VANESSA KARLA CREDO HERMOSA MAY 10,2019

BSED 1-2 ENGL

WHAT IS AN EDUCATED FILIPINO?

By: Francisco Benitez

How is being educated measurable? Can you consider yourself an educated Filipino? If yes, do you
believe that distinguished traits naturally reside in every Filipino? Most Filipinos are renowned professionals
but little did we know is how you will be “identifying a peculiarly educated Filipino”. When you hear the word
“educated” some often think of it as something we "get" at school; as being an intellectual, someone who
knows a lot, who can do a lot, who finished his or her studies, and a person who every Filipino aspires to be.
Education, which came from the Latin word “e-ducere” which means "bringing out" or "bringing forth
what is within" as it is all about how a person brings what he or she have learned into life. It tells people what
to think by means of enlightening the mind and searching for the truth. An educated person might not once be
an honor student, or even an out-of-school youth. According to Christopher Phillips, a philosopher, “an
educated person has a clear understanding of his or her own values, wants and preferences without wishing to
impose these on others; understands the connectedness of everything in the world, and even in the universe,
and so, acts responsibly in everything they do – in which the slogan "think globally, act locally" applies here;
and has a deep and genuine empathy, striving to understand others, with the ability to withhold their own
judgment until they are sure that they do understand.”
In “identifying a peculiarly educated Filipino” there were three distinguished characteristics a Filipino
should possess or manifest mentioned in the essay of Benitez. An educated Filipino uses words that do not
harm other people’s feelings, words that do not violate rules governing society, words that degrades or even
removes morality of an individual because, an educated Filipino must first, have ingrained in his speech the
conduct of culture and morality. Rizal once said, “On this battlefield this man has no other weapon than his
intelligence, no other force but his heart”, a Filipino’s speech or words must be used as a weapon in changing
perspectives and uplifting spirits of his fellow Filipino, and with his heart, it should touch souls and dig beneath
the deepest part of humanity; influence others by changing their whole lives. When you say “educated”, most
often think of it being imparted by our teachers in school through academic and extra-curricular activities
usually since pre-school to college but, the knowledge about who a real Filipino is, where he originated, where
he belong, as well as the truth and ideals that every people learned to cherish as the second characteristic an
educated Filipino should foster. According to Einstein, “Education is not the learning of facts but, the training of
the mind to think”. It is a responsibility of every Filipino to train their minds not only for their benefit but for the
accomplishment and obedience to duties and regulations. A Filipino should always put in mind that he has all
the knowledge but it must be valued, preserved, used to serve the country and most importantly, to contribute
to others. Last, but the most important of the characteristics is the power to do or act. There is a famous saying
from an anonymous author “Actions speaks louder than words” where we need more actions instead of pure
words to progress and not to keep being illiterate. Filipinos need to act in order to make participation in the
growth not just for ourselves but also for the country as well as in the world. Unlike other candidates during
elections, who uses flowery words, and merely just promises that they cannot really put into actions or even
show us glimpse of their words during campaigns, we should be more into actions and less into words. A
quotation in the internet says: “The great aim of education is not knowledge, but action.” A Filipino should act
to showcase what he knows, to enact what he can do, to justify ideas in his head, and to fight against
ignorance. More actions, means more chances of change and betterment. The best way to become educated
is to put the knowledge into words and then, effectively put it into actions so that knowledge would be utilized
accordingly.

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ENGL 1103 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT
VANESSA KARLA CREDO HERMOSA MAY 10,2019
BSED 1-2 ENGL
In the past few years we have witnessed every change in the conception of education. It had
brought as consciousness, and literacy. So, how are you going to distinguish an educated Filipino? As Tony
MacGregor defined Education- not about certificates and degrees you get in school, indeed, being educated
would be one who searches for excellence, one who does not take things for granted, one who is concerned
about people and things around him or her; cognizant of how their actions impact others, not just today, but in
coming generations, and strive to act in ways that will enhance the lives of individuals and societies not just of
today, but also of the future - and not just the next one or two or five generations, but the next hundred and
thousand and ten thousand generations, according to Phillips. The distinguished traits such as: actions,
knowledge, and speech or words naturally residing in every Filipino was elaborated as we identified a
peculiarly educated Filipino who brings honor to the country, values morality, respects fellow being, renders
service to society, contributes to economic progress and preserves history and culture. To sum it all, an
educated Filipino is the one who is inside you. The one who knocks at your heart and mind every now and then
but, you just decided to ignore and not open your door for him or her. Everyone must “exhibit an intellectual
Filipino with distinct character at heart, mind and soul” because according to Rizal, “without education and
liberty, which are the soil and sun of man, no reform is possible, no measure can give the result desired.”

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ENGL 1103 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT