Thomasites

Last updated

Several Thomasites are interred at the American Teachers Memorial, a special plot inside the Manila North Cemetery. The current memorial was erected in 1917. WTMP Foodtrippings D19.JPG
Several Thomasites are interred at the American Teachers Memorial, a special plot inside the Manila North Cemetery. The current memorial was erected in 1917.

The Thomasites were a group of 600 American teachers who traveled from the United States to the newly occupied territory of the Philippines on the US Army Transport Thomas. [1] The group included 346 men and 180 women, hailing from 43 different states and 193 colleges, universities, and normal schools. [1] The term 'Thomasites' has since expanded to include any teacher who arrived in the first few years of the American colonial period of the Philippines.

Contents

Thomas carried nearly 500 Thomasites, who arrived in Manila in August 1901. They represented 192 institutions, including Harvard (19), Yale (15), Cornell (13), University of Chicago (8), University of Michigan (24), University of California (25), Albion College (1), Alma College (2), Kalamazoo College (1), the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti (now Eastern Michigan University) (6), and Olivet College (3). [2]

Foundation, purpose, and etymology

The Thomasites arrived in the Philippines on August 21, [3] 1901, to establish a new public school system, to teach basic education, and to train Filipino teachers, with English as the medium of instruction. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Adeline Knapp, Thomasite and author of The Story of the Philippines, said: [11] [12]

Our nation has found herself confronted by a great problem dealing with a people who neither know nor understand the underlying principles of our civilization, yet who, for our mutual happiness and liberty, must be brought into accord with us ... the American genius, reasoning from its own experience in the past, seeks a solution of the problem, a bridging of the chasm, through the common schools. [13]

Philippines had enjoyed a public school system since 1863, when a Spanish decree first introduced public elementary education in the Philippines. The Thomasites, however, expanded and improved the public school system and switched to English as the medium of instruction.

The name Thomasite was derived from the United States Army Transport Thomas which brought the educators to the shores of Manila Bay. [9] Although two groups of new American graduates arrived in the Philippines before Thomas, the name Thomasite became the designation of all pioneer American teachers simply because Thomas had the largest contingent. Later batches of American teachers were also dubbed Thomasites. [4]

The Thomasites—365 males and 165 females—left Pier 12 of San Francisco on July 23, 1901, to sail via the Pacific Ocean to South East Asia. The U.S. government spent about $105,000 for the expedition (equivalent to $3,845,520in 2023). More American teachers followed the Thomasites in 1902, making a total of about 1,074 stationed in the Philippines. On January 20, 1901, Act No. 74 formalized the creation of the department. [14] [5] [6] [9]

At the time, the Thomasites were offered $125 a month (equivalent to $4,578in 2023), but once in the Philippines salaries were often delayed and were usually paid in devalued Mexican pesos. [4] [6] [7]

Although the Thomasites were the largest group of pioneers with the purpose of educating the Filipinos, they were not the first to be deployed by Washington, D.C. A few weeks before the arrival of Thomas, US Army soldiers had already begun teaching Filipinos the English language, thus in effect laying the foundation of the Philippine public school system. The US Army opened the Philippines' first public school in Corregidor Island, after Admiral George Dewey vanquished the Spanish Pacific fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. [5] Also, a few weeks before the arrival of Thomas, another group composed of 48 American teachers also arrived in the Philippines, aboard the USAT Sheridan. [5]

After President William McKinley's appointment of William Howard Taft as the head of a commission that would be responsible for continuing the educational work started by the US Army, the Taft Commission passed Education Act No. 74 on January 21, 1901, which established the Department of Public Instruction. The latter was then given the task of establishing a public school system throughout the Philippines. The Taft Commission also authorized the further deployment of 1,000 more educators from the US to the Philippines. [5]

Assignments

After being quarantined for two days after their arrival on August 21, 1901, the Thomasites were finally able to disembark from the Thomas. They traveled from the customs house near the Anda Circle then stayed at the walled city Intramuros, Manila before being given initial provincial assignments which included Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Masbate, Samar, Zambales, Aparri, Jolo, Negros, Cebu, Dumaguete, Bulacan, Bataan, Batangas, Pangasinan, and Tarlac. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Curriculum 1902–1935

The Thomasites taught the following subjects: English, agriculture, reading, grammar, geography, mathematics, general courses, trade courses, housekeeping and household arts (sewing, crocheting, and cooking), manual trading, mechanical drawing, freehand drawing, and athletics (baseball, track and field, tennis, indoor baseball, and basketball). [8]

Legacy

The Thomasites built upon the Spanish school system created in 1863 and the contributions laid down by the US Army. They built elementary schools and learning institutions such as the Philippine Normal School, formerly the Escuela Normal de Maestros during the Spanish period (now Philippine Normal University) and the Philippine School of Arts and Trades, formerly the Escuela Central de Artes y Oficios de Manila (now Technological University of the Philippines) in 1901, the Tarlac High School on September 21, 1902, and the Tayabas High School (now Quezon National High School), on October 2, 1902. [5] [6] [7] [8]

