September 6, 2023 • 33 mins
The Thomasites were sent to the Philippines to educate but their labors did not focus on that singular purpose. Carmina and Patch discuss how their work served America’s imperial vision of benevolent assimilation, the possible personal motivations of leaving the comforts of home for an unknown land, and their innermost thoughts about the Filipino students under their tutelage and the communities in which they lived. Learn about “Philippinitis,” how one Filipino spent (and thrived) for years at a Native American industrial school and the fascinating synopsis of a historical fiction novel, “The Thomasite.”
Learn more: A Brief History of The Thomasites, Frederick G. Behner's "Thomasite Adventure," The Thomasite, Educating the Empire: American Teachers and Contested Colonization in the Philippines, Playing Indian, Playing Filipino: Native American and Filipino Interactions at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Victoria Grageda-Smith, The Thomasite, and EMPIRE and EDUCATION.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carmina (00:06):
Welcome to FilTrip, a podcast where we explore
everything fun, weird, and inbetween about the Philippines.
And now a quick shout out.
Check out Manila Candle. ManilaCandle features Filipino
inspired scents like Tagaytay,Palawan, Ube Halaya and Buco
(00:28):
and Mango. They also have funones like Ay Nako and Bahala Ka
Sa Buhay Mo.
Patch (00:35):
Enjoy their car fresheners, wax melts and
merchandise too. Visitmanilacandle.com and take a
trip to the Philippines throughtheir scents.
Carmina (00:46):
Back to our show.
Patch (00:48):
Today's trip is a round trip when we talk about
historical facts and thingsthat connect to back. In this
episode, we'll be talking aboutThomasites who arrived in
Manila on August 21st, 1901, toestablish a new public school
system in the Philippines.
Carmina (01:07):
I remember a conversation we had a while
back Patch when we werereflecting on why our
grandparents, and to someextent even our parents, were
fluent in Spanish. And somehowit skipped us.
Patch (01:21):
Right.
Carmina (01:22):
And this arrival of the Thomasites was really
pivotal in basically erasingSpanish from the educational
curriculum, making English theprimary medium of education in
the Philippines. But it reallywasn't just education, it was
also in religion, business, andeveryday life.
Patch (01:44):
When the Thomasites arrived, there was an existing
school system, and 45% of thepopulation nationwide was
literate, almost half. And infact, in Manila it was 50%. So
it's not true that, you know,we were this population of
(02:04):
uncivilized peoples who areilliterate. Yeah.
Carmina (02:08):
That's how we were portrayed in America, to drum
up public support for America'simperialistic aims. So a lot of
propaganda was circulating inthe US to portray us as a
people to be saved.
Patch (02:24):
President McKinley declared that he wanted
American forces to gainFilipino's confidence, respect,
and affection, and demonstratethat America's purpose was
benevolent assimilation. So theArmy began intervening in civic
affairs in the Philippines togain public support for the US
(02:47):
presence in the country, andhad already opened a number of
schools even before theThomasites arrived.
Carmina (02:54):
Our first teachers really were military personnel,
correct? But that wasn'tsustainable because there's
only so many military personnelwho can act as teachers. And so
this whole program wasconceived to Americanize the
entire Philippine Islands.
Patch (03:10):
On July 23rd, 1901, the United States Army Transport
Thomas, or the USAT, Thomasleft San Francisco, California.
It was manned by a crew ofabout 300 men and carrying
about 350 male teachers and 200female teachers, a few wives,
(03:32):
and about 30 children. The shipfirst anchored in Honolulu,
Hawaii to replenish suppliesand refuel, and also the
Thomasites used that time as amini vacation to tour the
islands before the shipcontinued across the Pacific
Ocean, eventually arriving inManila Harbor on August 21,
(03:56):
1901.
Carmina (03:57):
So Patch, they apparently went on an excursion
of San Francisco's Chinatown toprepare them for coming to the
Philippines , becausethey really didn't have a lot
of knowledge.
Patch (04:09):
Right? And I believe some of them even went to a ,
uh, particular science fair?
Carmina (04:15):
Yeah, the Pan-American Exposition of July 15, where
there was a Filipino villagethat was part of the
attractions.
Patch (04:24):
. I can just
imagine how we were portrayed.
Carmina (04:28):
So you mentioned that they were on the US Army
Transport Thomas, which is whythey're called the Thomasites.
They're named after that shipthat they arrived on. But of
course, they weren't the onlyeducators that came to the
Philippines. There were wavesand waves of them that arrived
during the entire Americancolonization period, and they
(04:49):
were all called Thomasites. Ithink it was also noteworthy
that their arrival was justfour months after the capture
of Emilio Aguinaldo. From apolitical standpoint, it was
really crucial that this wasexecuted very quickly, because
if you remember in theIndependence episode, Theodore
Roosevelt at that time wantedto turn the tide of public
(05:13):
sentiment in America towardsthe idea of American
imperialism. He said that whiteAmerican men were honor bound
to lift the Philippines out ofsavagery and into civilization.
So Patch , why don't we talkabout the background of the
educators that were on theUSAT, Thomas.
Patch (05:33):
Generally speaking. I know that they came from
different backgrounds. Ofcourse, some of them were
teachers, but some of them hadreligious backgrounds, and some
of them had their background inmusic, and in fact, whatever
their background was dictatedhow and what they taught in the
schools.
Carmina (05:53):
So most of them were single. Only a third had over
five years of teachingexperience, and a lot of them
had only less than two years,and 20% had none. So Wawa
, those Filipinos whogot that , that percentage, but
maybe not right, because theyprobably weren't jaded yet from
(06:17):
teaching . So thelargest contingent came from
New York, followed byCalifornia, then Massachusetts.
But Patch, there was one guyfrom Michigan, this Michigander
is Frederick G Bhenner.
Patch (06:32):
He was the pastor who focused in incorporating
Christian ideals into hiscurriculum.
Carmina (06:38):
Before I go into him.
Patch (06:39):
Mm-hmm. < affirmative>,
Carmina (06:40):
They were deployed without a formal and
established curriculum. Andsince they also had varying
levels of educationalachievement, they delivered
different levels of quality intheir instruction. , as
you said, some like Bhener washeavy on the religion, but
someone who was a music lovercould be focused on singing and
(07:00):
dancing . And whichclassroom would you rather be
in . In any case,Bhener kept diaries, very
detailed ones. And they wereimportant in understanding
perspectives of Thomasites likehimself. Equally important, his
students' essays also survived,and they also revealed a lot
(07:22):
about how he taught theseessays, though also revealed a
little bit of a sad side,because one of the lessons he
apparently instilled in hisstudents, according to a former
student, was the notion thatFilipinos were uncivilized and
that the Americans werespreading a new superior and
(07:43):
civilized order. So accordingto the student, the feeling of
being inherently inferiorbecame deep seated . And you
can see this being replicatedacross the Philippines, right?
