Mapua Institute of Technology - Makati School of Languages, Humanities and Social Sciences 333 Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati

City

COMPARISON OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM DURING THE AMERICAN PERIOD AND THE PRESENT TIME

In partial fulfilment of the course: Philippine History / SS14 AC2

Submitter by: Lumboy, Maria Eliza C.

Submitted to: Professor Neil Edwin V. Yuzon

December 7, 2012

INTRODUCTION The Philippines has been through many hardships because of the colonizers who tried to bind her and because of those hardships it helped in molding and giving her a rich history. A history that showed the bravery of our ancestors and taught us to understand what made our country. With that in mind, have you ever wondered how our system of education before was? Is it the same like what we have now? What made our education system? It is very important to look back to our history to know and compare it. We will be able to see what changes have transpired during the American rule where education became free to the public. Education is a process or act of acquiring knowledge and developing reasoning through teaching and training which is typically done inside a classroom. It is through teachers, instructors or professors, as we call them, we were able to acquire knowledge. In a wider view, education is like an engine to the economic growth of a country. That is why every country gives education importance. For every person who holds a higher degree of education is said to contribute more to the country. These people are expected to give back to the country and used the education that they worked for. Looking back in our history, education started inside every house of Filipinos through their parents. Boys were taught how to hunt and work for the family while girls were taught household chores and taking care of the family. As years passed and as the Spaniards came to the Philippines and conquered it. Education has changed and became limited to those who can afford it. Primary and secondary schools opened during this era and there was limited access to education and only those who have money and bright minds can enter a school. Also, during that time education was inadequate, suppressed and controlled by the Spaniards. Sometimes children dont want to enter school because they were afraid of the teachers. Teachers hit the students when they cannot answer a question that is why they were afraid. But, some were able to endure it and finish their studies like for example Dr. Jose Rizal. Many schools were established during the Spanish era like the University of Santo Tomas, San Jose, Ateneo Municipal and San Juan de Letran. Despite the fact that the Spaniards were strict and brutal, many Filipinos emerged to the top that not even any Asian countries can compete like our very own Dr. Jose Rizal, Marcelo Del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena to name a few. Education was like that for 333 years under the Spanish rule. Until the Americans came and changed the system. [1] This paper will look at what the Americans brought as they came to the Philippines specifically in education. Was it for the good of the Filipinos? What kind of education system did they implement? By searching about the American rule in the Philippines we will be able to see the comparison of the education system during the American and the present time which will be the focus of this paper.

COMPARISON OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM DURING THE AMERICAN RULE AND THE PRESENT TIME It all started when the Americans bought the Philippines from the Spaniards by signing the Treaty of Paris and paying the sum of $20,000,000 then after the mock battle that commenced between them, the Philippines fell to the hands of the Americans. The Philippines didnt surrender that easily to the Americans. Many wars also occurred during their time but after a few years, Philippines became under complete control of the Americans. [1] During the period of governance by the United States, education in the Philippines changed radically. It became important to the Filipinos. Unlike during the Spanish era where education was limited only to a few, in the American rule it became free for all thus the creation of the Public School System. It was under the recommendation of the Schurman commission but was introduced by the Taft commission wherein there will be free primary instruction that will train people for the duties of citizenship and avocation according to the will of President McKinley. English language was used as the medium of instruction. [2] The American government built different public schools to give free education and since it was after the war that it all happened. The first teachers were the soldiers of the war. A shortage on teachers became heavy and the Philippine Commission had no choice but to ask the United States to send more than 1,000 teachers to the Philippines and they were called the Thomasites. They travelled around the country and built schools on each barangay and taught them about the English language and more. [4] According to eTravel Pilipinas, every child from age 7 was required to register in schools located in their own town or province. The students were given free school materials. There were three levels of education during the American period. The "elementary" level consisted of four primary years and 3 intermediate years. The "secondary" or high school level consisted of four years; and the third was the "college" or tertiary level. American textbooks and reading materials were used. They also prohibited teaching religion at that time, instead, new subject areas were introduced like reading, writing, arithmetic, language, good manners and right conduct, civics, hygiene and sanitation, gardening, domestic science, American History and Philippine History. Some schools that were built during the American rule are: Philippine Normal School in 1901 that trained Filipino teachers for public schools, Silliman University, Central Philippine University and the University of the Philippines in 1908. [3] During this period, the Filipino literacy rate increased and from then on Filipinos became concerned of their level of education. Now that we were able to trace what kind of education system the Americans had during their rule in the Philippines, we will now look into what is the educational system now. After the independence of the Philippines from the Americans, the education system of the Philippines moved into various directions. But in the present time, we are now practicing the K-12 education system. According to the Official Gazette, the K to 12 program covers kindergarten and 12 years

of basic education. It aims to give students more time and phasing in studying. Unlike before, there will be more time to learn a particular subject and students can easily distinguish what course he really likes in college and will have more mastery on that. Another benefit of this program is that you can get certificates that will help you be eligible for work. It is said that Philippines was the last country in Asia and one of the only three remaining countries that practices the 10 year pre-university cycle. [5] Since our country followed the previous system for quite a while, a lot of criticisms bombarded the government. It is because parents think that it will be an additional burden for them and they can no longer afford it. Education in the Philippines as years gone by became a privilege than a right. This new system will still need more years to see its result and we will see that in a few more years time. CONCLUSION America gave our country a big opportunity and that is to study for free without the restraints of money. For during their time education was free and has a system, but why are still behind and not even par to America. We know that in the present time, Philippines still have public schools but the problem now is that we lack public schools that can supply the demand of the students, unlike before it was the teachers who look for students. Now, there is a large volume of students in a small classroom with only one teacher. This means that the teacher might not be effective in giving the knowledge or impart the knowledge that a student can understand. Before the medium of instruction was English but now whenever we have English classes the student fails. I think there is a problem on how they teach the language or students have this mentality or expression that they nosebleed when talking or hearing the English language. I think that hinders the motivation of the student to understand and learn more about the language for it gives peer pressure. Another problem is the shortage on teachers. The quality of teachers are rapidly decreasing because most of them are either working abroad or the teachers nowadays are those who flunked their previous courses and had no choice but to shift to being a teacher. Being a teacher is a vocation not only a simple job to give you money. You have to have the passion to teach so that your students can learn from you but since it is not the same as before during the American period even if they were soldiers the students were able to learn, but now the students dont have the passion to learn. I think proper monitoring and implementation can improve the state of education in our country. Now that K-12 has been implemented it will still take many years to see its results. Parents still argue about it to the government but they have no choice. The problem now is where they can get the money to keep their childs education. For education has defined what your childs future will be, the higher the education attained then the higher salary you will get. That is how Filipinos see it now.

BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] Agoncillo, T. (2010). American Colonila Rule: Policy and Governance. Philippine History (pp.189-198). 839 EDSA, South Triangle, Quezon City: C & E Publishing, Inc. [2] Cabatlao, M. (n.d.). Education in the Philippines. Retrieved December 5, 2012 from http://philedufutureboytech.wordpress.com/history/education-in-the-philippines/ [3] eTravelPhilippines (n.d.). American government gave importance to Education in the Philippines. Retrieved December 5, 2012 from http://www.etravelpilipinas.com/about_philippines/American_government_gave_importance_to _Education.htm [4] Karnow, S. (1990, March 3). In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines. Ballantine Books, Random House, Inc. [5] Official Gazette (n.d.). The K to 12 Basic Education Program. Retrieved November 5, 2012 from http://www.gov.ph/k-12/