again, as in the

economic field Filipinos believe they can not survive without America, so in education we

believe no education can be true education unless it is based on proficiency in English. 

Rizal already foresaw the tragic effects of a colonial education when, speaking through Simon,

he said: 

"...You ask for equal rights, the Hispanization of your customs, and you don't see

that what you are begging for is suicide, the destruction of your nationality, the

annihilation of your fatherland, the consecration of tyranny! What will you be in

the future? A people without character. A nation without liberty -everything you

have will be borrowed, even your very defects!  ...What are you going to do with

Castilian, the few of you who will speak it? Kill off your own originality,

subordinate your thoughts to other brains, and instead of freeing yourselves, make

yourselves slaves indeed! Nineteenths of those of you who pretend to be

enlightened are renegades to your country! He among you who talks that language

neglects his own in such a way that he neither writes it nor understands it, and

how many have I not seen who pretended not to know a single word of it!.." 

It is indeed unfortunate that teaching in the native language is given up to second grade only, and

the question of whether beyond this it should be English or Filipino is still unsettled. Many of

our educational experts have written on the language problem, but there is an apparent timidity

on the part of these experts to come out openly for the urgent need of discarding the foreign

language as the medium of instruction in spite of remarkable results shown by the use of the

native language. Yet, the deleterious effects of using English as the medium of instruction are

many and serious. What Rizal said about Spanish has been proven to be equally true for English. 

Barrier to Democracy  Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  11

Under the system maintained by Spain in the Philippines, educational opportunities were so

limited that learning became the possession of a chosen few. This enlightened group was called

the ilustrados. They constituted the elite. Most of them came from the wealthy class because this

was the only class that could afford to send its sons abroad to pursue higher learning. Learning,

therefore, became a badge of privilege. There was a wide gap between the ilustrados and the

masses. Of course, many of the ilustrados led the propaganda movement, but they were mostly

reformers who wanted reforms within the framework of Spanish colonialism. In a way, they

were also captives of Spanish education. Many of them were the first to capitulate to the

Americans, and the first leaders of the Filipinos during the early years of the American regime

came from this class. Later they were supplanted by the products of American education. 

One of the ostensible reason for imposing English as the medium of instruction was the fact that

English was the language of democracy, that through this tongue the Filipinos would imbibe the

American way of life which makes no distinction between rich and poor and which gives equal

opportunities. Under this thesis, the existence of  an ilustrado class would not long endure

because all Filipinos would be enlightened and educated. There would be no privileged class. In

the long run however, English perpetuated the existence of the ilustrados --American ilustrados

who, like their counterparts, were strong supporters of the way of life of the new motherland. 

Now we have a small group of men who can articulate their thoughts in English, a wider group

who can read and speak in fairly comprehensible English and a great mass that hardly expresses

itself in any language. All of these groups are hardly articulate in their native tongues because of

the neglect of our native dialects, if not the deliberate attempts to prevent their growth. 

The result is a leadership that fails to understand the needs of the masses because it is a

leadership that can communicate with the masses only in general and vague terms. This is one

reason why political leadership remains in a vacuum. This is the reason why issues are never

fully discussed. This is the reason why orators with the best inflections, demagogues who rant

and rave, are the ones who flourish in the political arena. English has created a barrier between

the monopolists of power and the people. English has become a status symbol, while the native

tongues are looked down upon. English has given rise to a bifurcated society of fairly educated

men and the masses who are easily swayed by them. A clear evidence of the failure of English

education is the fact that politicians address the masses in their dialects. Lacking mastery of the

dialect, the politician merely deals in generalities.

Because of their lack of command of English, the masses have gotten used to only halfunderstanding what is said to them in English. They appreciate the sounds without knowing the

sense. This is a barrier to democracy. People don't even think it is their duty to know, or that they

are capable of understanding national problems. Because of the language barrier, therefore, they

are content to leave everything to their leaders. This is one of the root causes of their apathy,

their regionalism or parochialism. Thus, English which was supposedly envisioned as the

language of democracy is in our country a barrier to the full flowering of democracy.

In 1924 the eminent scholar Najib Saleeby wrote on the language of education in the Philippines.

he deplored the attempt to impose English as the medium of instruction. Saleeby, who was an Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  12

expert on the Malayo-Polynesian languages, showed that Tagalog, Visayan, Ilocano, and other

Philippine dialects belong to the same linguistic tree. He said:

"..The relation the Tagalog holds to the Bisaya or to the Sulu is very much like or

closer than that of the Spanish to the Italian. An educated Tagalog from Batangas,

and an educated Bisayan from Cebu can learn to understand each other in a short

space of time and without much effort. A Cebu student living in Manila can

acquire practical use and understanding of Tagalog in less than three months. The

relation between Tagalog and Malay is very much the same as that of Spanish and

French..."