The Thomasites also reopened the Philippine Nautical School, which was originally established by the Board of Commerce of Manila in 1839 under Spain. [5] About a hundred of the Thomasites stayed on to live in the Philippines after finishing their teaching assignments. They transformed the Philippines into the third largest English-speaking nation in the world and became the precursors of the present-day US Peace Corps Volunteers. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

For their contribution to Philippine education, the Thomasites Centennial Project was established in cooperation with American Studies associations in the Philippines, the Philippine-American Educational Foundation, the US Embassy in Manila, and other leading cultural and educational institutions in the Philippines. [9] [15]

The municipality of New Washington, Aklan was named after US President George Washington as a tribute to the Thomasites.[ citation needed ]

List of some Thomasite teachers

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine Constabulary</span> Defunct Philippine military-police force

The Philippine Constabulary was a gendarmerie-type military police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Police. It was created by the American occupational government to replace the Spanish colonial Guardia Civil, happened on the 19th century history of the Philippines. It was the first of the four branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. On January 29, 1991, it was merged with the Integrated National Police to form the Philippine National Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine–American War</span> Armed conflict (1899–1902)

The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, was fought between the First Philippine Republic and the United States from February 4, 1899, until July 2, 1902. Tensions arose after the United States annexed the Philippines under the Treaty of Paris at the conclusion of the Spanish–American War rather than acknowledging the Philippines' declaration of independence. The war can be seen as a continuation of the Philippine struggle for independence that began in 1896 with the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Visayas State University</span> Public university in Iloilo, Philippines

West Visayas State University is a public normal research university located in La Paz, Iloilo City, Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It was established in 1924 as Iloilo Normal School under the tutelage of the Thomasites, but dates back its founding in 1902 as a part of Philippine normal school system with Iloilo National High School established by the American colonial government. It later became West Visayas State College in 1965 and acquired its university status becoming West Visayas State University in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Americans in the Philippines</span> Ethnic group in the Philippines

American settlement in the Philippines began during the Spanish colonial period. The period of American colonialization of the Philippines was 48 years. It began with the cession of the Philippines to the U.S. by Spain in 1898 and lasted until the U.S. recognition of Philippine independence in 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Philippine Republic</span> Self-proclaimed independent republic, 1899–1902

The Philippine Republic, now officially remembered as the First Philippine Republic and also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire (1896–1898) and the Spanish–American War between Spain and the United States (1898) through the promulgation of the Malolos Constitution on January 22, 1899, succeeding the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. It was formally established with Emilio Aguinaldo as president. It maintained governance until April 1, 1901.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Philippines (1898–1946)</span>

The history of the Philippines from 1898 to 1946 is known as the American colonial period, and began with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898, when the Philippines was still a colony of the Spanish East Indies, and concluded when the United States formally recognized the independence of the Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946.

The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine Normal University</span> Public university in the Philippines

The Philippine Normal University is a public coeducational teacher education and research university in the Philippines. It was established in 1901 through Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission "for the education of natives of the Islands in the science of teaching". It has campuses in Manila, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Pursuant to Republic Act No. 9647, it is the country's National Center for Teacher Education.

During the United States colonial period of the Philippines (1898–1946), the United States government was in charge of providing education in the Philippines.

USAT <i>Thomas</i> Transport ship in service of the U.S. Army from 1898 to 1927

USAT Thomas was a United States Army transport ship purchased on 26 July 1898 for Spanish–American War service. Thomas served with the Army Transport Service (ATS) until retired in 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taft Commission</span> Legislature of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands

The Taft Commission, also known as the Second Philippine Commission, was established by United States President William McKinley on March 16, 1900, following the recommendations of the First Philippine Commission, using presidential war powers while the U.S. was engaged in the Philippine–American War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Consolacion College Manila</span> Roman Catholic college in Manila, Philippines

La Consolación College Manila is a private Catholic basic and higher education institution run by the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation (ASOLC) in the City of Manila, Philippines. It was founded by the Augustinian Sisters in 1902 when the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines offered ten Filipino nuns from the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation a house near the Basilica of San Sebastián.

Cecilio Kapirig Putong was a Filipino scholar, educator, writer, UNESCO fellow, author. In 1952, he became the Secretary of Education of the Philippines. He was one of the most brilliant minds from Bohol having a reported IQ of 138 based on Otis Intelligence Scale Test.

Abraham Van Heyningen Hartendorp (1893–1975), commonly known as A.V.H. Hartendorp or A.V. Hartendorp, was an American writer, editor, Thomasite, and Filipinologist. He was the founder and publisher of the Philippine Magazine, a magazine formerly known as Philippine Education Magazine when it was still a publication intended for public school teachers in 1904. When Hantendorp bought the magazine in 1924, he officially changed its name into Philippine Magazine and became the "most prestigious outlet" for aspiring writers in the Philippines. In 1930, Hartendorp dedicated the magazine to "full recording of all phases of the present cultural development of the Philippines" up to "the Philippine Renaissance." Hartendorp catered the Philippine Magazine to an "urban-based audience of educated elites", particularly "schoolteachers, employees of the government, professionals, and university intellectuals". Hartendorp was also a former editor of The Manila Times newspaper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Sumulong</span>

Juan Marquez Sumulong Sr. was a Filipino former revolutionary, journalist, lawyer, educator and politician from the province of Rizal. He was the president of the opposition party which ran against Manuel L. Quezon's Nacionalista Party in the 1941 presidential election of the Philippine Commonwealth. He is also the maternal great-grandfather of former President Benigno Aquino III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camarines Sur National High School</span> Public high school in Camarines Sur, Philippines

The Camarines Sur National High School, also called CamHi, is the oldest national high school in Camarines Sur and one of the biggest public secondary schools in the Bicol Region, Philippines, having a student population of 11,899 in the school year 2021–2022. It was established in 1902.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands</span> 1898–1902 U.S. administration of the Philippines

The United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands was a military government in the Philippines established by the United States on August 14, 1898, a day after the capture of Manila, with General Wesley Merritt acting as military governor. During military rule (1898–1902), the U.S. military commander governed the Philippines under the authority of the U.S. president as Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces. After the appointment of a civil Governor-General, the procedure developed that as parts of the country were pacified and placed firmly under American control, responsibility for the area would be passed to the civilian.

1901 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in 1901

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarlac National High School</span> Public high school in Tarlac, Philippines

Tarlac National High School, formerly Tarlac High School, is a public high school in Tarlac City, Philippines. Established on September 2, 1902 by American Thomasites, it is one of the oldest public high school system in the country. It is one of the largest secondary schools in the region with over 7,000 student population.

Esteban Abada was a Filipino politician and top official.

References

  1. 1 2 Zimmerman, Jonathan (2006). Innocents Abroad: American Teachers in the American Century. USA: Harvard University Press. ISBN   978-0-674-02361-1.
  2. ↑ Kirkwood, Patrick M. (2014). ""Michigan Men" in the Philippines and the Limits of Self-Determination in the Progressive Era". The Michigan Historical Review. 40 (2): 63–86. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  3. ↑ karnow, In Our Image, Page 85
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Karnow, Stanley. In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines , Ballantine Books, Random House, Inc., March 3, 1990, 536 pages, ISBN   0-345-32816-7
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "The Thomasites:An Army Like No Other", News.Ops.gov.ph October 12, 2003 Archived May 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Thomas Sites In the Philippines Remarks by US Embassy Charge d'Affaires Michael E Malinowski In Honor of the Thomasites Centennial Memorial Program at the American Teacher's Plot North Cemetery Manila on August 26 2001 (from the U.S. Peace Corps Online Website) February 17 2003". Archived from the original on December 13, 2005. Retrieved January 25, 2006.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Tan, Michael L. "The Thomasite Experiment", Homestead.com, September 03, 2001". Archived from the original on September 5, 2005. Retrieved January 25, 2006.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Quezon National High School: A Century Hence" from Quezon National High School Website (archived from the original on February 12, 2007).
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "International Book Project: Thomasites and Thomasites Centennial Project from U.S. PeaceCorpsOnline.org, June 28, 2001". Archived from the original on December 18, 2005. Retrieved January 25, 2006.
  10. 1 2 "Rivera, Guillermo Gómez. "The Thomasites Before and After" (eManila:05 August 2001), date retrieved: 27 May 2007". Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2007.
  11. ↑ Knapp, Adeline (1902). The Story of the Philippines. New York: Silver, Burdett and Company. ISBN   978-1-4374-3559-7.
  12. ↑ Adeline Knapp (1902). The Story of the Philippines: For Use in the Schools of the Philippine Islands. Silver, Burdett and Company.
  13. ↑ "Innocents Abroad: American Teachers in the American Century". harvardpress.typepad.com/. October 19, 2006. Archived from the original on September 9, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  14. ↑ "AN ACT ESTABLISHING A DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND APPROPRIATING FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND MAINTENANCE OF A NORMAL AND A TRADE SCHOOL IN MANILA, AND FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND MAINTENANCE OF AN AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL IN THE ISLAND OF NEGROS FOR THE YEAR NINETEEN HUNDRED AND ONE". Philippine Commissiondate=January 20, 1901. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2023– via Philippine Supreme Court E-library.
  15. ↑ "The Thomasites' Centennial Project: Launching of a Book on Thomasites and Photographs (Book Title:"Back to the Future: Perspectives on the Thomasites Legacy to the Philippines";Author Name: Corazon D. Villareal, Professor, University of the Philippines, U.S. Embassy (Manila) Website, August 15 2003". Archived from the original on September 23, 2006. Retrieved January 25, 2006.
  16. ↑ John, Marius (1940). Philippine Saga. New York: House of Field, Incorporated.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.