blackshama's commentary on Philippine issues

While some members of the Pinoy elite lament the decline of English competency among Filipinos, I recently read a feature article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on-line about Asians graduating from Australian universities with bad English! The article does not place Filipinos among the Asians who graduate with poor English skills. Top on the list are South Koreans, followed by the Thais, Nepalese, Taiwanese and Chinese. Japanese students are midway on the list and suprisingly, citizens of former British colonies like India and Singapore (who have aggressive government sponsored promotion of the English language) are also on the list. I suppose Australia's regulators of educational institutions (such as the Vice Chancellors Committee) were rocked by the report. The Education Minister Julia Bishop was very concerned. I did my degree in Australia and I know it for a fact that a month or two before the semester starts, overseas students are required to take English courses. Dependi...

It is no secret that there are a lot of Filipinos working or studying in academe overseas. Many decided to do their graduate or postgraduate degrees in the USA, European Union, Canada, Australia and even in more technologically advanced Asian countries like Japan or Singapore and more recently, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. The reasons for attending colleges and universities in these countries is as varied as the students themselves. Some won scholarships, either government sponsored or private scholarships. Some also won assistanceships or tutorships which provide fee waivers and an allowance although that does not allow a luxurious lifestyle. Those who come from affluent families were able to support their studies through dad or mom's "scholarship". I know of a few people who took out loans to do an MBA in the US or Australia. As this was a loan, they have to pay it back. The only way to do so is to find a job overseas. The investment in studying abroad is so b...

I am reading up on the history of Puerto Rico since I will be visiting that US Commonwealth. I found a recent (2002) paper comparing the histories of Hawaii, Puerto Rico and our own Filipinas under US rule. This was written by a prominent American political historian who teaches at the University of Puerto Rico. The conclusion is that by 1916 "Congress decided that Hawaii will be assimilated, Puerto Rico could be Americanized and the Philippines could never be assimilated [into the Union]" Ninety years after we can ask what country is most Americanized? Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the Philippines? Did the US Congress get it wrong?

Filipinos learned their English from American teachers who came on several ships at the start of the 20th century. The biggest contigent came on the USS Thomas and from then on, American teachers who came to teach were called "Thomasites". While the teachers came from all over the United States, many came from northern or Yankee states such as New York, Massachusetts and some came from California. The teachers had the hard task of establishing a public school system where there was almost none. But some of the teachers were clearly from the South. The Confederacy's defeat was still within living memory then and this probably led one teacher to write that the many of the teachers were ""a regiment of carpetbaggers, come to exploit the country in their small way." It was likely that the father of this teacher or she herself as a child saw what the Union troops did to the South and its aftermath. And probably she was well aware of the "Philippine Insurr...

CNN today reports that a FedEx cargo jet took off from an undisclosed US airport with experimental anti missile lasers. This is the first time in history that a commercial jet was outfitted with weapons systems. This is the logical result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Since passenger jets were used as missiles, they could now be outfitted with anti-missile technology. Experts say that it will take 20 years for the world's airlines to adopt the technology. This would run into the billions of US dollars and perhaps the next generation of aircraft made by Boeing and Airbus will have it. But this leads us to ask, what if a pilot accidentally switches on the laser and hits another jet? Pilots have been known to make serious errors we know. And some errors have resulted in tragic loss of lives. Also if jets can be equipped with laser defenses, then your city bus, tram or taxi could be outfitted with one. Your car can come with that extra feature. We may have road rage star wars on the s...

Every third Monday of January, the US celebrates Martin Luther King Day in honor and remembrance of the civil rights leader and Baptist minister. The Rev. Dr King's activism began when a seamstress, Mrs Rosa Parks (another civil rights icon) refused to give up her bus seat to a white man as required by the Jim Crow laws of southern states such as Alabama. The laws segregated whites from blacks and required separate facilities for each. King's most famous speech is the 1963"I Have a Dream" speech given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC during the March on Washington. The speech is now considered as one of the world's greatest speeches. A masterpiece of rhetoric, King's speech is styled like a sermon and alludes to the Bible, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and the US Constitution. My favourite lines are "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin ...

Life here in Baton Rouge seems to be rather slow. Not being a megapolis, there is still this small town feel. Louisiennes are very friendly people. My first introduction was to make sense over an American football game between Louisiana State University and Notre Dame. Of course our team won and a the star quarterback JaMarcus Russel was crowned MVP. It took me over an hour to get an idea of how American football is played. Football in other realms is what soccer is called here. The next day I watched a soccer game between our team and another college. Soccer seems to be gaining a lot of popularity here with many students from kindergarten to college, playing it. In one high school girls team, Miss 88 a fullback, destroyed the opposing team's defense. Now I am eating gumbo. That must be the national dish of this once French colony. I also have heard how Cajun French is spoken.