Information AboutThomasites |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT THOMASITES | |
| american colonial period of the philippines | |
| education in the philippines | |
| american expatriates in the philippines | |
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The Thomasites, 365 males and 165 females, left Pier 12 of San Francisco on July 23 1901 to sail via the Pacific Ocean to South East Asia . The U.S. Government spent about $105,000 for the expedition. More American teachers followed the Thomasites in 1902, making a total of about 1,074 stationed in the Philippines. At the time, the Thomasites were offered $125 a month, but once in the Philippines salaries were often delayed, and were usually paid in devalued Mexican Pesos . FOUNDATION Although the Thomasites were the largest group teachers the purpose of educating the Filipinos, they were not the first to be deployed by Washington, D.C. A few weeks before the arrival of the converted cattle ship, USS Thomas, the U.S. Army soldiers had already began teaching Filipinos the English language, thus in effect laying down the foundation of the Philippine public school system. The U.S. Army opened the Philippines’ first public school in Corregidor Island , after Admiral George Dewey vanquished the Spanish Armada in Manila Bay on May 1 , 1898 . Also, a few weeks before the USS Thomas, a group composed of 48 American teachers also arrived in the Philippines aboard the '' Sheridan ''. After President William McKinley ’s appointment of William Howard Taft as the head of a commission that would be responsible for continuing the educational work started by the U.S. Army. The Taft Commission passed the Education Act No. 34 on January 21 1901 , which established the Department Of Public Instruction . The latter was then given the task of establishing a public school system throughout the Philippines. The Taft Commission also authorized the further deployment of 1,000 more educators from the U.S. to the Philippines. ASSIGNMENTS After being Quarantine d for two days after their arrival on August 21 1901 , the Thomasites were finally able to disembark from the USS Thomas. They travelled from the customs house near the Anda Circle then stayed at the walled city Intramuros , Manila before being given initial provincial assignments which included Albay , Catanduanes , Camarines Norte , Camarines Sur , Sorsogon , Masbate , Samar , Zambales , Aparri , Jolo , Negros , Cebu , Dumaguete , Bataan , Batangas , Pangasinan and Tarlac . CURRICULUM 1902-1935 The Thomasites thought the following subjects: English, agriculture, reading, grammar, geography, mathematics, general courses, trade courses, housekeeping and household arts (sewing, crocheting and cooking), manual trading, mechanical drawing, freehand drawing and athletics (baseball, track and field, tennis, indoor baseball and basketball). LEGACY The Thomasites built upon the contributions laid down by the U.S. Army. They built elementary schools and learning institutions such as the following:
They also reopened the Philippine Nautical School , which was originally established by the Board Of Commerce Of Manila in 1839 under Spain . About a hundred of the Thomasites stayed on to live in the Philippines after finishing their teaching assignments. They transformed the Philippines into the third largest English-speaking nation in the world. They became the Precursor s of the present-day U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers. For their contribution to Philippine education, the Thomasites Centennial Project was established in cooperation with American Studies associations in the Philippines, the Philippine-American Educational Foundation , the Embassy Of The United States Of America in Manila, and other leading cultural and educational institutions in the Philippines. LIST OF SOME THOMASITE TEACHERS
REFERENCES AND EXTERNAL LINKS
See also Related links An Article on What the Thomasites ate on their voyage to the Philippines by Ambeth Ocampo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18 June 2004 |
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