Ms. World

I learned English like how I learned how to cook – out of sheer enjoyment of it and out of necessity – both reasons however would soon negate each other. I have always had fascination with languages – the elegance of French, precision of German and simplicity of Mandarin, the different kinds of sounds, to be able to create them, and be understood. But I have also been forced, like the rest of the Filipino people, to learn English to survive in the globalized economy. During my time, all subject areas including Philippine history had to be taught and learned in English, Grade 2 students would be fined 25 centavos if heard speaking in the vernacular, and students were considered dumb if they had their grammar wrong.

Things have changed – or so I thought. History is taught in Filipino now, but for a shorter time and not in all regions of the country. Students are no longer fined when speaking Filipino although continue to be punished and beaten for their misconduct. And still, finally, despite the recent scientific discovery of the seven domains of intelligence (and linguistics is just one domain), Filipinos still deride and demean wrong grammar and even wrong pronunciation for an archipelago with numerous ethno-linguistic tribes, and judge the speaker altogether as dumb.

Things have not really changed. There have been revisions in the curriculum but only in so far as there have been generations of nationalist and progressive thinkers (students and teachers alike) who would time and again push for some sanity in the Philippine educational system. Things have turned for the worse in fact – no less than the Philippine President is pushing through an executive order to make English the medium of instruction and shape education to serve the outsourcing needs of foreign corporations. Economic development in this country, according to the medium-term development plan, shall be propelled by call centers and tourism.

Watching 2008 Bb. Pilipinas-World winner Janina San Miguel answer in the Q&A portion of the pageant and after hearing all the half-time analyses and derisive comments on her bloopers, I can only lament how far we have been thrown back by this forced English. It is not only that we no longer enjoy learning new skills and exotic things, we have actually stopped learning. No, it is not Janina’s English that is crooked, it is the Philippine educational system that has produced robots for the world economy. She is not the nation’s embarrassment – it is the Philippine government that has disgraced all of us for all its wrong priorities. In the end, the ‘irregularity’ made by the pageant’s panel of judges in letting Janina win is nothing compared to President Arroyo’s cling to power while her legitimacy as President remains in question.

Oh, well, didn’t Janina say, “Oh, I’m so sorry!” in the Q&A? Guess that is the winning line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKwmseoKFCo