First Impression of Bacolod = Joy!

Masskara Festival

Many Americans carry with them the assumption that lack of material wealth automatically means misery.  Truth be told, we have a lot to learn from the amount of joy and warmth present in the community of Bacolod.  The streets are teeming with life.  Everyone says hello to us (granted, we kind of noticeable). Our welcome meeting began and ended in joyful song.  The graciousness of our hosts has been nothing short of inspiring.  Many of the readings I have encountered before coming here referred to Filipino culture as struggling to form a sense of identity after 333 years of colonial rule by the Spaniards followed immediately by American imperialism.  But I'm starting to believe that this characterization of a confused, and perhaps even inauthentic, culture are misguided.  From my short time here, a sense of joy and "grit" permeates Filipino culture. 

Here are some things that I adore about the Philippines so far.

1.  You have to become one with the chaos.  What appears to be chaos to us really works for them.  It feels like we're playing "Frogger" when  we cross the street.  It feels like there is no good time to cross the street, as cars, jeepneys, busses, and pedicabs appear to never stop and are often quite haphazard in their movements.  But really, anytime is a potential "good time" to cross. You just have to feel it. 

2.  Don't be shy.  Just sing!  Karoake is everywhere and highly valued.  

3.  Smile.  Bacolod is the City of Smiles.  Although it was explained to me that this is because of the history of sugar plantations in the region, and thus, an overindulgence of sugary foods, I think there's more to it than that.  There is a joy of life here that is contagious.

4.  Education and educators are highly respected and valued.  The Philippines invests heavily in education, and the level of respect given to educators by their students and communities is clearly visible.  Students at Colegio San Agustin have a special bow that they give their teachers when passing them in the hallway and when entering a classroom. 

5.  Environmental stewardship education seems to be the norm here.  It is present in the clearly labeled recycling bins all over the school campuses.  It is present in the beautiful school learning gardens in many of the schools.   Teachers are also incredibly interested in the ways we teach environmental sustainability and stewardship in the States.  I've visited schools in Indonesia and Nicaragua, and I did not witness the level of environmental concern that I'm seeing here.

5 things that Americans should know about Spanish and American colonialism in the Philippines

1.  Before the United States arrived, the Philippines was ruled by Spain for 333 years.  In fact, the island group was named "Philippines" in the 16th century in honor of King Philip II of Spain.  The Spanish were highly successful at converting the people to Catholicism and organizing the efficient (albeit brutal) "encomienda system" through which the "weak" native population was controlled and extorted of resources in exchange for the "protection" of the Spanish crown.

2.  Mexico sustained and fueled the colonization of the Philippines.  Spanish colonization of the Philippines was largely fueled by Mexican silver which was highly valued in China.  The profits of this trade brought wealth to Manila for the Spanish who literally "walled" themselves in the Intramuros district of Manila.  The Chinese community also thrived off of the galleon trade, but were restricted to the Parian district with Spanish cannons trained on them at all times.  Over time, trade with Mexico also brought new species of crops and Catholic clerics to the islands in great numbers.

Manila Cathedral in Intramuros.  Photo credit:  Michael Cruz michaelcruz.com

3.  Filipinos have a rich history of fighting against the oppressive rule (whether it be against Spanish colonialism, American imperialism, or abuse by their own dictators).  The Propaganda Movement of the 1880s and 1890s, led by Dr. Jose Rizal (Philippine's national hero) and the Illustrados (non-violent, reformist Filipinos educated in Europe), attempted to create reform throught the spotlighting of Spanish abuses in the Philippines to the Spanish public.  Intense social upheaval of the late 1890s, however, gave rise to a more militant brand of revolution led by Andres Bonifacio and, later, Emilio Aguinaldo.

 
4. The United States eventually got control of the Philippines after winning the Spanish-American War.  The handover of the Philippines to the Americans was interesting in that both sides orchestrated a fake battle outside of Manila so that the Spaniards could save face in front of their native subjects.  American rule of the Philippines was led by a desire to tame the "barbaric" and "backwards" native populations, educate them, and Christianize them (despite the fact the the people of the Philippines were already largely Catholic except in the southern region of Mindinao, which continues to be a majority Muslim region).  Many of the American generals sent to colonize the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century were veterans of wars against Native American tribes.  A desire for natural resources and a market for manufactured goods propelled American imperialism in the Philippines.   American imperialism can be characterized by some of the same brutality, racism, and oppression practiced by the Spaniards.  Filipinos launched an unsuccessful insurgency known as the Philippine-American War and did not get full independence until 1946 following Japanese occupation.  In the United States, imperialism in the Philippines was not universally accepted and was highly controversial.  Mark Twain vehemently opposed American imperialism.

