Cultural

Literacy in the
Philippines
Brizuela Neslyn B.
II-BSEd Filipino
Cultural Literacy in the Philippines
• National Commission for Culture and the Arts
It is a government body tasked with the documentation,
preservation, and dissemination of Philippine culture both
locally and abroad. NCAA is addressing this and related matters
is through the establishment of the Philippine Cultural Education
Program, which “envisions a nation of culturally literate and
empowered Filipinos”(NCAA, 2015)
To make cultural education accesible to all sectors of
Philippine society, the PCEP held national consultative meetings,
conferences, workshops, art camps, and festivals on cultural-
based teaching and good governance from 2003 to 2007.
 Cultural Literacy in the Philippines
• Republic Act 10066 (2010).
PCEP has been designated as the body, together with the Department of
Education (DepEd) tasked to “formulate the cultural heritage education
program both for local and overseas Filipinos” that are to be an integral part of
Philippine education in all its aspects.
• Cultural Education and thus cultural literacy in the Philippines is quite a
challenge, given that Philippine culture is a complex blend of many
indigenous and colonial cultures and varies widely across regions, and the
average citizen is almost as ignorant of other Philippine cultures as
foreigners are.
• To point out, consider the question, “What makes something or someone
Filipino?
• The average reader will be hard-presented to pin down a definite answer.
De Leon (2011) argues that this is in part due to a colonial mindset among
Filipino artists that inhibits the full development and realization fo Filipino
artistic creativity- a kind of artistic and cultural creativity that is fully
Filipino.
 Cultural Literacy in the Philippines
• De Leon (2011) coins this propensity for Filipinos to look at their culture and
themselves through Western lenses as the Dona Victorina Syndrome, a kind of
inferiority complex wherein anything and everything natively Filipino is
considered by the Filipinos themselves as being inferior backward and worhtless in
comparison to their Western counterparts, and therefore a source of embarrassment
and unease.
• As De Leon puts it our low self-esteem borders on self-contempt, the results of
which are doubts in the Filipino capacity for achievement, perverse delight in
belittling ourselves, lack of respect and even outright contempt for one another, and
blind dependence on foreign goods, concepts, techniques, approaches, and
expertise (2011).
• The bigggest challenge then, according to him, is the deconstruction fo the negative
self-images and notions of ourselves that we have imbibed over generations
through “ a workable, effective program of education that can make Filipinos more
responsive and sensitive to Filipino dignity, needs, values, and cultural potentials
and assets.”
• For De Leon, it is excellene in the arts-via an expression that is truly Filipino- that
can form the core at national unity. Of course, this remains to be seen.
 Challlenges for Cultural Literacy
in the Philippines
As Applebee (1987) observes interesting discussions on cultural literacy give rise to some
very difficult questions which are particularly important to a multicultural and multilingual
nation like the Philippines.
• What kinds of knowlegde constitute cultural literacy? Is it knowing facts, names, and
dates, or is it something more experiential like being familiar with a story or a particular
song?
• If culture is more “caught than taught,” should cultural literacy be one of the goals of
education? If yes, how does one teach it?
• Whose cultures must we be literate in to be considered “culturally literate”? Who decides
which cultures are included and which ones are excluded and on what bases?
• It cultural literacy education simply a means for the dominant culture to express its
dominance over minority cultures?
• How is cultural literacy to be assessed and evaluataed? How can we know someone is
“culturally literate”?
As of the writing of this book, no definitive answer to these questions exist in the
literature.
 Multicultural Literacy
• As cultures began to mix and change as a result of globalization, conflicts inevitably arise
over indentity, values and worldviews. This situation consequently needs for a literacy
that enables us to quickly and easily identify and resolve such conflicts preferably before
they even begin. This has come to be understood as multicultural literacy.
• Multicultural Literacy as a set at skills and knowledgable is difficult to define because of
how it changes depending on the contexts in which it is discussed for example,
multicultural literacy as defined in American literature is different from how it is deployed
in a more European context.
• In America, multicultural literacy has very strong learnings toward knowing or identifying
the poly-ethnic origins of knowledge with the express goal of fostering equality, diversity,
and social ustice. This is in direct response to the “Euro-centric” and “white-dominant”
traditions of education that in the eyes of American cultural minorities {particularly the
blacks} is a form of racial inustice. This is very foreign to the Philippine context, which
despite having our own deeply ingrained traditions of discrimination, does not have the
same issues of discrimination as in the United States, nor the same amount of hostility.
Nevertheless the fact that the perceived need for the multicultural literacy stems from a
slighted sense of ustice for “the other” {that is, any individual group or culture that another
individual group or culture considers “not of us” for any reason} cannot be ignored in our
attempts to pin down a functional definition of multicultural literacy for ourselves.
 Multicultural Literacy
• Meanwhile, in Europe multicultural literacy comes more in the form of
intercultural communication competence (ICC), which is defined by Dusi, Messehl,
and Steinbach (2014) as a composite of skills, abilities, attitudes, personality
patterns, etc. necessary for clear and productive communication with cultures other
than our own. Similarly, Fantini (2006) defines it as “a complex at abilities needed
to perform effectively and appropriately when interacting with others who are
linguistically and culturally different from oneself.”
• Clearly, the broader and more magnanimous European definition of multicultural
literacy is more fitting for the Philippine context even if the exact definition of
what ICC consists of is still being hotly debated. For the purposes of this book, it
would also be wise to include how ustice contributes to the literacy, that is, there
would be no discussion on multicultural literacy if not for the lack of ustice in a
multicultural discussion or discourse.
• We define multicultural literacy here as the knowledge and skills necessary to
ensure that any communication with a culture different from our own is clear,
productive and respectful such that their differences are celebrated and neither
culture is derpeaned or treated as inferior.
 Multicultural Literacy
• It is important to realize that under this definition, a “different culture” is not ust
limited to “someone from another country,” but could also include someone whose
gender, economic background, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or even sense of
fashion is different from our own.
• The skills and knowledge required for one to be multi-culturally literate are not mere
language skills, since it is assumed that same medium of communication already exists
between two cultures. Rather, true multicultural literacy consists of perspectives,
attitudes, and beliefs about other cultures that affect the manner in which we
communicate and the motives behind our communication, Here are some examples:

1. Be Selfless
An attitude of selflessness- one that is less concerned with how I feel and more
concerned with how I am making others feel- is crucial to multicultural lteracy, as so much
of the offense and conflict associated with the meeting of different cultures is the result of
a “me first” attitude, I should be accomodated, you should be the one to adust to me, I
should feel comfortable with you before I make efforts to make you feel comfortable, etc.
Such selflessness a not instrinctive to people, and is especially difficult when one feels
insecure of oneself and identity.
 Multicultural Literacy
2. Know that good and useful things can (and do) come from those different from
us
Hand-in-hand with a dismissive attitude toward another culture is the idea that
nothing good can come from them. Furthermore, there is a tendency to ignore or
outright dismiss evidence to the countrary. Simply acknowledging that good ideas and
products have come from cultures we might not like goes a long way in preparing our
minds to perceive them as being equally valuable.

3. Be willing to compromise
Any significant interaction with someone from a different culture is governed by
the principle of “He/She wants something, and I want something.” In other words,
cultures do not interact out at pure magnanimity. If both of you are willing to give the
other what they want, well and good. But what happens when one or both are unwilling
to give what the other wants? There must be a compromise: a reciprocal adustment of
demands and expectations to accomodate what the other party is willing to give.
 Multicultural Literacy
4. Accept that there are limits
At some point however, one or both cultures will be unwilling/unable to adust
their wants for the sake of the other any further. Beyond this point, the productivity of
the interaction or walk away, accepting that what you want cannot be had from that
particular source. Attempting to force the other party to adust (when you refuse to do
the same) only results in misunderstanding, hurt, and conflict. The sooner we accept
this, the sooner we can set realistics expectations at one another.
 Issues in Teaching and Learning
Multicultural Literacy in the Philippines
A number of important issues stand in the way of Philippine educators attempting
to learn multicultural literacy for themselves and teach it in turn to others, which
are different from what can be found in Western literature particularly those of the
United States.