If someone like Bhener had thismission and really took it
seriously that he was a tool ofthe imperial government, it
(08:04):
became propagated in ourcollective psyches.
Patch (08:08):
So I also wanted to add another Thomasites that I came
across.
Carmina (08:13):
Mm-hmm.
,
Patch (08:14):
Walter Marquardt , I'm sorry if I'm butchering his
last name, but he was aThomasite who chronicled most
of the events of his teachingthrough photography. And in
fact, a lot of Thomasites usephotography, a kind of proof to
show the progress of theFilipinos being civilized. So
(08:36):
for example, there was aparticular photo of a little
girl from the Ifagao tribe whowas working on a sewing machine
while a mother with a blouseand a skirt looked over her
showing that the youngsters andtheir communities were being
taught the proper ways todress.
Carmina (08:54):
That underscores that they weren't just teaching, you
know, the usual subjects,right? But was a way for the
American teachers to show theFilipinos what proper clothing
should look like. So it was aslow and steady brainwash, I
guess, so to speak.
Patch (09:14):
Right. And I did want to add just another Thomasite,
Euretta A. Hoyles, whodescribed how the school day
began with teaching Americanfolklore tunes and prayer.
Instead of teaching Filipinoschool children their folklore
and songs, they were teachingAmerican folklore and songs.
(09:34):
And so that is just another wayto say that in order to be
civilized, you had to beAmerican.
Carmina (09:42):
Since we're naming notable Thomasites, I wanted to
mention someone, but I have tomention it in the context of
Black Americans. So as we heardearlier , Theodore Roosevelt's
speech was very heavilyweighted on white American men.
However, in spite of this verystrong language about whiteness
(10:03):
and maleness, there wereactually 11 men and three women
who were black Americans aspart of this group. And on the
topic of the black Thomasites,it was interesting because they
were, as we know, experiencingintense discrimination,
especially in the South. Andtheir participation in this
program was apparently veryheavily debated. But a lot of
(10:28):
them really fought for a placein this program because it was
an opportunity for them to sortof reposition themselves in the
Philippines. They were able toclaim themselves as Americans
first, which was a verydifficult thing for them to
assert in white America. Theywere also said to have been
very sympathetic to theFilipinos because of the
(10:50):
similarities from a race andequality perspective. So they
were able to draw a direct linebetween their racial oppression
in America and the imperialmandate in the Philippines. So
that influenced how they taughtas well. I mean, it's a shame
that there were only 14 ofthem, right? They probably
imparted a lot of what theAmerican ideals of equality and
(11:14):
democracy should really be, asopposed to the perspectives of
the white Thomasites. So therewas one who became the most
famous, and his name is CarterG. Woodson. When he returned to
America, he founded theAssociation for the Study of
Negro Life and history, andeventually became known as the
(11:36):
Father of Black history.
Patch (11:39):
Wow. And he was a Thomasite in the Philippines?
Carmina (11:42):
He was, and he apparently tried to go back,
but for a variety of reasons hecouldn't. And instead
established a very strongfoundation of black history.
Patch (11:53):
You talked about a marginalized sector in American
society. Did you come acrossany information about the other
marginalized sector of Americansociety, which are the women?
Carmina (12:05):
That was also a huge debate because they weren't
considered strong enough forthe colonial work, and that
their bodies weren't suited totropical climates. In fact,
doctors came up with a diseasecalled Filipinitis, did you
know this
Patch (12:24):
? No. I mean , I
shouldn't be laughing, but what
is that?
Carmina (12:29):
I mean, it's just so ridiculous. You have to laugh.
It was characterized by lack ofenergy and focus, which doctors
said, white women wereparticularly in danger of
contracting and supposedly evenaffected their monthly periods.
(12:50):
,
Patch (12:50):
Wait, I have Filipinitis.
Carmina (12:53):
. Are you sure
It's not just menopause?
Patch (12:58):
?
Carmina (13:00):
But anyway, that was a fascinating piece of , uh,
facts to me. And I'm puttingfacts in air quotes,
Patch (13:09):
, although that
image of these white women
teachers existed that way, alot of the imagery of the
Thomasites kind of showed thesewomen as mothers to the
Filipino citizens who wereportrayed somehow as the unruly
children in need of thefamily's direction and
(13:32):
instruction.
Carmina (13:33):
And in a way, a lot of these women too, it was a
chance for them to repositiontheir hierarchy in society in
the Philippines, right? Becausethey were so marginalized in
the US, they brought some ideasand practices to the
Philippines that were even moreadvanced than what was
happening in America. So I'llgive you one example. Women
(13:54):
teachers encouraged sports intheir female students.
Patch (13:58):
Oh, right.
Carmina (13:59):
Filipino girls played tennis, basketball, croquet
golf, horseback riding, andothers. While their American
counterparts participation insports was not yet common in
America during the same period.
So sports became so importantto Filipino girls.
Patch (14:19):
There was actually a girl's baseball team that was
established. They were wearingobviously the classic American
baseball uniforms, but Ibelieve there was a picture
with the girl's baseball team.
And these were actually Morosor Muslim Filipinos from
Southern Philippines.
Carmina (14:39):
So patch, in the beginning, we said that the
Thomasites transformed oureducational system. But the way
they used it was not uniquethough. It's so interesting
because they really took ideasfrom the European model of
colonialism, including theirown attempts. So an example of
this is how they taught theNative Americans. A man named
(15:03):
David Barrows, w ho w as acentral figure. He was an
anthropologist and had a deepinterest in the life and
customs of Native Americans.
And he did extensive researchand collaboration with the
Native American tribes. He wasappointed by President Taft as
chief of the Bureau ofNon-Christian Tribes of the
Philippine Islands, and thenbecame the general
(15:27):
superintendent of education. Soin that position, he
reorganized the entireeducational system and believed
that many parts of it needed tobe patterned after the Indian
services in America.
Patch (15:41):
Prior to David Barrows, president Taft actually
nominated a certain FredAtkinson, and the goal was
preparing Filipinos forself-government. Noteworthy, is
that Atkinson used the blackeducational system in the
United States as a model foradvancing education in the
Philippines, emphasizing onprimary and industrial
(16:06):
education. However, Taftthought that the Filipinos
could be more than laborers,and that they were born
politicians, which is funny'cause that could be true
as we look at thepolitical landscape now . But
finally, in the fall of 1902,he fired Atkinson feeling that
(16:31):
Filipinos were more capablethan labor, and he then chose
David Barrows.