President McKinley trying to fend off Philippine "insurgent" mosquitoes.

5.  The Americans brought the education system to the Philippines (not the Spanish), which is why the prominent Filipino authors write in English and one of the two official languages of the Philippines is English (the other being tagalog). The Americans also brought vocational and agricultural education.  America is also often credited with major economic developments of the country, rather than the Spaniards, who were virtually bankrupt towards the end of its colonial presence.  During Japanese occupation during World War II, elementary school curriculum included Japanese militaristic dogma.  Today, the education system very much reflects the American educational system and public schools are free and compulsory.
 

Sources: 

 Luis C. Francia. (2014). A History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos Overlook Press, New York.

Lecture for Teachers for Global Classrooms by Norberto Erandio, 2011 ILEP fellow,  Leyte National High School, Tacloban City, Philippines.

Where We're From: A poem takes a trip to the Philippines

Sure, it's easy to send a poem to anyone in the world via email, blog, SMS, or any of the other millions of high-tech apps out there in cyber space.  

This poem, however, is traveling old-school...in a suitcase.

I'm headed to the Philippines in three days with the State Department's Teachers for Global Classrooms program.  This is the exciting "fieldwork" part of the year-long professional development program designed to engage teachers in global education leadership.  During this phase, small cohorts travel all over the world to learn about the education systems, histories, and cultures of their host countries, and we even have the opportunity to teach in host classrooms.  The Philippines is in the middle of an education overhaul involving a controversial transition to a K-12 system, so it is a very interesting time to be visiting and engaging with teachers. 

All of the teachers in my cohort are taking gifts with them to the Philippines to give to students and host teachers, and part of me loves this idea, but another part has been struggling with this idea.  I'll blame my hesitation on a healthy dose (or overdose?) of post-colonial critique,  but what it comes down to is that I want to do something more than hand out pencils and erasers (although I'm super-excited about the Halloween- and cosmos-themed pencils and skateboard erasers that I'm bringing along).  

Poetry has become a part of our school culture, so I decided that I would bring along a poem collaboratively written by my students, as well as some art and pictures of our school community.  I love teaching "Where I'm From" poems (modeled after George Ella Lyon's poem of the same name). So I decided to adapt the "Where I'm From" poem and turn it into a "Where We're From" poem and pull it together from the contributions of all three of my Global Studies English classes.  I also asked students to contribute pictures and art, and I pieced it all together into a collage. 

Here's my big dream for this project.  I'm hoping that I can teach or team-teach the "Where We're From" poem to an English class at my host-school in Bacolod, and bring back a poem to California. Perhaps it may continue and grow, perhaps it will not, but I'm okay with that.  I do think that art, poetry, and photography are wonderful ways to share culture.  What might make this experience different is that these projects are not going to be on a screen.  We can get close to them, feel them, and know that they were touched and crafted by human hands on the other side of the world.  I'll let you all know how this emerging poetry exchange develops.

Where We’re From

We’re from the tallest trees in the world,

ancient redwoods, swaying high in the wind,

towering upwards to the sky,

rays of sunshine still finding their way

through the thick canopy.

We’re from the cold Pacific Ocean

and its misty beaches,

seals popping their heads over waves

before they crash into rocky cliffs,

the sporadic spray of families of gray whales

migrating north.

We’re from fog as thick as tar

rolling into the damp forests in the morning.

We’re from green soccer fields

filled with the laughter of children,

rope snapping in the dusty rodeo arena,

the stitching of the softball gripped tightly

before being thrown.

We’re from deer hunting and cattle ranching,

the racing stampede of horses

at the Humboldt County Fair.

We’re from dancing, and singing,

and playing in the marching band.

We’re from reggae, country music, and rock and roll,

the rumble of earthquakes beneath our feet.

We’re from hamburgers and chicken

sizzling on the grill,

salmon pulled fresh from the ocean or river,

tamales, posole, and horchata.

We’re from the Eel River Valley,

the Van Duzen River,

California’s North Coast,

the salty air of Humboldt County.

We’re from Wiyot, Mexico, Norway,

Ukraine, Ireland, and Laos,

but the thread that ties our multicultural mix together,

we’re all American.