A number of personalities have voiced out their views on James Soriano’s controversial column for the Manila Bulletin.
This essay by Soriano betrays the truth about the continuing colonial character of education, and why Soriano could be considered a victim of such a system which breeds graduates who look down on Filipinos and on the Filipino language. Hardly unsurprising really because the educational system enforces and reinforces that belief from preschool to post-graduate school.
– Tonyo Cruz, famous blogger, writer for AsianCorrespondent.com, in “Philippines: Language and learning—for whom?”
[The issue] also points to a defect in Philippine education, especially in top elitist schools, in overemphasizing written and spoken English above all languages. I know this for a fact. This issue is a red flag and symbolic of the need for educational reforms in the country.
– Carlo Osi, lawyer, writer, columnist for ABS-CBN News Online, in “Ang Mapangmatang Inglisero”
I actually see the backlash as a good sign. It tells me that young people feel strongly about these issues, about language, culture and society. … When I was growing up in Manila, pretty much all the TV newscasts were in English. When I was growing up, we got fined for speaking in Tagalog on campus. Five centavos a word! Well, OK, I hear that still happens in some schools. But I also hear there’s a congressional bill trying to put an end to that silly practice. Progress!
– Benjamin Pimentel, National Book Award-winning author,US-based journalist, in “How my sons lost their Tagalog: Sulat kay James Soriano”
Summing up, Soriano says, ‘I have my education to thank for making English my mother language,’ discounting Filipino altogether. … For a very young person to put himself in a mental box seems too final and unduly conclusive. Doesn’t that rob you of the enjoyment of seeing the multidimensionality of the world? Besides, we know where boxes go—in corners.
– Dennis Clemente, Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist, in “The Filipino boy who doesn’t want to speak Filipino is what, exactly?
