The Legacy of IgnorantismPardo de Tavera, T. H. (Trinidad Hermenegildo)
Religion
The Legacy of Ignorantism
Pardo de Tavera, T. H. (Trinidad Hermenegildo)
Church and education -- Philippines; Education -- Philippines
"All the seasoned fruit of those lay schools" said the prelate
referring to the crimes and the corruption of customs which he
mentions! An accusation of such nature must be proven by him who
accuses. The worst part of it is that such accusations are made and
later with the recommendation that they be made to sink into heads of
parents or heads of families. The faithful will consider as true the
affirmations that come from the lips of their priests, so that such
propaganda promotes in the worst manner a feeling against a government
accused of fomenting criminality in its schools. The prelate does
not enjoin violence; but at such times as these, violence naturally
results from an adequate preparation of the popular conscience; and
when a people believes that the Government, the educator no less,
is the cause of the thieves, the murderers, the corruptors, a people
is truly dead who does not seek to wipe out by any means such a
government, especially if it is foreign, which corrupts its citizens.
Colossal Transformation
Fortunately, it can be said without fear of erring that such
accusations are altogether false; and if there is anything in the
Philippines which deserves the approval of all worthy conscience,
something which merits not only the gratitude but the admiration
of the Filipino people, it is the organization of public education
implanted by the American people. There is not a single Filipino
capable of reasoning who does not see and understand the colossal
transformation which our entire people experienced by virtue of that
lay education. Not only did the Government organize an efficient
educational system, but it extended it throughout the Archipelago
in such a general way that some European nations which continually
cite the annals of history, would very much like it for themselves;
not only do we the Filipinos find in our lay schools those elements
necessary for our instruction and our education so that we can be
useful individuals to ourselves, and cooeperate in the administration
of our public affairs, but the private schools of the old regime have
changed, have improved, have been transformed, have been placed to
the level where they should, following the standard maintained by
the Government. To deny this is sheer blindness.
A Dominican School in Formosa
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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