CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE LITERATURE FILIPINO STUDENTS

DO NOT READ

ISABEL PEFIANCO MARTIN

This chapter presents a study about the literature young Filipinos read today.
The first part briefly reviews the literary canon, curriculum, and teaching
practices during the American colonial period. The second part details the study
which specifically addresses the following questions: (1) What literary texts are
required by high school teachers in the literature classrooms? (2) What literary
texts are read by Filipino high school students on their own? (3) Is the Anglo-
American literary canon, introduced through the American public school system
about a hundred years ago, still being used in Filipino literature course today?
(4) To what extent does Philippine literature in English occupy the Filipino
students’ literature education? More than a hundred years after American
soldiers first taught English to Filipino schoolchildren, Philippine literature
education today continues to privilege texts of American and European origins.

Introduction
Our sense … of our country is a sustained act of imagination. From that vantage,
it can be said that our writers and artists, who are men and women of
imagination, create our country (italics mine). That is to say: they evoke those
images of ourselves as we live life day and night, those images of ourselves
which we share and by which we recognize our nativity. We are our own best
interpreters of our history and culture because it is we who have lived through
that history and created our own values by which we live (Abad 2003)

Filipino poet and critic Gemino Abad, in the quote above, captures in elegant
language the importance of national literature. That writers and artists “create
our country” is a statement of faith in the role Philippine literature plays in the
formation of national consciousness and identity. Literature is not simply
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 293

inscribed, written, encoded. It is read. And what better place for literature to
unleash its power to create a country than the literature classroom.

Literature Education in the Colonial Period

When the Americans arrived in the Philippines in 1898, they took pains to
undo the knots that the Spanish colonizers left in the country after occupying it
for 300 years. On 13 August 1898, a few months before American forces
officially occupied Manila, American soldiers had already begun to teach in
Corregidor (Estioko 1994, 186). It is assumed that their first lesson was English.
Less than a month later, on 1 September 1898, Fr. William D. McKinnon, the
chaplain of American military forces, opened seven schools in Manila (Martin
1980, 117).
It was no accident that the first teachers of English in the Philippines were
American soldiers. Public education was introduced by the Americans as an
essential component of military strategy. General Arthur MacArthur himself
declared the following about public education:

The matter [public education] is so closely allied to the exercise of military

force in these islands that in my annual report I treated the matter as a military
subject and suggested a rapid extension of educational facilities as an
exclusively military measure (UNESCO 1953, 74)

Throughout the American colonial period, English was systematically

promoted as the language that would “civilize” the Filipinos. It was the
language that the colonizer introduced to the colonized so that the latter would
be able to participate in a society determined by colonialism.
It was educational policy to systematically confine the native languages
outside the territories of formal schooling. Such policy was institutionalized
through the heavy use of instructional materials of Anglo-American origin for
language instruction. Throughout four decades of American public education,
Filipino students were exposed to a canon of literature that included works of
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Washington Irving, Ralph Waldo Emerson, as
well as those of Shakespeare, George Elliott, Matthew Arnold, and the romantic
poets. Meanwhile, Filipinos were using their own language outside the schools.
When the Americans arrived in the Philippines in 1898, the Filipinos
already had a flourishing literature. In the first decade of American colonialism,
with memories of the revolution against Spain still fresh, secular values spread
rapidly as a rejection of 300 years of religious domination. Spanish declined but
English had not yet gained a foothold. Thus, the floodgates of literature in the
native languages were flung wide open. With a newfound freedom of expression
294 Chapter Fourteen

under the American colonizers, Philippine poetry, fiction, and journalism

flourished.
However, in spite of the existence of a wealth of writing by Filipinos,
Philippine literature was never recognized inside the colonial classroom. It was
only during the latter half of American colonialism, perhaps with the
introduction of the readers of Camilo Osias and the textbook of Francisco
Benitez and Paz Marquez Benitez, that the canon in the classroom opened up to
Filipino writers.1
It is easy to understand why Philippine literature was not recognized in the
colonial classroom. First of all, the Philippine literature that flourished at the
beginning of the American colonial period was not in English. As it had been
the policy from the start that native languages were not to be used in schools.2
Philippine literature certainly had no place in the colonial classroom.
In 1925, a comprehensive study of the educational system of the
Philippines (also known as the 1925 Monroe Report) reported that Filipino
students had no opportunity to study in their native language. The report
recommended that the native language be used as an auxiliary medium of
instruction in courses such as character education, and good manners and right
conduct (Board of Educational Survey 1925, 40). In spite of this, American
education officials insisted on the exclusive use of English in the public schools
until 1940. Such policy propelled the English language towards becoming, in
the words of Renato Constantino, a “…wedge that separated the Filipinos from
their past” (Constantino 1982, 12).
Other than language, a more compelling reason for barring Philippine
literature from inclusion in the canon of the classroom was that Anglo-American
literature best served the interests of the colonizers. In this canon, the following
titles were included:
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 295

Table 1 Colonial Literature

Titles Authors
The Song of Hiawatha, Evangeline, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Courtship of Miles Standish
The Alhambra Washington Irving
‘Gettysburg Address’ Abraham Lincoln
‘Self-Reliance’ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe
The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, William Shakespeare
Macbeth, and Julius Caesar
Lady of the Lake Walter Scott
Sohrab and Rustum Matthew Arnold
The Life of Samuel Johnson Thomas Babington Macaulay
Silas Marner George Eliot