Conflicting Requirements for Peace

• When all is said and done, the heart of multicultural literacy is peace among different
cultures-that is productive and non-violent interaction, it is easy to assume that all
cultures value peace to the same degree and are therefore willing to make the same
compromises in order to attain it, but this is not necessarily true.
• Take for example the Israel/Palestinian conflict, which is really a conflict over
territory. Both sides desire peace, but they do not desire it enough to be willing to
compromise. In a very real sense, both sides would rather live in perpetual conflict
with one another rather than give-up their claim to the land which each side believes
is rightfully theirs.
 Issues in Teaching and Learning
Multicultural Literacy in the Philippines
• On a more personal immediate front, I am reminded of an activity a fellow teacher conducted
in her class where she asked her students to write down how they defined “peace” One student
revealingly wrote: “Peace is when I get what I want”

Nationalistic and Regionalistic Pushback

• The increasing demand for multicultural sensitivity, inclusion, and diversity in the recent years
has also given rise to resistance from groups who believe that their identity is being “watered-
down” by the needed compromises.
• Case in point is the very recent proposal of “Ortograpiya ti Pagsasao nga Ilokano” by officials
of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF) in October of 2018. The proposal was met with
intense backlash from group of Ilokano writers and language advocates over the “incompetence
in preparing the Ilokano orthography that did not conform with the existing orthography being
used by the Ilokano writers and experits,” claiming thay the proposed orthography was based
on Tagalog and not Ilokano and that the commission’s attempts to compel the regional
languagae to conform to the standards of the Ortograpiyang Pambansa ( National Orthography)
would “ destroy the identity of the Ilokano language” ( Dumilao 2018).
 Issues in Teaching and Learning
Multicultural Literacy in the Philippines
• In the ensuring online firestorm, one particular individual
commented on how such regional pride is out of step with
modernity, particularly with our need to be united as a country.
• Now this sentiment is consistent with the multicultural literacy
of being able to put aside differences for the sake of a common
goal but notice how for the Ilokanos antional unity [as far as
language is concerned] is not worth the cost of giving-up their
ability to determine the orthography of their language for
themselves.
 Issues in Teaching and Learning
Multicultural Literacy in the Philippines
• Such issue become even more complex and clouded when they
come to a head with economics, social justice and religion. What is
to be done when accommodating the idiosyncrasies of another
culture means decreased economic opportunities for others members
of my culture? What about when we must decide between gender
equality and retaining a venerable historical institution like the Boy
Scouts of the Philippines? What about it, for the sake of peace, one
culture must compromise on its religious values? We might think
that peace is worth it, but what if the other culture believes
otherwise?
 Issues in Teaching and Learning
Multicultural Literacy in the Philippines
• We see here that while multicultural inclusiveness is by and
large a good thing, it comes at a cost. Part of the identity of the
host culture becomes diluted and lost- the inevitable result of
the compromises necessary for it to have some form of
multicultural uderstanding. In effect, pushing for multicultural
inclusion might very well be asking some cultures to decide
which has more values, inclusion or identity?
• We must be aware that these questions are easier to answer for
the culture that wants to be accomodated [ because it wll cost
them nothing]; rather that the one that must do the
accommodating.
 Issues in Teaching and Learning
Multicultural Literacy in the Philippines
The Persistence of the Problem
• On the surface, multicultural literacy might seem to just be a matter of “good
common sense” and understandably so, no one actively desires to experience
discrimination reagarding what they know and what they can and cannot do
simply on the basis of race ethnicity, or in the case of the Philippines region of
origin. It therefore makes perfect sense to collectively refrain from such behavior
under the assumption that “ if you don’t do it to me, I wont do it to you” And
yet, to our horror and shame, the practice persists. Worse we sometimes find
ourselves participating in and ustifying such discriminatory behavior- if only
online and not in real life( as if anything written or posted online is not, in fact in
real life).
• Therefore, the primary issue that educators face in teaching multicultural litearcy
to their students and learning it for themselves is “ Why does this problem
persist?” Or to put it in another way. “ Despite all out advances in science,
technology and culture why is this still a problem today?”
• Boute (2008) suggests that issues of discrimination in all its forms (racial,
religious, tribal, cultural etc.) are really issues of hatred, which she defines
in an educational setting as “the lack of compassion and lack of respect for
the rights of others” and that such hatred mut be tought and its roots msut
be attacked because for as long as hatred exists in the human mind real
peace will be impossible (Vreeland, 2001).
• If this is true, then it leads to some interesting question: For one, what is
the root of this hatred? Boutte |2008| suggests that, at least in an
educational context, such hate is often unintentional but is usually the
result at a lack at education. Now if a lack of education is to blame: then a
lack of education in what, exactly? Is it awareness of the existence of those
different from us? Is it awareness that those different from us are worthy of
respect?
• The farmer is unlikely: Thanks to the internet: we are very much aware of
the existence of people and cultures that are fundamentally different from
us: yet this has done nothing to mitigate the hatred that Boutte speaks of.
The latter question is more promising, but presumes that something exists
in all individuals-regardless of color, language, religion, education, social
status, etc-that is worthy of respect. If this is true, what is the something?
How do you teach it?
• To date, no literature exists within academia that gives a definitive,
authoritative, and final answer to these questions.