This was said forty-two years ago when Tagalog movies, periodicals and radio programmes had

not yet attained popularity that they enjoy today all over the country. Saleeby further states:

"...Empirically neither the Spanish nor the English could be a suitable medium for

public instruction in the Philippine Islands. It does not seem possible that either of

them can become the common or national language of  the Archipelago. Three

centuries of Spanish rule and education failed to check use of the vernacular. A

very small minority of Filipinos could speak Spanish in 1898, but the great mass

of the people could neither use nor understand it. Twenty-five years of intensive

English education has produced no radical change. More people at present speak

English than Spanish, but the great majority hold on to the local dialect. The

Spanish policy might be partially justified on colonial and financial ground, but

the American policy can not be so defended. It should receive popular free choice,

or give good proof of its practicability by showing actual and satisfactory results.

The people have as yet had no occasion to declare their free will, and the present

policy must be judged on its own merits and on conclusive evidence...But

teaching English broadcast and enforcing its official use is one thing, and its

adoption as the basis of education and as the sole medium of public instruction is

a completely different matter. This point can not be fully grasped or

comprehended without special attention and experience in colonial education and

administration. Such policy is exalted and ambitious to an extreme degree..

..It aims at something unknown before in human affairs. It is attempting to do

what ancient Persia, Rome, Alexander the great and  napoleon failed to

accomplish. It aims at nothing less than the obliteration of the tribal differences of

the Filipinos, the substitution of English for the  vernacular dialects as a home

tongue, and making English the national common language of the Archipelago."

That is more true today. Very few college students can speak except in mixed English and the

dialect. Our congress has compounded their confusion by a completely unwarranted imposition

of 24 units of Spanish.

Impediments to Thought

A foreign language is an impediment to instruction. Instead of learning directly through the Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  13

native tongue, a child has first to master a foreign tongue, memorize its vocabulary, get

accustomed to its sounds, intonations, accents, just to discard the language later when he is out of

school. This does not mean that foreign language should not be taught. Foreign language should

be taught and can be taught more easily after one has mastered his own tongue.

Even if the Americans were motivated by the sincere desire of unifying the country through the

means of a common tongue, the abject results of instruction in English through the six decades fo

American education should have awakened our educators to the fact that the learning process has

been disrupted by the imposition of a foreign language. From 1935, when the Institute of

National Language was organized, very feeble attempts have been made to abandon the teaching

of English. Our educators seem to constantly avoid the subject of language; in spite of the clear

evidence of rampant ignorance among the products of the present educational system.

This has resulted in the denial of education to a vast number of children who after the primary

grades no longer continue schooling. In spite of the fact that the national language today is

understood all over the country, no one is brave enough to advocate its use as the medium of

instruction. There are arguments about the dearth of materials in the national language, but these

are feeble arguments that merely disguise the basic opposition of our educational leaders to the

use of what is native. Thus the products of the Philippine educational system, barring very few

exceptions, are Filipinos who do not have a mastery of English because it is foreign, and who do

not have a mastery of their native tongue because of the deliberate neglect of those responsible

for the education of the citizens of the nation.

A foreign tongue as a medium of instruction constitutes an impediment to learning and to

thinking because a student first has to master new sounds, new inflections, and new sentence

constructions. His innermost thoughts find difficulty of expression, and lack of expression in turn

prevents the further development of thought. Thus we find in our society a deplorable lack of

serious thinking among great sections of the population. We half understand books and

periodicals written in English. We find it an ordeal to communicate with each other through a

foreign medium, and yet we have so neglected our native language that we find ourselves at a

loss expressing ourselves in this language.

Language is a tool of the thinking process. Through language, thought develops, and the

development of thought leads to further development of language. But when a language becomes

a barrier of thought, the thinking process is impeded or retarded and we have the resultant

cultural stagnation. Creative thinking, analytical  thinking, abstract thinking are not fostered

because the foreign language makes the student prone to memorization. Because of the

mechanical process of learning, he is able to get only a general idea but not a deeper

understanding. So, the tendency of students is to study in order to be able to answer correctly and

to pass the examinations and thereby earn the required credits. Independent thinking is

smothered because the language of learning ceases to be the language of communication outside

the classroom. A student is mainly concerned with the acquisition of information. He is seldom

able to utilize this information for deepening his  understanding of his society's problems.

Our Institute of National Language is practically neglected. It should be one of the main pillars

of an independent country. Our educators are wary about proposing the immediate adoption of Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  14

the national language as the medium of instruction because of what they consider as opposition

of other language groups. This is indicative of our colonial mentality. Our educators do not see

any opposition to the use of a foreign language but fear opposition to the use of the national

language just because it is based on one of the main dialects. The fact that one can be understood

in any part of the Philippines through the national language, the fact that periodicals in the

national language and local movies have a mass following all over the islands, shows that, given

the right support, the national language would take its proper place.

