Forty-seven years ago, historian Renato Constantino published his essay “The miseducation of the Filipino” which gave a long and hard look at the school system in the Philippines. Constantino’s main thesis was on how the Americans used education as a way of pacifying Filipinos and preparing their ‘little brown brothers’ for work under the American capitalist structure under the guise of benevolence and a natural desire to lead Filipinos into development.
Today, the situation remains the same, but with different characters playing the role the Americans left. What’s unfortunate is that Filipinos themselves inherited the role of colonizers and subjugated their own people to advance their own selfish interests.
Education continues to be wielded by those in power for their own agenda. A manifestation of this is the removal of Philippine history in the high school education curriculum. Set into motion during the tail end of the Aquino administration, the exodus of Philippine history from high school has brought about several issues in society that are only coming to light in recent years. First, Filipino youth are unable to form a strong and unique Filipino identity at a crucial juncture of their human development. Second, Filipino youth lack critical thinking skills in filtering the information out in the world and on the Internet.
A weak national identity makes Filipino youth vulnerable to the pernicious effects of globalization particularly as dominant cultures swallow weaker cultures whole. This is to be expected in a situation where Filipino youth are unable to know their history. Without a strong sense of national identity, people with weaker cultures are easily swayed and assimilated into dominant cultures thereby making them complicit propagators of other cultures.
Apart from a weak Filipino identity, the removal of Philippine history from the high school curriculum eliminates a crucial opportunity for Filipino youth to hone their critical thinking skills. It is in the classroom, particularly in the discussion of Philippine history where teachers and students are able to engage in discussion. These discussions equip youth with tools that they can use in situations outside the classroom and in the digital landscape.
Manifestations of these two issues are beginning to creep up in the years following the implementation of this change in the curriculum. Labor is still one of the country’s prime exports which is a good thing as Filipinos are able to secure livelihoods, but it is a symptom of an underlying issue. Filipinos are still being educated in order to meet the demands of international industries. Filipinos merely become tools in the furtherance of the goals of other nations. Filipinos continue to work for other nations while being unable to directly be part of the country’s development.
Critical thinking skills in Filipino youth are severely lacking as seen in the proliferation of fake news on social media. The Marcoses have weaponized legions of gullible netizens, mostly teenagers, into spreading the family’s propaganda and engaging in historical distortions of the atrocities committed during the Marcos administration. The skills that Filipino youth should have honed in their Philippine history classes are needed in the combat against misinformation of the people and distortion of the facts.
It is deplorable that the Department of Education continues to insist that Philippine history is already integrated into existing subjects. Although the Department’s allocation of more hours to subjects such as English, Math, and Science is understandable, it is difficult to see why the Filipino identity has to suffer.
The importance of Philippine history subjects in the high school curriculum cannot be stressed further. A dedicated Philippine history course builds strong Filipino identities in adolescents which they will bring along with them wherever in the world they might find themselves in. Equally important is the critical thinking skills these lessons impart which will allow Filipino youth to decide for themselves and know what is fact from fiction.
It is high time that Philippine history’s place in the educational system is given the aegis of legislation. The country will stand to lose more in the current high school education system that removes Philippine history. Such a delicate and important topic must not be left to the whims of people in power. There must be a well-thought-out and crafted law that will protect this core subject and ensure its existence in Philippine high schools.
If the Philippines is to fulfill the promise and dreams of its people, the first step begins in the classrooms. It will take years before the fruits of today’s struggles are seen, but it is important that the nation takes steps in the right direction. History books are witness to the results the current path the country is on will lead to. It’s time Filipinos change the narrative, control their own destiny, and not simply leave the rest to history.
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