Carmina (16:37):
So I think that is two sides of the same coin, because
it did persist. This idea ofmaking sure that we were heavy
on the manual and industrialeducation as well. In fact,
this focus on manual andindustrial education had to do
with readying the markets ofboth countries. Isn't that
(16:58):
interesting?
Patch (16:59):
That's very interesting.
Carmina (17:00):
The American government wanted to open the
Philippines to Americaninvestment and export. So
students were taught to producegoods that had a market in
America, like hat and matweaving and basketry as early
as the primary grades, and thenprepare Filipinos as farmers
and laborers also to supply theAmerican market. But I
(17:24):
appreciate that at least therewas thought that this was not
all we were good for .
Right?
Patch (17:30):
Right.
Carmina (17:30):
And in fact, it gave rise to this Pensionado
program. So there was thisPensionado act, it was
implemented on August 26th,1903, and it was a scholarship
program that was to prepare thePhilippines for self-governance
after the Philippine AmericanWar, ostensibly because we know
(17:51):
that it took decades anddecades before they actually
granted us independence. Thegoal was to train highly
educated civil servants and themold of American ideals. The
first iteration of the programwas only open to elite
Filipinos, but over thedecades, it became available
even to ordinary Filipinos. Sohundreds and hundreds were able
(18:16):
to access American education.
It was the largest of its kind.
And from 1903, continued until1943 until it was replaced by
the Fulbright program.
Patch (18:30):
Carmina , did you come across what actually motivated
these group of people to leavetheir homes and travel all the
way to the Philippine Islands?
Carmina (18:40):
A lot of what we've read growing up about the
homicides really portrayed themas these ambassadors of
goodwill for America. Right?
Patch (18:47):
Right.
Carmina (18:48):
And we already discussed how they were really
a tool for the imperial aims ofthe government, and they really
saw themselves as an arm ofthat. However, some of them
were really simply adventureseekers who were looking to
start a new life. The otherfactor Patch was that they
would also earn a much bettersalary than in America,
(19:11):
approximately double. But Ijust wanted to mention
something about their pay. Theywere paid in Mexican silver,
which fluctuated in value. Sosometimes they would lose money
when they converted it intoAmerican dollars..
Patch (19:24):
So that's karma for some of them who had , uh, nefarious
motives for coming here.
Carmina (19:31):
. Right. Then
on the other side of that,
there were people who knew thathaving experience and colonial
education would advance theireducational careers. And in
fact, opened other assignmentsas educational reform advisors
in countries in South America,like Peru, Nicaragua, and
(19:52):
others. And those weredesirable posts. And then as we
talked about in the case of theBlack Americans and the women,
there were also those who knewthat this was an opportunity to
reinvent themselves andreposition themselves in
Philippine society asAmericans. And there were also
a few examples, and I reallyhope that people will be
(20:13):
interested enough to look thisup , who rewrote their entire
personal histories, and in somecases also erased all of their
ethnicity. So it wasn't onlythe Black Americans, there were
also people who werenaturalized Americans, but came
from other countries like theMiddle East who passed as
(20:33):
white.
Patch (20:34):
Some Thomasites chose to assimilate into the local
culture and formed long-termrelationships with their
students and communities. Andsome of them decided to stay.
Carmina (20:45):
You know, what was the other interesting thing? Patch
was of course, they had to livein the communities that they
taught, so they were in veryclose contact with the
Filipinos and the communitiesthey lived in. And a lot of
these unfiltered observationscame through by way of the
letters that they wrote backhome. These writings, the
(21:08):
combination of letters anddiaries that these teachers
kept were very enlightening asto what they really thought. So
some of the things that theydocumented were challenges they
encountered with students. Andthis whole propagation of this
notion that a lot of us wereuncivilized and needed to be
(21:28):
taught civilization throughpunishment. So in the early
days of the implementation ofthe educational system Patch,
there was a lot of physical andverbal punishment being needed
out to the students, butagainst the backdrop of
Filipinos asserting theirindependence. And you know, it
(21:50):
wasn't just one-sided, right?
The Americans had their view ofus. We also had their view of
them .
Patch (21:56):
Mm-hmm..
Carmina (21:56):
As people who were encroaching upon our
independence. So a lot of theacting out could really be
attributed to the Filipinostrying to assert their
independence and their viewsthat these American teachers
are intruders in their lives.
So even from the beginning,there were many examples of
(22:17):
Filipinos challenging theAmerican teachers practices. In
fact, one example that wasdocumented, which I found so
cool, was my province Balayanwas cited as an example in this
book I read titled, EducatingThe Empire.
Patch (22:36):
What happened in Balayan?
Carmina (22:37):
There was an American teacher, Helen Trace , who
slapped a boy in her class inOctober of 1903. The brother of
the boy reported it, but hedidn't report it to the
principal. He instead wentdirectly to the province's
superintendent because theprincipal was Helen Trace's
(22:58):
husband.
Patch (22:59):
Oh, smart.
Carmina (23:01):
So Helen trace's students met and they decided
to strike, which lasted forseveral weeks.
Patch (23:09):
Wow.
Carmina (23:10):
And they didn't just play hooky during this time.
'cause you would think, right.
So what they did, instead, themore advanced students in this
Balayn school took on the roleof the teacher and held their
own lectures to the rest of theclass so they wouldn't fall
behind. So, because this strikewent on and on, apparently, so
(23:30):
her husband transferred somestudents from other sections to
her class, and guess what theydid?
Patch (23:35):
What?
Carmina (23:36):
They joined the strike because of the
controversy, the husband andwife were removed from Balayan
. And this incident led theBureau of Education to
institute rules prohibitingphysical punishment, except
under one condition.
Patch (23:53):
What condition is that?
Carmina (23:54):
If your parents or your guardian permitted it? But
it had to be in writing. And italso led to prohibiting verbal
abuse as well, specificallyprohibiting teachers from
commenting on Filipinostudents' capacities.
Patch (24:10):
I'm sure all these rules were not really explicitly
followed.
Carmina (24:15):
I think it just so happens that Batangas, as we
know, was a very strongproponent for Filipino
independence. I was so proud.
Patch (24:23):
So Carmina, the Thomasites were instrumental in
the establishment of aneducation system in the
Philippines.
Carmina (24:31):
And we feel ambivalent about it. Right?
Patch (24:33):
Right. ,
Carmina (24:34):
on the one hand, there's no doubt that
generations of Filipinosbenefited from this effort,
even though we know that on theother it was a means to one
end.