The Question of Value

• Another issue in teaching and learning multicultural literacy is better positted as a
question: “Why should I treat people of another culture with respect?”
• It might seem that the answer to the question is a simple one: fpr peace.
But as we have seen earlier, not everyone values peace to the same degree.
What if for a certain culture, it is easier to ust destroy anyone who opposes
them rather than expend the effort needed to come to a mutual
understanding?
• Such statement might sound crass: but only if we believe that we, as a
society, are above such things. How many times have we broken “small”
laws and rules of etiquette-running red traffic lights “because no one is
there to catch me,” or asking a vendor at a flea market or tiangge to list a
different price do the receipt than what an item is worth- because it is more
convenient than to do otherwise” How many times have we been selfish in
our decision-making not thinking about, not caring about its implications
for others? And how many times have we ustified such behavior “because
of the circumstances” or “because everyone else is doing it”?
• In other words “ Why should I value another culture, another society, another person
more than myself and my own” if we subscribe to Dawkins’ (2016) concept ofa
“selfsh gene”—where an a genetic level, the more two individual are genetically
similar to one another the more sense it makes to behave selflessly toward one another
and selfishly toward others who are different –then we can easily frame the issue of
discrimination of cultural discrimination and injusticce as one of both genetics and
survival. This means that the injustice you experience is necessary for my survival,
and therefore it is in my best interests (genetic and otherwise) that I maintain the status
quo—or revene it, as the case may be Education...... (2000) have recognized and
written against such a monstrous perspective –and rightly so—but have also admitted
that when the oppressed are needs from their oppression, they invetably become the
new oppressions
• If such perspectives seems horrible to us (and they should it is because the question of
the value of humanity, both individually and collectively as a culture makes no sense
without subscribing to some absolute moral standard—one that is true and right for all
people regardless of race, color or creed. But in today society where such absolutes are
reduced to matters of perspective their remains no final and sensible answer to the
question.
 A majority of research on multicultural literacy items from the West specifically the
United States and focuses on teaching to be more multicultural in their pedagogies:
• Learn about other cultures. Banks (1991 a) posist that the first step to teaching
multicultualism is knowing about cultures that are not your own. It follows taht if
you the teacher, know only your own culture then you will be unable to teach
your students to appreaciate a culture that is different from your own.
• Familiarize yourself with how discrimination and prejudice appear in your
own culture. Boutte (2008) and Banks (1991 b) agree that teachers must be able
to identify and confront patterns of discrimination and prejudice in their own
lives before they can teach their students to do the same. For example when
someone you just met syas he or she is from Mindanao, what words immediately
come out of your mouth in response? Do they express genuine acceptance, or do
they betray same long held preconceptions about people from the region?
• As you are, so will you behave. Key to genuine multicultural literacy is core
values—that is, what you, the teacher really believe about people who are
different from your; not the kind of belief that you can just say you posses when
talking to your class, but the kind that determines your behavoir when you think
no one is watching.
Simply put, if you do not truly believe that those who are different have value
equal to your own, it will show, and your students will detect it, it will be seen
in the words you use in the expression on your face, in the change of your
behavior when you think no one can see, etc. The converse is also true; if you
do believe others have value equal to your own, no matter their social class
educational background skin color or regional accent, it will show; and what is
shown is what students will learn.
• Model more, tell more. Young students by nature, will have difficulty in
exercising empathy toward those who are different from them. The ability
is there, but it will naturally lack practice. It is therefore not enough that
teacher tell them to be more compassionate--you, the teacher, must model
for them what empathy and compassion for others look like on a day-to-
day basis.