Language is the main problem, therefore. Experience has shown that children who are taught in

their native tongue learn more easily and better than those taught in English. Records of the

Bureau of Public Schools will support this. But mere teaching in the national language is not

enough. There are other areas that demand immediate attention.

Philippine history must be rewritten from the point of view of the Filipino. Our economic

problems must be presented in the light of nationalism and independence. These are only some

of the problems that confront the nationalist approach to education. Government leadership and

supervision is essential. Our educators need the support of legislators in this regard. In this

connection, the private sector has also to be strictly supervised.

The Private Sector

Before the Second World War, products of the Philippine public school system looked down

upon their counterparts in the private schools. It is generally accepted that graduates of the public

schools at that time were superior to the products of the private institutions in point of learning.

There were exclusive private institutions but these were reserved for the well-to-do. These

schools did not necessarily reflect superiority of  instruction. But they reflected superiority of

social status.

Among students of the public schools, there was still some manifestation of concern for national

problems. Vestiges of the nationalistic tradition of our revolution remained in the consciousness

of those parents who had been caught in the mainstream of the rebellion, and these were passed

on to the young. On the other hand, apathy to the national problems was marked among the more

affluent private school students whose families had readily accepted American rule.

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. There were two  concomitant tendencies that went with this

trend. First was the commercialization of education. A lowering of standards resulted because of

the inadequate facilities of the public schools and the commercialization in the private sector. It

is a well known fact that classes in many private schools are packed and teachers are overloaded

in order to maximize profits. Second, some private schools which are owned and operated by

foreigners and whose social science courses are handled by aliens flourished. While foreigners

may not be anti-Filipino, they definitely can not be nationalistic in orientation. They think as

foreigners and as private interests. Thus, the proliferation of private schools and the simultaneous Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  15

deterioration of public schools have resulted not only in lower standards but also in a definitely

un-Filipino education.

Some years ago, there was a move to grant curricular freedom to certain qualified private

institutions as well as wider leeway for self-regulation. This was a retrograde step. It is true that

this move was in answer to charges that state supervision would enhance regimentation. But in a

country that is just awakening to nationalist endeavors, it is the duty of a nationalist

administration to see to it that the moulding of minds is safely channeled along nationalist lines.

The autonomy of private institutions may be used to subvert nationalist sentiments especially

when ownership of schools and handling of the social sciences are not yet Filipinized. Autonomy

of private institutions would only dilute nationalist sentiments either by foreign subversions or

by commercialization.

Other Educational media

While the basic defect in the educational system has been responsible for the lack of nationalist

ideals, there are other media and facilities that negate whatever gains are made in some sectors of

the educational field. The almost unilateral source of news, films and other cultural materials

tends 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 suffocates

our 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 of the

nation and the goals of the nation. The object is not merely to produce men and women who can

read and write or who can add and subtract. The primary object is to produce a citizenry that

appreciates and is conscious of its nationhood and has national goals for the betterment of the

community, and not an anarchic mass of people who know how to take care of themselves only.

Our students hear of Rizal and Bonifacio but are their teachings related to our present problems

or do they merely learn of anecdotes and incidents  that prove interesting to the child's

imagination?

We have learned to use American criteria for our problems and we look at our prehistory and our

past with the eyes of a visitor. A lot of information is learned but attitudes are not developed. The

proper regards for things Philippine, the selfish concern over the national fate --these are not at

all imbedded in the consciousness of students. Children and adolescents go to school to get a

certificate or diploma. They try to learn facts but the patriotic attitude is not acquired because of

too much emphasis on forms.

What should be the basic objective of education in the Philippines? Is it merely to produce men

and women who can read and write? If this is the only purpose, then education is directionless.

Education should first of all assure national survival. No amount of economic and political

policy can be successful if the educational programme does not imbue prospective citizens with

the proper attitudes that will ensure the implementation of these goals and policies. Philippine Michael Charleston B. Chua, Greatworks readings, DLSU-Manila  16

educational policies should be geared to the making of Filipinos. These policies should see to it

that schools produce men and women with minds and attitudes that are attuned to the needs of

the country.

Under previous colonial regimes, education saw to it that the Filipino mind was subservient to

that of the master. The foreign overlords were esteemed. We were not taught to view them

objectively, seeing their virtues as well as their faults. This led out citizens to form a distorted

opinion of the foreign masters and also of themselves. We must now think of ourselves, of our

salvation, of our future. And unless we prepare the minds of the young for this endeavor, we

shall always be a pathetic people with no definite goals and no assurance of preservation.

Originally written in 1959.

Weekly Graphic, 8 June 1966.

Renato Constantino.  The Filipinos in the Philippines and Other Essays.  Malaya Books, 1966),

39-65.

Transcribed by Mr. Bert M. Drona – The Filipino Mind (http://thefilipinomind.blogspot.com).