The crucial point of identity is a knowledge of the self. Once we have a knowledge of the self, we start to acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses. This is also the same with the work of Leonardo Estioko, SVD. Education for the Filipino should understand the Filipino perspective.
For the author, the primary goal of a Filipino philosophy of education is to address the ills of the present Philippine Education system. However the search for the authentic Filipino is construed by the bureaucratic temperament affecting the realistic display of knowledge. Once the identity is established, the ideal is now sought. The whole hierarchy of the educational system is analysed. From the compulsory education up to general education and specializations, the Filipino must find the ideal in the world. Once the ideal is established, freedom is now recognized. The freedom to learn should be inculcated in children and not to impose them. The freedom to learn should be inculcated in children to elicit the natural learning which stems from home and the self.
From the natural, we go to the economical. The nature of education as a right is slowly becoming a privilege in the world. Once capitalism enters the learning system, inequality is produced. Rather capitalism, patriotism should be the founding value of a learning system especially in the Philippines. Patriotism is unity in diversity as the book goes. Besides these, the harmony of religious and liberal education was explored by the author by which the two subjects can give a whole encounter of the person of Jesus Christ. In erecting democracy in education, a process should be established in the society. Once the process is ensured, the role of education as a liberating force begins.
The book was a good introduction to the idea of a Filipino Education philosophy. Though the book is less than hundred pages, the density of the work in expressing short but solid ideas is remarkable. Recommending this book to philosophers of education is a must.
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