A detailed analysis of these texts, as well as the way they were taught to
Filipino children, reveals the combined power of curriculum, canon, and
pedagogy in promoting myths about colonial realities. These texts made natural
and legitimate the illusion that colonialism existed for the sake of the colonials
and not the colonizers.
The first American teachers of English in Philippine schools were products
of a particular period in the history of education in the United States. It was a
period of the dominance of the Latin and Greek classics. English as an academic
discipline had not yet been recognized. In fact, in the latter part of the 1800s, the
study of English in the United States was considered a “feminine
preoccupation” (Graff 1987, 37). In 1894, when the National Conference on
Uniform Entrance Requirements prescribed a list of readings for students taking
college entrance exams, the first canon of literature in English was born in the
United States. This canon guaranteed the place of English as a legitimate area of
study (Graff 1987, 99).
It is also worth noting that, in the United States at that time, the course
English only included literature from England, and not America. Before 1920,
the study of American literature was a “professionally suspect enterprise”
(Lauter 1991, 258). It was only after the first world war, during a period of
superpatriotism in the United States, did the study of American literature
become highly regarded (Graff 1987, 128-130).
In the meantime, in the Philippines in the early 1900s, Filipino students
were already asked to read the works of Longfellow. One would wonder why
these works were included in this colonial canon when in the United States
during the early part of the 1900s, Longfellow was regarded by critics as one
296 Chapter Fourteen

whose poetry was shallow and too didactic (Snyder and Snyder 1953, 583-584).
But beginning 1904, Evangeline was read by all Filipino high school students.
In 1911, The Song of Hiawatha was read by all Filipinos in all public
elementary schools in the country. One Filipino writer notes:

…the exposure of the Filipinos to the democratic virtues was made easier, not
by Burke and Tom Paine and Jefferson and the authors of the Federalist Papers
but a man of avuncular disposition by the name of Longfellow
(Soliongco 1983, 210)

A closer inspection of “Evangeline” and The Song of Hiawatha reveals

themes that directly promote American colonialism. In these texts one can
almost find prescriptions for good behaviour in a colonized society.
In 1925, a report issued by the Board of Educational Survey criticized the
choice of The Song of Hiawatha as instructional material:

Whether Hiawatha is the most valuable selection for a considerable period in

the seventh grade for Filipino children is at least subject to question. The
struggle for the vocabulary is a hard one, the imagery is often entirely beyond
the experience of the Filipino child… (Board of Educational Survey 1925, 240)

What the Board fails to consider is that the poem presents scenes quite
familiar to Filipino children.
The Song of Hiawatha begins in a romantic tone by appealing to readers
who have faith in God and nature. Hiawatha is the son of Wenonah and the god
Mudjekeewis. As a half-mortal, Hiawatha possesses supernatural powers that
make him the leader of his tribe. As leader, he defends his tribe against enemies
natural or supernatural. Given this character, one wonders why Hiawatha
welcomes with resignation the “Black-Robe chief, the Prophet…the Priest of
Prayer, the Pale-face…” (Longfellow 1906,186) whose first message was the
story of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Such scene was quite familiar to Filipino
children: the White Man sets foot on native shores with a message from God
that justifies conquest. It is this theme of colonialism that pervades
Longfellow’s poem.
The same theme runs through Longfellow’s “Evangeline”, which was first
taught in Philippine secondary schools in 1904. The poem was such a favourite
among teachers that students were required to memorize it (Board of
Educational Survey 1925, 377). On the surface, readers may conclude that
“Evangeline” is just a poem about the ill-fated love of Evangeline and Gabriel.
However, a closer look reveals characters whose lives are determined by
colonial conditions. Thus, it is easy to see why Longfellow’s poems were
invaluable tools of American colonialism in the Philippines.
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 297

However, the Anglo-American literary canon, powerful as it might be,

would not have been as potent on its own. Direct exposure to such a canon did
not automatically ensure the creation of the so-called ‘brown Americans’. Such
view presupposes that literature has a direct effect on readers, that the language
of literature is transparent, thus making its meaning immediately accessible to
the reader.
However, the act of reading cannot be reduced to the simple act of
recovering meaning from a text. The act of reading is not the simple process of
decoding some embedded message from a text. Rather, it involves what Paulo
Freire describes as “reading the word-world” (Freire and Macedo 1987, 7),
where text and reader converge to produce meaning. Such view of reading
shatters the notion of the literary text as the sole source of meaning. The reader
is thus empowered; she is made co-creator.
As the act of reading liberates, so too does it subjugate. In the context of the
colonial classroom, there is another force that intervenes in the production of
meaning -- the human agent, the teacher.
In 1904, Washington Irving’s The Alhambra and Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow’s Evangeline were first taught to 1st high school Filipino students.
The Merchant of Venice and other plays by Shakespeare were introduced to 3rd
year high school Filipino students. One wonders how, after only a few years of
exposure to the alien English language, could these students access literary texts
of such complex language and strange culture. The key, of course, is the teacher.
During the early years of public education in the Philippines, memory work
became a popular method of teaching. This was described by one school
principal as the only way by which Filipino students could learn English. In
1911, she wrote the following:
We must insist that every day in his first three years of school life, the
Filipino child has a dialogue lesson, and we must make him commit that lesson
absolutely to memory. For instance suppose his first lesson is as brief as this:

Good morning, Pedro.

Good morning, Jose.
How are you this morning, Pedro?
Thank you, I am very well.
It would not be cruelty to animals to insist on any second grade pupil’s
committing that lesson to memory. (Fee 1911, 114)

This school principal believed that, like American students, Filipinos would
best learn the language, not by reading, but by memorizing dialogues, the same
dialogues American children memorized in American schools. This, of course,
was symptomatic of the practice by American teachers in the Philippines of
298 Chapter Fourteen

importing teaching methods from the U.S. And why not? After all, the
Philippines was a colony of the United States.
This and other mechanical methods of teaching the English language
manifested itself in different pedagogical practices in the public schools:
stressing eye movements in reading, asking students to read aloud, making them
perform grammar drills, and expecting them to recite memorized passages. The
practice became so widespread that in 1913, Dr. Paul Monroe, later appointed
head of the Board of Educational Survey, wrote the following about language
education in the Philippines:

Grammar seems to be too much separated from language work…The method

employed seems to be largely a question and answer method—often combined
with mere memorized work (Monroe 1913,150)

In 1925, the Board of Educational Survey, which conducted a

comprehensive study of the Philippine public school system, reported similar
findings:

Children in upper grades seem to have a ‘reciting’ knowledge of more technical

English grammar than most children in corresponding grades in the American
schools. To what degree this helps them in speaking and writing English no one
really knows (Board of Educational Survey 1925, 239)

This mechanical method of teaching English also found its way to the teaching
of literature. The 1925 Board of Educational Survey noted the following
observation about a typical language-oriented literature class:

Practically an entire semester of the freshman year is given to an intensive study

of Evangeline, a selection that can be read by an ordinary reader in two or three
hours. Obviously this poem is read intensively. It is analyzed, taken to pieces, put
back together, looked at from every angle, and considered in all of its relations.
Such a course in literature is really a course in intellectual analysis of the most
unprofitable kind. This analytic method of teaching literature is sanctified by a
long academic tradition and should provide a splendid training for the literary
critic, but, as a means for developing taste for literature and an interest in
reading, little can be said in its defence.
(Board of Educational Survey 1925, 378)

In 1929, one American school teacher reported the following practice in

literature classes in the Philippines:

The course in literature was a misnomer. It should have been called ‘The
Comparative Anatomy of our Best Works.’ We skinned participles and hung the
pelts on the blackboard to dry. We split infinitives, in much the same manner as a
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 299

husky midwestern youth splits a stick of wood. We hammered the stuffing out of
the compound and complex sentences, leaving the mere shells of their selves. We
took our probes and dug into the vitals of literary masterpieces, bringing their
very souls to the light of day…We analyzed sentences and defined words—in
short, we completed the course, as outlined, including the most important thing:
the correct manner of passing the final examinations. (Graphic 1929, 7)

Such teaching practice — the mechanical, language-oriented approach to

analyzing literary texts — presupposes that these texts are models of good
English and therefore worthy of detailed study. These practices, of course,
resonate with linguistics which is perceived to be a more objective and rigorous
study of language. Thus, with the authority of science, the teachers presented the
Anglo-American canon, not just as examples of good English, but also of great
literature.
During the latter part of American colonialism, the mechanical, language-
oriented approach to studying literature was not anymore popular. The 1933
Course of Study in Literature, which was distributed to all teachers of English in
the public school system, promoted a more ‘literary’ way of reading the texts. In
this document, the objective of teaching literature was described as follows:

… to give our students a literary experience (italics mine)—enable them most

vividly to realize some part of the literary materials read. Success in teaching any
bit of literature is to be measured by the keenness with which the experience
there set forth is realized by the pupils
(Bureau of Secondary Education 1933, 5)

In stressing the literary experience, the teacher was now less concerned about
the linguistic features of a text and more focused on the almost ‘natural’ effect
great literature had on the reader. Students were taught to appreciate literature
by studying the extrinsic and intrinsic elements of a literary text. The 1933
Course of Study makes the following prescription about teaching literature:

the student should have a knowledge of a brief history of English and American
literature touching only on the outstanding figures and the salient political,
social, and literary characteristics of the more important periods
(Bureau of Secondary Education 1933, 56)

In a literature class, studying these ‘important periods’ presupposes that

writing is determined by ‘race, milieu, and moment’.3 Thus, it is necessary to
look into history, biography, or anything external to a literary text that is
believed to have influenced its creation. It may be argued that this approach to
studying literary texts, by focusing on elements extrinsic to literature, was a
logical extension of the mechanical, language-oriented pedagogical practices
300 Chapter Fourteen

which were presented as more rigorous, objective, and therefore, scientific. The
effect, of course, is the transporting of Filipino students to a time and place
unfamiliar to them. In this world, the language is foreign, the experience
strange, the images mysterious. It is a world that is totally alien. However, it is
also a world that represents greatness. In such a setting of high culture and
civilization, would there be room for the more familiar fables, folktales, and
epics? Certainly not.
But it was not just the study of context that drove a wedge between Filipino
students and their own culture. An analysis of the intrinsic features of literary
texts in the Anglo-American canon, in other words, the study of text as text, also
propagated the myth of greatness. The view that literature is an elevated art
form with the ability to naturally express itself is apparent in the following
recommendation of the 1933 Course of Study in Literature:

Lyric poetry should not be studied analytically. Do not try to make the class
"thrill" over it. Instead, read the selection or have it read as rhythmically as
possible, and trust the students to catch the spirit of it (italics mine). In the
advanced classes some analysis may be attempted of the more difficult types of
poetry, some attention should be paid to imagery and to metrical forms, but
neither should be permitted to becloud the spirit and sensuous appeal of the
poem. Seldom should the reading of a beautiful passage be interrupted to explain
an unknown expression. Explain or have explained the dialect and allusions
before-hand (Bureau of Secondary Education 1933, 97)

Literature, in this case, lyric poetry, is believed to possess a spirit, an essence

that can be recovered by the reader. Following such approach to literature, the
teacher is cautioned against interrupting this ‘natural’ process of capturing the
spirit. It is believed that the power to create meaning lies in the literary text and
not in the reader. In a colonial setting, such an approach to the study of literature
is more damaging, in fact, as it reduces the student to a passive receiver, a
receptacle or repository, of meaning.

Literature Education Today

The canon, curriculum, and pedagogical practices that prevailed during the
American colonial period in the Philippines are widely believed to have a
lasting impact on Philippine literature education. However, to my knowledge,
no study about the literature Filipino students read in contemporary times has
been published. The following study is an attempt to identify what literary texts
Filipino students read today. The study specifically hopes to address the
following questions:
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 301

1. What literary texts are required by high school teachers in the literature
classrooms?
2. What literary texts are read by Filipino high school students on their
own?
3. Is the Anglo-American literary canon, introduced through the
American public school system about a hundred years ago, still being
used in Filipino literature classrooms today?
4. To what extent does Philippine literature in English occupy the Filipino
students’ literature education?
The study is a survey of 1,077 male and female freshman university
students (see Appendix A for a more detailed profile of the informants).4 In this
survey, the informants were asked to list the literature they read in high school.
They were also instructed to identify which texts were required readings and
which texts were read on their own. The survey revealed the following results
for literature required by high school teachers in the literature classes.

Table 2 Top Ten Required Readings

Rank Title Author
1 Macbeth William Shakespeare
2 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare
3 Hamlet William Shakespeare
4 The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger
5 Animal Farm George Orwell
6 Julius Caesar William Shakespeare
7 The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupery
8 The Giver Lois Lowry
9 Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare
10 Odyssey Homer

It is interesting to note that of the ten literary texts listed above, five texts
are works of Shakespeare, two are translations from languages other than
English, and the rest are works of American or British writers. Not a single
work by a Filipino writer or an Asian writer is included in the required readings
above. In fact, the list of top twenty required readings (see Appendix B) reveals
that all literary texts are of American or European origin.
The list of literature read by the students on their own reveals the same
trend of reading texts of Western origin. The table below presents this trend.
302 Chapter Fourteen

Table 3 Top Ten Own Readings

Rank Title Author
1 Harry Potter J.K. Rowling
2 Da Vinci Code Dan Brown
3 Angels and Demons Dan Brown
4 The Alchemist Paulo Coelho
5 The Five People You Meet in Heaven Mitch Albom
6 Tuesdays With Morrie Mitch Albom
7 Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien
8 The Notebook Nicholas Sparks
9 Veronika Decides To Die Paulo Coelho
By the River Piedra, I Sat Down and
10 Wept Paulo Coelho

Many questions arise out of the results of the survey conducted. One
question that immediately comes to mind is why, after more than five decades
since the Americans officially ended colonial rule over the Philippines, the list
of required readings continues to be dominated by American and European
literature. It is equally disturbing that not a single text from Philippine literature
in English appears in either the list of required readings or the list of own
readings. For the latter, it is understood that the choice of students for the more
contemporary texts, such as those of JK Rowling, Dan Brown, and Paulo
Coelho5, is a function of the informants’ age group (16 to 19 years old), as well
as of the international popularity of the texts. In fact, all of the texts listed in
Table 3 above have film or TV movie adaptations. Still, not a single Philippine
work is read by the students on their own and this, to me, should be a cause for
concern.
In the case of the required readings identified above (Table 2), it may be
argued that the students surveyed might not have remembered all the literary
works their teachers required in high school. Thus, following this argument, the
students might have had some difficulty listing Philippine works that are
relatively fewer in number than all the other works in English throughout the
world. However, if one considers the fact that Philippine literature in English is
required in all levels in the high school curriculum, that is, Philippine literature
in English is expected to be read from the 1st to the 4th year levels, one would
wonder why the students could not list even a single title. Could it be that the
teachers required very few Philippine works despite the mandate that Philippine
literature in English be taught in all high school levels? Or could it be that the
Philippine works required in the classroom were not excellent enough to be
retained in the students’ memories?
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 303

Because of the absence of Philippine literature in English in the two lists

above, it is tempting to conclude that after more than a hundred years after
Americans soldiers first taught English to Filipino schoolchildren, literature
education in the Philippines continues to propagate colonial interests. The list of
literary texts required by teachers or read by students on their own may be
symptomatic of the long arm of American colonialism on Philippine education.
Could this be the impact of “ideological power” in the sense described by
Tollefson as the “ability to project one’s own practices and beliefs as universal
and commonsense” (Tollefson 1995: 2)? A closer study of the high school
literature curriculum might reveal some insights into the survey results above.
Estrellita Y. Evangelista, Director III of the Philippine Department of
Education (DepEd) Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE), states in an email
interview that literature education in the Philippines “can serve as an avenue in
terms of understanding diverse culture and in discovering universal values
contained in the varied literary selections or masterpieces.” 6 The statement
suggests that Philippine literature education today aims for Filipino students to
have access to cultures of the world through works of literature. This approach
to teaching literature is reinforced through the specific learning competencies
which are the end goals of high school literature courses in the Philippines.
These learning competencies are identified in Table 4 below (a more detailed
list of learning competencies is available in Appendix D).

Table 4 Learning Competencies for High School Literature

Bureau of Secondary Education, Department of Education,
Republic of the Philippines
Literature 1 (1st Year High School): Philippine Literature
1. Show understanding and appreciation of various literary types e.g.
stories, poems, essays, drama (with emphasis on Philippine literature).
2. Discover literature as an art form serving as a means of developing
better understanding of the human condition and the environment.
3. Discover through Philippine literature the need to work cooperatively
and responsibly in today’s global village.
4. State whether a literary piece affirms, modifies or changes one’s value
system.
Literature 2 (2nd Year High School):
Afro-Asian Literature and Philippine Literature
1. Demonstrate understanding and appreciation of the different genres
with emphasis on types contributed by Afro-Asian countries (i.e. haiku,
tanka, etc.).
2. Discover literature as a means of having a better understanding of
human being and the forces they have to contend with.
304 Chapter Fourteen

3. Discover Philippine and Afro Asian literature as a means of expanding

experiences and outlook and enhancing worthwhile universal human
values.
4. Point out the role of literature in enabling one to grow in personhood.
Literature 3 (3rd Year High School):
Anglo-American Literature and Philippine Literature
1. Demonstrate understanding and appreciation of varied genres focusing
on the contributions of British and American literature (i.e. sonnets,
short stories, etc.).
2. Discover literature as a means of understanding mankind (e.g. the
bonds/links between individual and society) as presented in Philippine,
English, and American literature.
3. Pick out worthwhile human experiences underscored in Philippine,
English, and American literature.
4. State the effect of a literary piece on one’s value system.
Literature 4 (4th Year High School):
World Masterpieces and Philippine Literature
1. Show the difference in the generic structure of various literary types
(narratives, drama, essays, etc.) across world cultures.
2. Show appreciation for the significant human experiences expressed in
various types of literary genres in world literature.
3. Express the belief that people can make a difference as highlighted in
literature.
4. Show a keener sense of value for what is worthwhile through exposure
to literature.

It is noted that each set of four learning competencies in each year level
paraphrases each other. In sum, the desired learning competencies in Philippine
high school literature courses are primarily concerned with developing the
students’ understanding and appreciation of the following: (1) literary genres;
(2) experiences of the human individual; (3) human experiences in the larger
social context; and (4) value systems. Given these sets of objectives, it is evident
that the concern for teaching literature in Philippine high schools is primarily to
impart knowledge and wisdom that literary texts contain. Thus, literature
education in the Philippines approaches literature as a storehouse of culture,
implying the transparency of texts as these accurately mirror realities. Such lofty
aims of literature education are, of course, desirable for teachers whose interests
mainly lie in the formation of positive values among their students (also known
as “values education” among Filipino basic education teachers). However, there
is also a danger in a literature education that approaches the act of reading as
simply the act of decoding meaning. For one, such approach may encourage an
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 305

uncritical stance to reading literature, which consequently treats works of

literature as decontextualized and necessarily universal.
When asked about the existence of a literary canon for literature courses in
the high schools, Fernando Pantino, Senior Education Program Specialist of the
Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) Bureau of Secondary Education
(BSE), replies: “There is a list of canon, so to speak. However, the teacher is
given the freedom to choose any literary text that the teacher feels her students
will understand and enjoy knowing their present condition or context in the
school situation where they (the students) belong.”7 The statement highlights the
power of teachers in the literature classroom. Such power, of course, can be put
to good use whenever teachers recognize themselves as human agents, and
partners of their students, in the production of meaning in the literature
classroom.
This study did not attempt to look at how the literary texts in the lists above
were actually taught. However, one wonders, considering that five works of
Shakespeare appear in the list of top ten required readings (Table 2 above), how
Shakespeare is taught in literature classes in Philippine high schools. It would be
interesting to find out what kind of support is made available to Filipino
students so that they could digest the English of Shakespeare. Although English
is considered a second language in the Philippines, the English of Shakespeare
isn’t exactly present-day English. And even if the texts were in present-day
English, not very many Filipino students today are considered proficient in the
language. In fact, it is this perceived deterioration in English language
proficiency that pushes Department of Education officials to take what
Evangelista describes as a “more integrated approach”8 to teaching literature in
Philippine high schools. The integration referred to is the teaching of language
through literature. Following this approach, it is argued that literature provides
not only a wealth of knowledge about other cultures, but also, an exposure to
excellent English. Thus, literary texts are presented as models on which students
must pattern their language.
In the present study, the absence of Philippine literature in English in the
Filipino students’ list of required and own readings (Tables 2 and 3), despite the
excellence of Philippine writing in English, as well as the tendency for a
decontextualized, universalist approach to teaching literature in Philippine high
schools today, may be an indication of what Braj Kachru refers to as the myths
that propagate Anglophone Asia. Kachru (2005, 16-17) writes:

The power of mythology is immense; it is like a linguistic albatross around the

necks of the users of the (English) language. The result is that innovative and
creative initiatives are paralyzed and these result in self-doubt (italics mine) when
there is a conflict with the paradigms of authority. (Kachru 2005, 16)
306 Chapter Fourteen

That both Filipino teachers and students of literature privilege texts of

American and European origins may be symptomatic of this self-doubt that
Kachru describes above. Such doubt about one’s own literature, as well as the
elevated status of American and European texts in Philippine literature
education today is disconcerting. Not only is it reminiscent of the century-old
American colonial education; it is also a preview of the future shape of Filipino
consciousness and identity.

