Re-education Needed, All May Apply

There is a high need to re-educate and decolonize the minds and all should apply. There was an apparent correlation between the readings from this week and my experience at the Philippines Women’s University (PWU) last Thursday. We had the opportunity to meet with Angel Velasco Shaw, Associate Professor in the Communication Arts Department at PWU, and a group of her students. There was a conversation that was emotionally deep and spiritually draining. The dynamics of the dialogue became more of a panel discussion with us answering questions from PWU students and at one point, even a professor.  

Unfortunately we did not get the opportunity to discuss how the movie that we watched called Slow Jam King (Mallorca, 2006) was woven into this week’s overwhelming theme of education and colonial mentality.

There was clear identity issues being faced by the character Jojo as he is physically dislocated from his motherland of the Philippines, part of the large diaspora and attempting to hold on to Filipino culture to no prevail (Constantino, 1982, pg. 191). At the same time he is adopting what some may refer to as Black culture and participating in appropriation and assimilation.  The movie touched base on cultural appropriation of dance that Jojo refers to as hip huntry, White American love by his mother, and how songs are either an influence or become stolen gems and claimed by others.    

    Identity is in constant context and influenced by multiple forms of media, education and always by a dominant culture (Banks, 1996, pg 4). This covers the overall them of this reflection and analysis of this week’s readings and experiences as well as previous readings and we will explore how identity is constructed internally and perceived externally based on mis-education and a long standing history of colonialism and white supremacy.

The phrase “pure American” kept surfacing during our panel discussion and whether consciously or unconsciously, fostered certain attitudes (Constantino, 1982, pg 180) and preferences towards Americans. It was like a study straight out of David and Okazaki’s essay in which the authors explain that those with colonial mentality (CM) automatically and uncritically prefer anything American (David & Okazaki, 2006, pg 241). It was assumed that American equated to being White. One student, instead of asking a question, made a statement that “pure Filipinos” have bridged noses, not wide ones, almost citing the study word for word in the CM study (David & Okazaki, 2006, pg 245).

This is due to the mis -education of the students and professors as their thoughts and image of what a "pure American" is as it is based on knowledge that is acquired through news, films, and other cultural materials (Constantino, 1982, pg 191). I believe that this is directly correlated with how identity is constructed as "identity dictates how individuals see themselves as both as a person and in relation to ideas, natuure, and others" (Andresen, 2012, pg 67). The students were asking questions and wanting the "pure American" students to answer perpetuating that whites "hold truth, not just perspectives" (Andresen, 2012, pg 71). It also showed a colonial mentality that seeked approval or confirmation from white people that they (Filipinos) have become "remade and resemble what Americans were used to" (Paulet, 2007, pg 179). 

            This week has taught me a lot. On a personal and academic level. In my previous blogs I have been strictly business, but this week was more personal. I have never felt so invalid or invisible and it was clear that I was not the “preferred race”. To be disregarded as not being “pure American” was psychologically devastating for me and further isolated me from my classmates. Some would argue that this is a negative but in reality I am having a hard time coping with cultural conflicts and social pressures to assimilate (Andresen, 2012, pg 77).

The consensus of the readings, the authors and my experience at PWU is that education and language are crucial in identity construction, knowledge formation and colonial mentality. There is a high demand and need for re-education and all should apply. The question is, how do you get those who are most qualified (highest levels of colonial mentality) to apply? And once the process of decolonizing happens, how do we get the colonizer to do so as well? 

References

Andresen, T. (2012). Knowledge construction, transformative academic knowledge, and Filipino

American identity and experience, In E. Bonus & D. Maramba, (Eds.) The “other“ students: Filipino Americans, education, and power. (pp. 65-87). Charlotte, NC: IAP.

Constantino, R. (1982). Miseducation of Filipinos. In I In A.V. Shaw & L.H Francia, Vestiges of 

             war. (pp. 177-192). New York: New York Press.

David, E.J.R., & Okazaki, S. (2006). The Colonial Mentality Scale (CMS) for Filipino

Americans: Scale construction and psychological implications: A review and recommendation. Journal of Counseling Psychology 53 (1), pp. 241-252.

Mallorca, S. (2006) Slow Jam King. Motion Picture. USA: Woo Art International

Paulet, A. (2007). To change the world: The use of American Indian education in the

            Philippines. History of Educational Quarterly, 47 (2), 173-202.