Patch (24:46):
But thankfully, they did establish many basic and
secondary schools that arestill in existence today. It
could also be said that theThomasites, they are commonly
regarded as the forerunners ofthe Peace Corps, whose purpose
is to develop schools and civicinitiatives around the world.
(25:06):
So that's a very positiveaspect of the history of the
Thomasites in our country.
Carmina (25:12):
And in fact, Patch, a Thomasites was influential in
the foundation and formation ofthe Peace Corps. His name is
John S. Noffsinger, who taughtin the Philippines from 1909 to
1912. He was a senior counselorin the Office of Public Affairs
of the Peace Corps from 1961until his death in 1966. So
(25:35):
there's a little bit of acontroversy about the Peace
Corps, Patch. Not really acontroversy, but something that
happened when they arrived inthe Philippines in 1961. The
first Peace Corps volunteerswere greeted at the airport
with a banner that said,welcome to the new Thomasites.
And the Peace Corps volunteersimmediately rejected this
(25:58):
because they saw themselves asmore respectful of other
cultures and beliefs and didn'twant to be associated with the
imperialistic aims of theThomasites. So, okay . Patch,
let's talk about some trivia.
Patch (26:13):
We talked about how the educational system was
influenced by the way they wereteaching the Native American
Indians in America.
Carmina (26:21):
Mm-hmm.
.
Patch (26:22):
And so the Carlisle Indian Industrial School is the
first off reservation NativeAmerican boarding school, which
was established in 1879. It wasestablished by Richard Henry
Pratt, and he founded thisschool, which was linked very
much to imprisonment andcolonial education right from
(26:45):
the start. Carlisle laterbecame a model for similar
schools across the UnitedStates and Canada. But what's
interesting is there was aFilipino who entered the
Carlisle Indian IndustrialSchool on March 20, 1903. His
name was Esteban Gloria .
Carmina (27:07):
Hmm.
Patch (27:08):
It's the first year that any Filipino student entered
the United States. And duringhis seven years at Carlisle, he
received printer training andparticipated in a variety of
school activities there.
Carmina (27:23):
So he was a pension ,
Patch (27:25):
I guess. Yeah.
Carmina (27:26):
Mm-hmm.
.
Patch (27:27):
So finally becoming even a captain of a junior varsity
football team and a member ofwhat they call the Invisibles,
which is one of the Carlisle'sfour literary organizations. He
was renamed Stephen Glory toreplace his so-called Indian
name and was classified as bothNative American and Filipino
(27:50):
during the term of his school.
And despite the fact that thePhilippines isn't an Indian
tribe, he was referred to ascoming from the tribe of the
Philippines. And there werepictures of a group of Indians,
and he was one of them. .
Carmina (28:11):
Wow. I mean, a
movie needs to be made about
this.
Patch (28:14):
. I
think so.
Carmina (28:16):
Okay. So the us a Thomas, it was the same ship
that Apolline Mabini came inwhen he was returned to the
Philippines from Guam. Well,the funny thing about this is,
at first I thought, oh, werethey on the same ship? But no,
because Mabini actually arrivedearlier than the Thomasites. It
(28:37):
just so happens that they usethe same ship.
Patch (28:40):
Oh, that's funny.
Because some of the researchthat I found mentioned that the
Thomasites were the firstcivilian cargo. But I was
thinking, well, isn't Mabini acivilian? But not really. I
guess they were consideredprisoners of war. Okay.
Carmina (28:58):
Okay. And then the last one that I found, as we
know, we were part of thispackage deal, right?
Patch (29:05):
Mm-hmm. ,
Carmina (29:06):
When the Americans won the Spanish American War, and
in the package deal we're alsoPuerto Rico and Cuba, only
hundreds were sent to PuertoRico in the same timeframe. And
the least was Cuba. Apparentlyonly a handful were sent there.
And I wondered, was it becausewe were the most rebellious of
the bunch?
Patch (29:27):
Apparently we were the more uncivilized quote and
unquote ,
Carmina (29:32):
So patch . In closing, I wanted to talk about a
historical fiction called TheThomasite.
Patch (29:38):
What kind of historical fiction?
Carmina (29:40):
It's by a Filipino American author, Victoria Gerda
Smith . She's a lawyer turnedauthor. She's a first
generation Filipino immigrant.
She was born in the Philippinesand is the eldest of 10
children. And before this, shehad published many other
written work. So if I may readthe synopsis Amid the
(30:01):
Philippine American War in1901, a young teacher from
Iowa, Eleanor Karsten sail onthe US Army transport Thomas to
America's new territory, thePhilippine Islands. In response
to President McKinley's call tohelp implement the policy of
benevolent assimilation ofFilipinos, she joins more than
(30:23):
500 US educators called thehomicides to teach Filipino
children and build a secularpublic school system. As an
alternative to the Catholiceducational institutions
established by Spanish colonialrule, a stopover in the
Hawaiian Islands, and a briefresidency in Manila, where the
(30:45):
homicides await deployment totheir designated school areas,
awaken Eleanor to disturbingimplications of America's
expansionist policy. Sheeagerly welcomes her assignment
to Magayon, home to themajestic, perfectly cone shaped
Mayon volcano when she arrivesthere. However, various
(31:06):
challenges including malaria, acholera epidemic, insurrection
and racial and religiousprejudice test her resolve to
fulfill her missions. Herloyalties are likewise tested
when she unwittingly becomesromantically entangled
with a Spanish Filipinoplantation owner. And his
(31:27):
peasant foreman worse , Eleanorworries. One of them could be
the local leader of theinsurrection. Thus setting her
at odds with the commandingofficer of the US infantry
stationed in town. Even worse,she clashes with the parish
priest as Eleanor witnesses,the ramifications of the US
(31:47):
occupation of the PhilippineIslands. She finds herself the
student, rather than theteacher caught between, on the
one hand, her compassion forher students and Filipinos, and
on the other, her patrioticduty to her country, her
devotion to her vocation, andher increasingly undeniable
feelings for one of the mencompeting for her love and the
(32:09):
scorching battle betweenideology and reality. Eleanor
struggles to balance treadingon a tightrope of volatile
interwoven interests and carvea path forward. Would Eleanor
survive the forces tearing herand her mission apart,
including the people she's cometo love as her own? To whom
(32:30):
would she finally entrust herheart? And what legacy would
she and her fellow homicidesleave for generations of
Filipinos
Patch (32:40):
?
Carmina (32:41):
That was long.
However, I really thought itperfectly describes this whole
story of the Thomasites, .
Patch (32:52):
Maybe we should have just done the synopsis of that
book.
Carmina (32:55):
The book. And with that, that's our episode. We
hope you join us on our nexttrip, o siya, siya.
Patch (33:04):
Ingat. Thanks for listening to FilTrip with
Carmina and Patch. SupportFilTrip through Patreon or
PayPal. And follow us onInstagram and Twitter.
Subscribe at Apple Podcasts,Spotify, or wherever all
podcasts are downloaded.
Carmina (33:23):
Thanks to Filtrip's sponsor Solepack, a functional
shoe accessory bag. Visitthesolepack.com for more
details.
Patch (33:32):
Email us at thefiltrip @gmail.com.
Welcome to FilTrip, a podcast where we explore
everything fun, weird, and inbetween about the Philippines.
And now a quick shout out.
Check out Manila Candle. ManilaCandle features Filipino
inspired scents like Tagaytay,Palawan, Ube Halaya and Buco
(00:28):
and Mango. They also have funones like Ay Nako and Bahala Ka
Sa Buhay Mo.
Patch (00:35):
Enjoy their car fresheners, wax melts and
merchandise too. Visitmanilacandle.com and take a
trip to the Philippines throughtheir scents.
Carmina (00:46):
Back to our show.
Patch (00:48):
Today's trip is a round trip when we talk about
historical facts and thingsthat connect to back. In this
episode, we'll be talking aboutThomasites who arrived in
Manila on August 21st, 1901, toestablish a new public school
system in the Philippines.
Carmina (01:07):
I remember a conversation we had a while
back Patch when we werereflecting on why our
grandparents, and to someextent even our parents, were
fluent in Spanish. And somehowit skipped us
Patch (01:21):
Right.
Carmina (01:22):
And this arrival of the Thomasites was really
pivotal in basically erasingSpanish from the educational
curriculum, making English theprimary medium of education in
the Philippines. But it reallywasn't just education, it was
also in religion, business, andeveryday life.
Patch (01:44):
When the Thomasites arrived, there was an existing
school system, and 45% of thepopulation nationwide was
literate, almost half. And infact, in Manila it was 50%. So
it's not true that, you know,we were this population of
(02:04):
uncivilized peoples who areilliterate. Yeah.
Carmina (02:08):
That's how we were portrayed in America, to drum
up public support for America'simperialistic aims. So a lot of
propaganda was circulating inthe US to portray us as a
people to be saved.
Patch (02:24):
President McKinley declared that he wanted
American forces to gainFilipino's confidence, respect,
and affection, and demonstratethat America's purpose was
benevolent assimilation. So theArmy began intervening in civic
affairs in the Philippines togain public support for the US
(02:47):
presence in the country, andhad already opened a number of
schools even before theThomasites arrived.
Carmina (02:54):
Our first teachers really were military personnel,
correct? But that wasn'tsustainable because there's
only so many military personnelwho can act as teachers. And so
this whole program wasconceived to Americanize the
entire Philippine Islands.
Patch (03:10):
On July 23rd, 1901, the United States Army Transport
Thomas, or the USAT, Thomasleft San Francisco, California.
It was manned by a crew ofabout 300 men and carrying
about 350 male teachers and 200female teachers, a few wives,
(03:32):
and about 30 children. The shipfirst anchored in Honolulu,
Hawaii to replenish suppliesand refuel, and also the
Thomasites used that time as amini vacation to tour the
islands before the shipcontinued across the Pacific
Ocean, eventually arriving inManila Harbor on August 21,
(03:56):
1901.
Carmina (03:57):
So Patch, they apparently went on an excursion
of San Francisco's Chinatown toprepare them for coming to the
Philippines
of knowledge.
Patch (04:09):
Right? And I believe some of them even went to a ,
uh, particular science fair?
Carmina (04:15):
Yeah, the Pan-American Exposition of July 15, where
there was a Filipino villagethat was part of the
attractions.
Patch (04:24):
Carmina (04:28):
So you mentioned that they were on the US Army
Transport Thomas, which is whythey're called the Thomasites.
They're named after that shipthat they arrived on. But of
course, they weren't the onlyeducators that came to the
Philippines. There were wavesand waves of them that arrived
during the entire Americancolonization period, and they
(04:49):
were all called Thomasites. Ithink it was also noteworthy
that their arrival was justfour months after the capture
of Emilio Aguinaldo. From apolitical standpoint, it was
really crucial that this wasexecuted very quickly, because
if you remember in theIndependence episode, Theodore
Roosevelt at that time wantedto turn the tide of public
(05:13):
sentiment in America towardsthe idea of American
imperialism. He said that whiteAmerican men were honor bound
to lift the Philippines out ofsavagery and into civilization.
So Patch , why don't we talkabout the background of the
educators that were on theUSAT, Thomas.
Patch (05:33):
Generally speaking. I know that they came from
different backgrounds. Ofcourse, some of them were
teachers, but some of them hadreligious backgrounds, and some
of them had their background inmusic, and in fact, whatever
their background was dictatedhow and what they taught in the
schools.
Carmina (05:53):
So most of them were single. Only a third had over
five years of teachingexperience, and a lot of them
had only less than two years,and 20% had none. So Wawa
maybe not right, because theyprobably weren't jaded yet from
(06:17):
teaching
New York, followed byCalifornia, then Massachusetts.
But Patch, there was one guyfrom Michigan, this Michigander
is Frederick G Bhenner.
Patch (06:32):
He was the pastor who focused in incorporating
Christian ideals into hiscurriculum.
Carmina (06:38):
Before I go into him.
Patch (06:39):
Mm-hmm. < affirmative>,
Carmina (06:40):
They were deployed without a formal and
established curriculum. Andsince they also had varying
levels of educationalachievement, they delivered
different levels of quality intheir instruction.
you said, some like Bhener washeavy on the religion, but
someone who was a music lovercould be focused on singing and
(07:00):
dancing
in
detailed ones. And they wereimportant in understanding
perspectives of Thomasites likehimself. Equally important, his
students' essays also survived,and they also revealed a lot
(07:22):
about how he taught theseessays, though also revealed a
little bit of a sad side,because one of the lessons he
apparently instilled in hisstudents, according to a former
student, was the notion thatFilipinos were uncivilized and
that the Americans werespreading a new superior and
(07:43):
civilized order. So accordingto the student, the feeling of
being inherently inferiorbecame deep seated . And you
can see this being replicatedacross the Philippines, right?
If someone like Bhener had thismission and really took it
seriously that he was a tool ofthe imperial government, it
(08:04):
became propagated in ourcollective psyches.
