A presentation on the history and impact of American occupation in the Philippines before, during, and after the American colonization.

1. The Educational System in the
Philippines during the
American Regime
Discussant
YBONNE C. IBAÑEZ

2. Overview
• A brief history of the American educational system in
the Philippines
• Impact of American education in the Philippines
during the Colonial Period
• Impact of American education in Post-War Philippines

3. • The first school in Corregidor was opened in May 1898
• On August 13, 1898 Americans reopened seven schools
in Manila
• Americans took steps in the establishment of public
school system in Philippines.

4. • In March 1900, the second Philippine Commission which
was the legislative body during the early decades of
American rule passed Act No. 74. This Act provided the
creation of a department of public instruction which
would supervise and control all the schools that had
already been established and also the prohibition of the
teaching of religious subjects in public schools.
Subsequently, several amendments were made to the
school organic law in order to make provisions for an
expanding educational system and to make public
elementary instruction free to Filipino children.

5. • In 1902, the legislative body also enacted a law which
provided for the establishment of a high school in
every provincial capital to be supported by the local
government.

6. • In 1901, the first batch of American professional
teachers numbering around 600, arrived in the
Philippines by the USS Thomas, hence their popular
name Thomasites. These pioneer American teachers
played a very important role in the development of the
Philippine educational system and will be forever
remembered in the history of Philippine education.

7. • In 1908, the capstone of the public school system was
laid when the University of the Philippines was founded.
Patterned after the state universities in the United
States, the institution was intended for those Filipino
highschool graduates who wanted to enroll in a first-
class university where they could acquire literary,
professional, and technical training.

8. • As finally established, the American public school system
in the Philippines consisted of three levels: a seven-year
elementary school, a four-year high school, and a
university.
• Side by side with the public schools were the private
schools which also gave elementary, secondary, and
college instruction.

9. TOPIC FOR DEBATE:
Do you consider the efforts of the American
government in the Philippine educational system
a gateway or a hindrance towards its political
independence? Elucidate.

10. The Impact of American
Education in the Philippines
during the Colonial Period

11. • English was not only taught to every Filipino school child
but was adopted as the medium of instruction in all
public schools.
-In 1913, English was made as the official language of the
colony together with the Spanish.
• The impact of American education was also felt in the
development of self-government among Filipinos.

12. • The impact was equally felt in the social aspect of
Philippine colonial life.
-The educational system made possible opportunities for
upward social mobility in Philippine society. Moreover, it
became an important basis in the recruitment of political
leadership.

13. • Filipino cultural values and standards also came under
the colonial period.
-Through the agency of the schools, reinforced by American
example movies, the American scale of values gradually and
imperceptibly entered the mental makeup of the Filipino.
-The average American materialism which finds expression in
an ordinate love for material possessions crept into the
ordinary Filipino mind.

14. The Impact of American
Education in the Post-War
Philippines

15. • American education remained potent in the country due
to the educational exchange program between the
United States and the Philippines.
• In the present Philippine educational system, one finds
various techniques and methods to improve instruction
which are traceable to American influence.

16. -Language laboratories, educational televisions, and all kinds
of visual aids are no longer regarded as novelties in
Philippine schools.
-Guidance and counseling offices are found in most schools
in order to understand students better psychologically and
to help them solve their academic and psychological
problems.

17. -In-service training, conferences, seminars, and workshops
to upgrade the teaching competencies of teachers are
undertaken.

18. TOPIC FOR DEBATE:
What could be the biggest factor of having
"colonial mentality" among Filipinos during the
American regime?

19. CONCLUSION:
From the foregoing discussion, it has been noted that the impact of
American education has been greatly felt during the colonial period
and after the Second World War as it brought quantitative and
qualitative changes in the life of the Filipino. American education has
been, to an extent, a factor in nation-building. However, because of
the growing nationalism of the people and other trends in Philippine
society today, this impact will diminish in the years to come.