Notes
1
It should be noted that these textbooks were written in English.
2
The native language (Pilipino) was not allowed to be taught in the public schools until
1940.
3
The phrase is associated with Hippolyte Taine (1828-93) which was described in
Raman Selden, Theory of Criticism: From Plato to the Present (London: Longman,
1988) as "the first to elaborate a strictly deterministic history of literature. His first
assumption is that national histories can be explained by `some very general disposition
of mind and soul.’ This elementary `moral state’ is conditioned by environmental factors
—`the race, the surroundings, and the epoch.’ From the resulting disposition arises a
certain `ideal model of man’ which is expressed pre-eminently in literature." (Selden,
1988: 419)
4
The author wishes to acknowledge the invaluable support of her research assistant,
Keith Buenaventura (BS Applied Mathematics, Ateneo de Manila University).
5
The novels of Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian, were originally written in Portuguese.
However, the novels are also translated in English and are very popular in the United
States.
6
The email message of Dr. Estrellita Evangelista to the author is dated December 27,
2006.
7
Mr. Fernando Pantino responded to an email interview by the author on December 27,
2006.
8
This integrated approach referred to by Dr. Evangelista was identified as a teaching
approach that focuses on the development of CALP, or Cognitive Academic Language
Proficiency, in contrast to the development of BICS, or Basic Interpersonal
Communicative Skills. The distinction between BICS and CALP was first introduced by
bilingual education specialist Jim Cummins in 1979.

Works Cited
Abad, Gemino H. 2003. Amador T. Daguio: A Turning-point in Filipino Poetry
from English [online], [cited 16 January 2007]. Available from:
<http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/articles.php?artcl_Id=29>.
Board of Educational Survey. 1925. A Survey of the Educational System of the
Philippine Islands. Manila: Bureau of Printing.
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 307

Bureau of Education. 1933. Course of Study in Literature for Secondary

Schools. Manila: Bureau of Printing.
Bureau of Secondary Education. 2004. Learning Competencies for High School
Literature. Pasig City: Philippine Department of Education.
Constantino, Renato. 1982. The Miseducation of the Filipino. Quezon City:
Foundation for Nationalist Studies.
Estioko, Leonardo. 1994. History of Education: A Filipino Perspective.
Philippines Manila: Society of Divine Word.
Evangelista, Estrellita Y. 2006. [Interview Director III, Bureau of Secondary
Education, Department of Education, Republic of the Philippine, 27
December 2007.
Fee, Mary Helen. 1911. A Learning English: A plea for new methods. The
Teachers’ Assembly Herald. May 9, pp. 113-115.
Freire, Paulo and Macedo, Donaldo. 1987. Literacy: Reading the Word and the
World. Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, Inc.
Irving, Washington. 1928. The Sketchbook. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Kachru, Braj. 2005. Asian Englishes: Beyond the Canon. Hong Kong: Hong
Kong University Press.
Kachru, Yamuna and Cecil Nelson. 2006. World Englishes in Asian Contexts.
Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Lauter, Paul (1991) Canon and Contexts. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1905) The Courtship of Miles Standish and
Minor Poems. London: The Macmillan Company.
—. (1906) The Song of Hiawatha. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1937) Evangeline. Best Loved Poems. Boston:
The Spencer Press.
Martin, Dalmacio (1980) A Century of Education in the Philippines: 1861-1961.
Manila: Philippine Historical Association.
Monroe, Paul. 1913. A Survey of Philippine Public Schools. The Teacher’s
Assemby Herald, May 11, p. 150.
Pantino, Fernando M. Senior Education Program Specialist, Bureau of
Secondary Education, Department of Education, Republic of the Philippine,
27 December 2007.
Snyder, Franklyn B. and Snyder, Edward D. 1953. Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow. In A Book of American Literature. New York: Macmillan
Company, pp. 583-584.
Soliongco, I.P. 1983. On American Literature and Filipino Society. In
Rediscovery: Essays on Philippine Life and Culture, edited by Cynthia
Lumbera and Teresita Maceda. Manila: National Bookstore, Inc., pp. 209-
218.
308 Chapter Fourteen

Tollefson, James W., Michael H. Long, and Jack C. Richards. 1995. Power and
Inequality in Language Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
UNESCO-Philippine Educational Foundation. 1953. Fifty Years of Education
for Freedom: 1901-1951. Manila: National Printing Co., Inc.
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 309

