The Miseducation of

the Filipino
By Renato Constantino

Renato
Constantino

(March 10,1919September
15,1999)

Renato 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 Nationsfrom 1946 to 1949 and Counsellor of
theDepartment of Foreign Affairsfrom 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 inFar Eastern
University,Adamson University,Arellano
UniversityandUniversity 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 areA Past RevisitedandThe
Continuing Past(a two-volume history of the
Philippines),The Making of a Filipino(a biography of

me related people...

Thomasites
Manuel L.
Quezon

Claro M. Recto

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 countrys
problems, who understand the basic
solution to these problems and care
enough to work and sacrifice for their

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 education
Though 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

Inceptionthe 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 wont
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

Thomasites
is a group of about six hundred
pioneerAmericanteachers sent by the U.S.
government to thePhilippines in August 12
1901.
stayed at the walled
cityIntramuros,Manilabefore being given
initial provincial assignments which
includedAlbay,Catanduanes,Camarines
Norte, Camarines Sur
Sorsogon,Masbate,Samar,
Zambales,Aparri,Jolo,Negros,Cebu,Duma
guete,
Bataan,Batangas,PangasinanandTarlac.

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
(nowTechnological University of the
Philippines) in 1901, the Tarlac High
School on September 21, 1902 and
theQuezon 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 ViceGovernor the head of the department in
case of seat vacancy or late
appointment of the Governor-general.

Jones Law

TheJones Lawalso known as theJones Act,

thePhilippine Autonomy Actor theAct of
Congress of August 29, 1916, was
anorganic act passed by theUnited States
Congresswhich replaced thePhilippine
Organic Act of 1902. The Jones Law acted
like a constitution for the Philippines until
1934 when theTydingsMcDuffie
Actcreating of theCommonwealth of the
Philippines. It established for the first time
an elected upper house, which would
eventually become thePhilippine Senate.

 -It was until 1935, where the

Commonwealth and the new
generation of FilipinoAmericans 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. PresidentWilliam McKinleyduring
thePhilippine-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 mans 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

 Filipinos became the third largest Englishspeaking 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.

Dalaga (with the

carabao)

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 cant 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 reexamine 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
ofnationalism we Filipinos need
Filipinos try so hard to pattern
themselves to how Americans do
themselves, which is wrong since the

Un-Filipino Filipinos
We love Foreigners complementing
about our country, complacently
allowing them to control our
economy but we ourselves dont 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 nations
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 Educationit 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-

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