Patch (08:08):
So I also wanted to add another Thomasites that I came
across.
Carmina (08:13):
Mm-hmm.
Patch (08:14):
Walter Marquardt , I'm sorry if I'm butchering his
last name, but he was aThomasite who chronicled most
of the events of his teachingthrough photography. And in
fact, a lot of Thomasites usephotography, a kind of proof to
show the progress of theFilipinos being civilized. So
(08:36):
for example, there was aparticular photo of a little
girl from the Ifagao tribe whowas working on a sewing machine
while a mother with a blouseand a skirt looked over her
showing that the youngsters andtheir communities were being
taught the proper ways todress.
Carmina (08:54):
That underscores that they weren't just teaching, you
know, the usual subjects,right? But was a way for the
American teachers to show theFilipinos what proper clothing
should look like. So it was aslow and steady brainwash, I
guess, so to speak.
Patch (09:14):
Right. And I did want to add just another Thomasite,
Euretta A. Hoyles, whodescribed how the school day
began with teaching Americanfolklore tunes and prayer.
Instead of teaching Filipinoschool children their folklore
and songs, they were teachingAmerican folklore and songs.
(09:34):
And so that is just another wayto say that in order to be
civilized, you had to beAmerican.
Carmina (09:42):
Since we're naming notable Thomasites, I wanted to
mention someone, but I have tomention it in the context of
Black Americans. So as we heardearlier , Theodore Roosevelt's
speech was very heavilyweighted on white American men.
However, in spite of this verystrong language about whiteness
(10:03):
and maleness, there wereactually 11 men and three women
who were black Americans aspart of this group. And on the
topic of the black Thomasites,it was interesting because they
were, as we know, experiencingintense discrimination,
especially in the South. Andtheir participation in this
program was apparently veryheavily debated. But a lot of
(10:28):
them really fought for a placein this program because it was
an opportunity for them to sortof reposition themselves in the
Philippines. They were able toclaim themselves as Americans
first, which was a verydifficult thing for them to
assert in white America. Theywere also said to have been
very sympathetic to theFilipinos because of the
(10:50):
similarities from a race andequality perspective. So they
were able to draw a direct linebetween their racial oppression
in America and the imperialmandate in the Philippines. So
that influenced how they taughtas well. I mean, it's a shame
that there were only 14 ofthem, right? They probably
imparted a lot of what theAmerican ideals of equality and
(11:14):
democracy should really be, asopposed to the perspectives of
the white Thomasites. So therewas one who became the most
famous, and his name is CarterG. Woodson. When he returned to
America, he founded theAssociation for the Study of
Negro Life and history, andeventually became known as the
(11:36):
Father of Black history.
Patch (11:39):
Wow. And he was a Thomasite in the Philippines?
Carmina (11:42):
He was, and he apparently tried to go back,
but for a variety of reasons hecouldn't. And instead
established a very strongfoundation of black history.
Patch (11:53):
You talked about a marginalized sector in American
society. Did you come acrossany information about the other
marginalized sector of Americansociety, which are the women?
Carmina (12:05):
That was also a huge debate because they weren't
considered strong enough forthe colonial work, and that
their bodies weren't suited totropical climates. In fact,
doctors came up with a diseasecalled Filipinitis, did you
know this
Patch (12:24):
is that?
Carmina (12:29):
I mean, it's just so ridiculous. You have to laugh.
It was characterized by lack ofenergy and focus, which doctors
said, white women wereparticularly in danger of
contracting and supposedly evenaffected their monthly periods.
(12:50):
Patch (12:50):
Wait, I have Filipinitis.
Carmina (12:53):
Patch (12:58):
Carmina (13:00):
But anyway, that was a fascinating piece of , uh,
facts to me. And I'm puttingfacts in air quotes,
Patch (13:09):
teachers existed that way, alot of the imagery of the
Thomasites kind of showed thesewomen as mothers to the
Filipino citizens who wereportrayed somehow as the unruly
children in need of thefamily's direction and
(13:32):
instruction.
Carmina (13:33):
And in a way, a lot of these women too, it was a
chance for them to repositiontheir hierarchy in society in
the Philippines, right? Becausethey were so marginalized in
the US, they brought some ideasand practices to the
Philippines that were even moreadvanced than what was
happening in America. So I'llgive you one example. Women
(13:54):
teachers encouraged sports intheir female students.
Patch (13:58):
Oh, right.
Carmina (13:59):
Filipino girls played tennis, basketball, croquet
golf, horseback riding, andothers. While their American
counterparts participation insports was not yet common in
America during the same period.
So sports became so importantto Filipino girls.
Patch (14:19):
There was actually a girl's baseball team that was
established. They were wearingobviously the classic American
baseball uniforms, but Ibelieve there was a picture
with the girl's baseball team.
And these were actually Morosor Muslim Filipinos from
Southern Philippines.
Carmina (14:39):
So patch, in the beginning, we said that the
Thomasites transformed oureducational system. But the way
they used it was not uniquethough. It's so interesting
because they really took ideasfrom the European model of
colonialism, including theirown attempts. So an example of
this is how they taught theNative Americans. A man named
(15:03):
David Barrows, w ho w as acentral figure. He was an
anthropologist and had a deepinterest in the life and
customs of Native Americans.
And he did extensive researchand collaboration with the
Native American tribes. He wasappointed by President Taft as
chief of the Bureau ofNon-Christian Tribes of the
Philippine Islands, and thenbecame the general
(15:27):
superintendent of education. Soin that position, he
reorganized the entireeducational system and believed
that many parts of it needed tobe patterned after the Indian
services in America.
Patch (15:41):
Prior to David Barrows, president Taft actually
nominated a certain FredAtkinson, and the goal was
preparing Filipinos forself-government. Noteworthy, is
that Atkinson used the blackeducational system in the
United States as a model foradvancing education in the
Philippines, emphasizing onprimary and industrial
(16:06):
education. However, Taftthought that the Filipinos
could be more than laborers,and that they were born
politicians, which is funny'cause that could be true
finally, in the fall of 1902,he fired Atkinson feeling that
(16:31):
Filipinos were more capablethan labor, and he then chose
David Barrows.
Carmina (16:37):
So I think that is two sides of the same coin, because
it did persist. This idea ofmaking sure that we were heavy
on the manual and industrialeducation as well. In fact,
this focus on manual andindustrial education had to do
with readying the markets ofboth countries. Isn't that
(16:58):
interesting?
Patch (16:59):
That's very interesting.
Carmina (17:00):
The American government wanted to open the
Philippines to Americaninvestment and export. So
students were taught to producegoods that had a market in
America, like hat and matweaving and basketry as early
as the primary grades, and thenprepare Filipinos as farmers
and laborers also to supply theAmerican market. But I
(17:24):
appreciate that at least therewas thought that this was not
all we were good for
Right?
Patch (17:30):
Right.
Carmina (17:30):
And in fact, it gave rise to this Pensionado
program. So there was thisPensionado act, it was
implemented on August 26th,1903, and it was a scholarship
program that was to prepare thePhilippines for self-governance
after the Philippine AmericanWar, ostensibly because we know
(17:51):
that it took decades anddecades before they actually
granted us independence. Thegoal was to train highly
educated civil servants and themold of American ideals. The
first iteration of the programwas only open to elite
Filipinos, but over thedecades, it became available
even to ordinary Filipinos. Sohundreds and hundreds were able
(18:16):
to access American education.
It was the largest of its kind.
And from 1903, continued until1943 until it was replaced by
the Fulbright program.
Patch (18:30):
Carmina , did you come across what actually motivated
these group of people to leavetheir homes and travel all the
way to the Philippine Islands?
Carmina (18:40):
A lot of what we've read growing up about the
homicides really portrayed themas these ambassadors of
goodwill for America. Right?
Patch (18:47):
Right.
Carmina (18:48):
And we already discussed how they were really
a tool for the imperial aims ofthe government, and they really
saw themselves as an arm ofthat. However, some of them
were really simply adventureseekers who were looking to
start a new life. The otherfactor Patch was that they
would also earn a much bettersalary than in America,
(19:11):
approximately double. But Ijust wanted to mention
something about their pay. Theywere paid in Mexican silver,
which fluctuated in value. Sosometimes they would lose money
when they converted it intoAmerican dollars.
Patch (19:24):
So that's karma for some of them who had , uh, nefarious
motives for coming here.
Carmina (19:31):
there were people who knew thathaving experience and colonial
education would advance theireducational careers. And in
fact, opened other assignmentsas educational reform advisors
in countries in South America,like Peru, Nicaragua, and
(19:52):
others. And those weredesirable posts. And then as we
talked about in the case of theBlack Americans and the women,
there were also those who knewthat this was an opportunity to
reinvent themselves andreposition themselves in
Philippine society asAmericans. And there were also
a few examples, and I reallyhope that people will be
(20:13):
interested enough to look thisup , who rewrote their entire
personal histories, and in somecases also erased all of their
ethnicity. So it wasn't onlythe Black Americans, there were
also people who werenaturalized Americans, but came
from other countries like theMiddle East who passed as
(20:33):
white.
Patch (20:34):
Some Thomasites chose to assimilate into the local
culture and formed long-termrelationships with their
students and communities. Andsome of them decided to stay.
Carmina (20:45):
You know, what was the other interesting thing? Patch
was of course, they had to livein the communities that they
taught, so they were in veryclose contact with the
Filipinos and the communitiesthey lived in. And a lot of
these unfiltered observationscame through by way of the
letters that they wrote backhome. These writings, the
(21:08):
combination of letters anddiaries that these teachers
kept were very enlightening asto what they really thought. So
some of the things that theydocumented were challenges they
encountered with students. Andthis whole propagation of this
notion that a lot of us wereuncivilized and needed to be
(21:28):
taught civilization throughpunishment. So in the early
days of the implementation ofthe educational system Patch,
there was a lot of physical andverbal punishment being needed
out to the students, butagainst the backdrop of
Filipinos asserting theirindependence. And you know, it
(21:50):
wasn't just one-sided, right?
The Americans had their view ofus. We also had their view of
them
Patch (21:56):
Mm-hmm.
Carmina (21:56):
As people who were encroaching upon our
independence. So a lot of theacting out could really be
attributed to the Filipinostrying to assert their
independence and their viewsthat these American teachers
are intruders in their lives.
So even from the beginning,there were many examples of
(22:17):
Filipinos challenging theAmerican teachers practices. In
fact, one example that wasdocumented, which I found so
cool, was my province Balayanwas cited as an example in this
book I read titled, EducatingThe Empire.
Patch (22:36):
What happened in Balayan?
Carmina (22:37):
There was an American teacher, Helen Trace , who
slapped a boy in her class inOctober of 1903. The brother of
the boy reported it, but hedidn't report it to the
principal. He instead wentdirectly to the province's
superintendent because theprincipal was Helen Trace's
(22:58):
husband.
Patch (22:59):
Oh, smart.
Carmina (23:01):
So Helen trace's students met and they decided
to strike, which lasted forseveral weeks.
Patch (23:09):
Wow.
Carmina (23:10):
And they didn't just play hooky during this time.
'cause you would think, right.
So what they did, instead, themore advanced students in this
Balayn school took on the roleof the teacher and held their
own lectures to the rest of theclass so they wouldn't fall
behind. So, because this strikewent on and on, apparently, so
(23:30):
her husband transferred somestudents from other sections to
her class, and guess what theydid?
Patch (23:35):
What?
Carmina (23:36):
They joined the strike
controversy, the husband andwife were removed from Balayan
. And this incident led theBureau of Education to
institute rules prohibitingphysical punishment, except
under one condition.
Patch (23:53):
What condition is that?
Carmina (23:54):
If your parents or your guardian permitted it? But
it had to be in writing. And italso led to prohibiting verbal
abuse as well, specificallyprohibiting teachers from
commenting on Filipinostudents' capacities.
Patch (24:10):
I'm sure all these rules were not really explicitly
followed.
Carmina (24:15):
I think it just so happens that Batangas, as we
know, was a very strongproponent for Filipino
independence. I was so proud.
Patch (24:23):
So Carmina, the Thomasites were instrumental in
the establishment of aneducation system in the
Philippines.
Carmina (24:31):
And we feel ambivalent about it. Right?
Patch (24:33):
Right.
Carmina (24:34):
on the one hand, there's no doubt that
generations of Filipinosbenefited from this effort,
even though we know that on theother it was a means to one
end.
Patch (24:46):
But thankfully, they did establish many basic and
secondary schools that arestill in existence today. It
could also be said that theThomasites, they are commonly
regarded as the forerunners ofthe Peace Corps, whose purpose
is to develop schools and civicinitiatives around the world.
(25:06):
So that's a very positiveaspect of the history of the
Thomasites in our country.
Carmina (25:12):
And in fact, Patch, a Thomasites was influential in
the foundation and formation ofthe Peace Corps. His name is
John S. Noffsinger, who taughtin the Philippines from 1909 to
1912. He was a senior counselorin the Office of Public Affairs
of the Peace Corps from 1961until his death in 1966. So
(25:35):
there's a little bit of acontroversy about the Peace
Corps, Patch. Not really acontroversy, but something that
happened when they arrived inthe Philippines in 1961. The
first Peace Corps volunteerswere greeted at the airport
with a banner that said,welcome to the new Thomasites.
And the Peace Corps volunteersimmediately rejected this
(25:58):
because they saw themselves asmore respectful of other
cultures and beliefs and didn'twant to be associated with the
imperialistic aims of theThomasites. So, okay . Patch,
let's talk about some trivia.
Patch (26:13):
We talked about how the educational system was
influenced by the way they wereteaching the Native American
Indians in America.
Carmina (26:21):
Mm-hmm.
Patch (26:22):
And so the Carlisle Indian Industrial School is the
first off reservation NativeAmerican boarding school, which
was established in 1879. It wasestablished by Richard Henry
Pratt, and he founded thisschool, which was linked very
much to imprisonment andcolonial education right from
(26:45):
the start. Carlisle laterbecame a model for similar
schools across the UnitedStates and Canada. But what's
interesting is there was aFilipino who entered the
Carlisle Indian IndustrialSchool on March 20, 1903. His
name was Esteban Gloria .
Carmina (27:07):
Hmm.
Patch (27:08):
It's the first year that any Filipino student entered
the United States. And duringhis seven years at Carlisle, he
received printer training andparticipated in a variety of
school activities there.
Carmina (27:23):
So he was a pension ,
Patch (27:25):
I guess. Yeah.
Carmina (27:26):
Mm-hmm.
Patch (27:27):
So finally becoming even a captain of a junior varsity
football team and a member ofwhat they call the Invisibles,
which is one of the Carlisle'sfour literary organizations. He
was renamed Stephen Glory toreplace his so-called Indian
name and was classified as bothNative American and Filipino
(27:50):
during the term of his school.
And despite the fact that thePhilippines isn't an Indian
tribe, he was referred to ascoming from the tribe of the
Philippines. And there werepictures of a group of Indians,
and he was one of them. .
Carmina (28:11):
Wow.
this.
Patch (28:14):
Carmina (28:16):
Okay. So the us a Thomas, it was the same ship
that Apolline Mabini came inwhen he was returned to the
Philippines from Guam. Well,the funny thing about this is,
at first I thought, oh, werethey on the same ship? But no,
because Mabini actually arrivedearlier than the Thomasites. It
(28:37):
just so happens that they usethe same ship.
Patch (28:40):
Oh, that's funny.
Because some of the researchthat I found mentioned that the
Thomasites were the firstcivilian cargo. But I was
thinking, well, isn't Mabini acivilian? But not really. I
guess they were consideredprisoners of war. Okay.
Carmina (28:58):
Okay. And then the last one that I found, as we
know, we were part of thispackage deal, right?
Patch (29:05):
Mm-hmm.
Carmina (29:06):
When the Americans won the Spanish American War, and
in the package deal we're alsoPuerto Rico and Cuba, only
hundreds were sent to PuertoRico in the same timeframe. And
the least was Cuba. Apparentlyonly a handful were sent there.
And I wondered, was it becausewe were the most rebellious of
the bunch?
Patch (29:27):
Apparently we were the more uncivilized quote and
unquote ,
Carmina (29:32):
So patch . In closing, I wanted to talk about a
historical fiction called TheThomasite.
Patch (29:38):
What kind of historical fiction?
Carmina (29:40):
It's by a Filipino American author, Victoria Gerda
Smith . She's a lawyer turnedauthor. She's a first
generation Filipino immigrant.
She was born in the Philippinesand is the eldest of 10
children. And before this, shehad published many other
written work. So if I may readthe synopsis Amid the
(30:01):
Philippine American War in1901, a young teacher from
Iowa, Eleanor Karsten sail onthe US Army transport Thomas to
America's new territory, thePhilippine Islands. In response
to President McKinley's call tohelp implement the policy of
benevolent assimilation ofFilipinos, she joins more than
(30:23):
500 US educators called thehomicides to teach Filipino
children and build a secularpublic school system. As an
alternative to the Catholiceducational institutions
established by Spanish colonialrule, a stopover in the
Hawaiian Islands, and a briefresidency in Manila, where the
(30:45):
homicides await deployment totheir designated school areas,
awaken Eleanor to disturbingimplications of America's
expansionist policy. Sheeagerly welcomes her assignment
to Magayon, home to themajestic, perfectly cone shaped
Mayon volcano when she arrivesthere. However, various
(31:06):
challenges including malaria, acholera epidemic, insurrection
and racial and religiousprejudice test her resolve to
fulfill her missions. Herloyalties are likewise tested
when she unwittingly becomesromantically entangled
with a Spanish Filipinoplantation owner. And his
(31:27):
peasant foreman worse , Eleanorworries. One of them could be
the local leader of theinsurrection. Thus setting her
at odds with the commandingofficer of the US infantry
stationed in town. Even worse,she clashes with the parish
priest as Eleanor witnesses,the ramifications of the US
(31:47):
occupation of the PhilippineIslands. She finds herself the
student, rather than theteacher caught between, on the
one hand, her compassion forher students and Filipinos, and
on the other, her patrioticduty to her country, her
devotion to her vocation, andher increasingly undeniable
feelings for one of the mencompeting for her love and the
(32:09):
scorching battle betweenideology and reality. Eleanor
struggles to balance treadingon a tightrope of volatile
interwoven interests and carvea path forward. Would Eleanor
survive the forces tearing herand her mission apart,
including the people she's cometo love as her own? To whom
(32:30):
would she finally entrust herheart? And what legacy would
she and her fellow homicidesleave for generations of
Filipinos
Patch (32:40):
Carmina (32:41):
That was long.
However, I really thought itperfectly describes this whole
story of the Thomasites,
Patch (32:52):
Maybe we should have just done the synopsis of that
book.
Carmina (32:55):
The book. And with that, that's our episode. We
hope you join us on our nexttrip, o siya, siya.
Patch (33:04):
Ingat. Thanks for listening to FilTrip with
Carmina and Patch. SupportFilTrip through Patreon or
PayPal. And follow us onInstagram and Twitter.
Subscribe at Apple Podcasts,Spotify, or wherever all
podcasts are downloaded.
Carmina (33:23):
Thanks to Filtrip's sponsor Solepack, a functional
shoe accessory bag. Visitthesolepack.com for more
details.
Patch (33:32):
Email us at thefiltrip @gmail.com.
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