Appendix A
Profile of the Informants by Type of High School

Type of High School

Non-
Sectarian Public
13% 9%

Sectarian
Private
78%

Number of informants: 1,077 male and female students of ages 16-19

310 Chapter Fourteen

Appendix B
Top 20 Required Readings

Rank Title Author Notes about the work

William Play written in England and
1 Macbeth Shakespeare performed in 1606
Romeo and William Written in England in 1593
2 Juliet Shakespeare
William Written in England in 1600
3 Hamlet Shakespeare
The Catcher in First published in the US in
4 the Rye J.D. Salinger 1951
First published in Britain in
5 Animal Farm George Orwell 1945
William Written in England in 1599
6 Julius Caesar Shakespeare
The Little Antoine de Translated from French; written
7 Prince Saint-Exupery in the 1940s
First published in the US in
8 The Giver Lois Lowry 1993
Merchant of William Written in England in 1596-97
9 Venice Shakespeare
10 Odyssey Homer Translated from Greek
11 Illiad Homer Translated from Greek
Mythology: A collection of stories
Timeless Tales published in the US in 1942
of Gods and
12 Heroes Edith Hamilton
13 Inferno Dante Alighieri Translated from Italian
A Separate First published in the US in
14 Peace John Knowles 1959
15 Les Miserables Victor Hugo Translated from French
To Kill a Published in the US in 1960
16 Mockingbird Harper Lee
The Cask of Written in the US in 1846
17 Amontillado Edgar Allan Poe
Originally written in Old
18 Beowulf English in 1110 AD
Tuesdays With Published in 1997
19 Morrie Mitch Albom
Canterbury Geoffrey Written in Middle English in
20 Tales Chaucer the 14th century
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 311

Appendix C
Top 20 Own Readings

Rank Title Author Notes about the work

A series of novels first published
1 Harry Potter J.K. Rowling in 1997; film series follows
Da Vinci Published in 2003; film version
2 Code Dan Brown already released
Angels and Published in 2000; film version
3 Demons Dan Brown already released
Originally written in Portuguese;
first published in Brazil in 1988;
4 The Alchemist Paulo Coelho film version already released
The Five Published in 2003; TV movie
People You adaptation already released
Meet in
5 Heaven Mitch Albom
Tuesdays Published in 1997; TV movie
6 With Morrie Mitch Albom adaptation already released
Originally published in three
Lord of the volumes in 1954 and 1955; film
7 Rings J.R.R. Tolkien series already released
Nicholas Published in 1996; film version
8 The Notebook Sparks already released
Veronika Published in 1998
Decides To
9 Die Paulo Coelho
By the River Published in 1994; film version
Piedra, I Sat released
Down and
10 Wept Paulo Coelho
The Catcher in First published in 1951
11 the Rye J.D. Salinger
The Little Antoine de Translated from French; written in
12 Prince Saint-Exupery the 1940s
Shopaholic Sophie A series of six novels published in
13 Series Kinsella the US beginning 2000
Eleven Published in Portuguese in 2003
14 Minutes Paulo Coelho
Memoirs of A Published in 1997; film version
15 Geisha Arthur Golden already released
Rich Dad, Robert Book that offers advice about
16 Poor Dad Kiyosaki managing finances; published in
312 Chapter Fourteen

Rank Title Author Notes about the work

1997
17 The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien First published in 1937
Deception Published in 2001
18 Point Dan Brown
Digital Published in 1998
19 Fortress Dan Brown
Pride and First published in 1813
20 Prejudice Jane Austen
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read
Learning Competencies for High School Literature
Literature 1 (1st Year High School): Philippine Literature
1. Show understanding and
appreciation of various literary
types e.g. stories, poems,
essays, drama (with emphasis
on Philippine literature)
2. Discover literature as an art
form serving as a means of
developing better
understanding of the human
condition and the environment.
3. Discover through Philippine
literature the need to work
cooperatively and responsibly
in today’s global village
313
Appendix D
1.1 Identify the elements of a literary form
which distinguishes it from other literary forms: short
story, poem, essay, drama
1.2 Explain the characteristics of fables, legends,
myths, folktales
1.2.1 Single out events that form the plot of a short
story
1.2.2 Point out the author’s technique for
characterization
1.3 Determine the text structure of essays
1.4 Explain poetic devices, use of local color,
figurative language and sensory images in literary
forms
1.4.1 Express appreciation for sensory images in
poems
2.1 Express appreciation of one’s identity and
cultural heritage
2.1.1 Show appreciation for worthwhile local
traditions and practices expressed in Philippine
literature and the values they represent
2.1.2 Show appreciation of literature specifically
Philippine literature as a means of highlighting human
rights in varied genres
2.1.3 Express appreciation of literature expressive
of the Filipino identity
2.2 Determine the conflicts presented in
literature (man vs. man, man vs himself, man vs.
institutions) and the need to resolve those conflicts in
a non-violent way
2.2.1 Infer motives, attitudes and values of a
character from what the person does (action/manner),
says and what others say about him/her
3.1 Take note of Filipino cultural values
underscored in Philippine literature
314
4. State whether a literary
piece affirms, modifies or
changes one’s value system
Literature 2 (2nd Year High School):
Afro-Asian Literature and Philippine Literature
1. Demonstrate understanding
and appreciation of the
different genres with emphasis
on types contributed by Afro-
Asian countries (i.e. haiku,
tanka, etc.)
2. Discover literature as a
means of having a better
understanding of human being
and the forces they have to
contend with
3. Discover Philippine and
Afro Asian literature as a
means of expanding
experiences and outlook and
enhancing worthwhile
universal human values
Chapter Fourteen
4.1 Note the values underscored by the writer in
literary pieces
4.2 Distinguish literature as a means of gaining
vicarious experiences
1.1 Distinguish between the language of science
and the language of literature
1.2 Select appropriate details from an essay (i.e.
contrasts, illustration, etc.) used by an author to attain
his objective (to persuade, to inform, to call attention,
to entertain, etc.)
1.2.1 Determine the author’s tone and purpose for
writing the essay
1.3 Point out the elements of plays and playlets
1.4 Point out how the choice of title, space
allotment, imagery, choice of words, figurative
language, etc. contribute to the theme
1.4.1 Explain figurative language used
1.4.2 Express appreciation of sensory images in
literary forms
1.4.3 Show understanding of the text by
paraphrasing passages
2.1 Discover through literature the symbiotic
relationship between man and his environment and the
need of the former to protect the latter
2.2 Demonstrate a heightened sensitivity to the
needs of others for a better understanding of man
2.3 Discover through literature the links
between one’s life and the lives of people throughout
the world
2.4 Highlight the need for a more just and
equitable distribution of resources
3.1 Express appreciation for worthwhile Asian
traditions and the values they represent
3.2 Assess the Asian identity as presented in
Asian literature and oneself in the light of what makes
one an Asian
3.3 Identify oneself with other people through
literature taking note of cultural differences so as to
get to the heart of problems arising from them
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 315

4. Point out the role of 4.1 Discriminate between what is worthwhile

literature in enabling one to and what is not through literature
grow in personhood 4.2 Distinguish as positive values humility,
resourcefulness, self-reliance and the ability to look
into oneself, and accept one’s strengths and values

Literature 3 (3rd Year High School):

Anglo-American Literature and Philippine Literature
1. Demonstrate 1.1 Note the form and functions of different
understanding and appreciation types and subtypes of literary texts
of varied genres focusing on 1.1.1 Point out relationships of time, place, cause-
the contributions of British and effect, general concepts, examples, analogy, etc. used
American literature (i.e. by the writer to underscore the theme of the selection
sonnets, short stories, etc.) 1.1.2 Point out the sequencing of details and
account for such sequencing
1.2 Trace the development of character and
conflict in narratives and dramas, and discuss the
devices used to achieve unity of effect
1.3 Differentiate comedy from tragedy, and
formal from informal essays
1.3.1 Determine the objective of the author and
the means employed to attain them
1.4 Explain the use of dramatic devices
1.5. Single out the devices employed in fiction
and non-fiction works (foreshadowing, flashbacks,
figurative language, etc.) used by the author for
intellectual, emotional and aesthetic purposes
1.5.1 Interpret and explain figurative language
used to achieve certain effects and assess it in the light
of its contributions to the overall theme of the
selection
1.5.2 React critically to the author’s choice of
words

2.Discover literature as a 2.1 Derive from literature values that last in

means of understanding
mankind (e.g. the bonds/links
between individual and
society) as presented in
Philippine, English, and
American literature
spite of changes brought about by science and
technology
2.2 React to the experiences or actions of
characters in relation to real life situations
2.3 Express the belief that people can change
their ways depending on their motivation and
determination as shown in literature
2.4 Analyze how the environment influences a
person’s character and actions
2.5 Deduce recurring themes underscored in
literary pieces
316
3. Pick out worthwhile
human experiences
underscored in Philippine,
English, and American
literature
4. State the effect of a literary
piece on one’s value system
Literature 4 (4th Year High School):
World Masterpieces and Philippine Literature
1. Show the difference in the 1.1 Differentiate between the text structure of
generic structure of various
literary types (narratives,
drama, essays, etc.) across
world cultures
Chapter Fourteen
3.1 Single out the Eastern and Western cultural
values evident in our heritage as a result of historical
development
3.1.1 Express appreciation of Filipino cultural
values and their similarities to or differences from
English-American values
3.2 Underscore the Western values of candid
frankness and humor as presented in British and
American literature
3.3 Stress the importance of task-orientedness
and efficiency as values worth emulating
4.1 React to the worthwhile human values
underlying responses to the situations in literary
pieces
Point out how attitudes influence one’s behavior
journalistic, literary, and scientific selections
1.2 Point out the interdependence of plot, setting and
characterization in narratives to achieve the author’s
purpose
1.2.1 Note the time line in narratives: historical,
flashback, and juxtaposition
1.2.2 Describe the various types of conflict evident in
the selection
1.2.3 Deduce the themes from narratives
1.3 Determine the information map used by an
author in essays
1.3.1 Determine the rhetorical functions and
techniques used in essays
1.4 Pick out the elements that distinguish drama as a
literary form and explain the dramatic devices used by
the writer
1.5 React to the literary techniques and styles (e.g.
choice of symbols, imagery, juxtaposition) adapted by
an author to achieve his purpose
1.5.1 Appreciate the use of imagery and poetic
devices (e.g. figurative language, rhyme, etc.) for
unity of effect
1.5.2 Identify flashback, foreshadowing,
juxtaposition and their contribution to the text
structure
 The Literature Filipino Students do not Read 317

2. Show appreciation for the
significant human experiences
expressed in various types of
literary genres in world
literature
3. Express the belief that
people can make a difference
as highlighted in literature
4. Show a keener sense of
value for what is worthwhile
through exposure to literature 4.2
Bureau of Secondary Education, Department of Education, Republic of the Philippines
2.1 Identify the values reflected in various text
types in world literature
2.2 Show value and respect for diversity evident
in world literature
2.3 Point out how writers build a system of
values through their selection of words and details and
the way they shape reality
3.1 Abstract from literary works how local and
global are interconnected in our daily lives
3.2 React to the idea of “cultural imperialism” in
the global scenarios presented in literature
3.3 Stress the universality of generosity and
service to others as reflected in world literature
4.1 Discriminate between positive and negative
values
Indicate commitment to values pertaining to
humanity e.g. social justice and equality as portrayed
in world literature, and concern for the environment
for sustainable development
(Approved October 14, 2004)