5 ms·

I was really surprised to find out, as an american, standing with feet on the ground in Manila, near age 30, having grown up in the US and gone to public school

I was really surprised to find out, as an american, standing with feet on the ground in Manila, near age 30, having grown up in the US and gone to public schools, that the Philippines had been a US Territory off and on, on par with Puerto Rico, for about 50 years starting around 1898. There's even a big obelisk in the center of Union Square in San Francisco commemorating this event, it turns out. None of this was ever covered in public schools. I realize there's a lot of history to cover and kids can only absorb so much, but when people talk about "only focusing on europe and the middle east" it's good to have a couple of concrete examples. The Philippines actually has a larger english speaking population than the UK. Anyways, it always seemed that the Philippines got conveniently swept under the rug when discussing things like WW2 and American Imperialism.

TaylorAlexander 5y ago
Yes certainly. I recently started listening to the audiobook A Peoples History of the United States and there is a LOT of history we don't cover. Right now I am listening to a talk by Noam Chomsky about inequality and it's remarkable that the top % of the wealthy that have control over the country also do not go to public schools. It's as if we have a second school system for the subservient class.
- colordrops 5y ago
  Why do you think they are cancelling AP classes in San Francisco and California under the guise of social justice? It's to further weaken the underclass since the rich don't even go to public school.
  - barbacoa 5y ago
    Having gone to high school in California, we never covered Mexican-american or Spanish-american wars, civil war focused almost exclusively on slavery. 90% of WW2 was about Japanese internment or how racist nuking Japan was. History of Communism was never mentioned for obvious reasons.
  - raegis 5y ago
    > Why do you think they are cancelling AP classes in San Francisco and California under the guise of social justice? Can you document this? I'm a southern California resident, and I keep hearing stuff like this from people online, but I know no local examples of this at all.
    - colordrops 5y ago
      https://edsource.org/2021/california-math-guidance-sparks-new-curriculum-controversy-among-parents/655272 https://edsource.org/2021/california-math-guidance-sparks-ne... https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/why-university-california-dropping-sat/619522/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/why-univer...
      - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
        I read the first link and some supporting links like “a pathway to equitable math instruction”: https://equitablemath.org/ https://equitablemath.org/ This is…. Reprehensible
        alasdair_ 5y ago
        In what way?
        TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
        As sibling wrote very well: “ Equal opportunity is a universal value that everyone can agree to strive for. Equalized outcomes is a dystopian nightmare (equity).”
        roody15 5y ago
        Quite dystopian. Equal opportunity is a universal value that everyone can agree to strive for. Equalized outcomes is a dystopian nightmare (equity). The move to blur the lines between these two concepts is disturbing.
    - 5y ago
- TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
  Public schools in some districts are terrible. If you can afford to send your children to private school, that’s an easier option than changing the entire public school system in your district (unless you’re Bill Gates).
  - aaron_m04 5y ago
    Both you and the person you are replying to are correct. I don't know if you were trying to refute their claim.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    Gates sent his kids to local private schools.
    - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
      And went on to try to change the education system?
  - alasdair_ 5y ago
    Of course it goes without saying that even the public schools in Medina, WA (home of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos) are some of the best in the nation.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  The public schools (at least in Washington State) are run by the teachers' union, which is the most powerful political entity in the state.
  - cartoonworld 5y ago
    The teacher's union does not dictate the curriculum. Typically the state legislatures dictate what is in the curriculum broadly, sometimes extra specifically, and the administrators and teachers create their lessons to satisfy the legislation. How does the teacher's union suppress subject matters in the history department?
    - WalterBright 5y ago
      > the state legislatures dictate It's very hard to get elected in this state without a teachers' union endorsement.
      - cartoonworld 5y ago
        It doesn't follow that they suppress Filipino colonization, is there some example of teachers union demanding of legislators that they pass laws like that? It's also hard to get elected without people voting for you, or funding for political campaigns.
jessaustin 5y ago
The Army ran out of Native Americans to massacre, so they arranged another indigenous group to terrorize for the next several decades. (It really was the same racist officers doing the same racist shit.) Some Filipinos had thought USA military would join them in overthrowing Spanish tyranny, but they soon discovered the actual intent was to replace Spain. Decent Americans like Mark Twain were horrified, but the war media was full of lies about subhuman savages who needed American government so most Americans had no idea. Plus ça change...
- bryanrasmussen 5y ago
  In this context should point to the War Prayer https://warprayer.org/ https://warprayer.org/ which Twain probably wrote in response to the Spanish-American war.
spfzero 5y ago
Hmm, don’t know what school you went to, but in my American public school they certainly covered the Spanish-American war, and the consequent status of the Philippines. Spanish colony, turned over to the U.S., taken over by Japan, independant after WWII ended.
pomian 5y ago
An excellent source for USA/Philippine history, and other history is Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcasts. This one in particular for that topic: https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-49-the-american-peril/ https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-49-the-am... But all his podcasts are phenomenal

TaylorAlexander 5y ago

Yes certainly. I recently started listening to the audiobook A Peoples History of the United States and there is a LOT of history we don't cover. Right now I am listening to a talk by Noam Chomsky about inequality and it's remarkable that the top % of the wealthy that have control over the country also do not go to public schools. It's as if we have a second school system for the subservient class.

colordrops 5y ago
Why do you think they are cancelling AP classes in San Francisco and California under the guise of social justice? It's to further weaken the underclass since the rich don't even go to public school.
- barbacoa 5y ago
  Having gone to high school in California, we never covered Mexican-american or Spanish-american wars, civil war focused almost exclusively on slavery. 90% of WW2 was about Japanese internment or how racist nuking Japan was. History of Communism was never mentioned for obvious reasons.
- raegis 5y ago
  > Why do you think they are cancelling AP classes in San Francisco and California under the guise of social justice? Can you document this? I'm a southern California resident, and I keep hearing stuff like this from people online, but I know no local examples of this at all.
  - colordrops 5y ago
    https://edsource.org/2021/california-math-guidance-sparks-new-curriculum-controversy-among-parents/655272 https://edsource.org/2021/california-math-guidance-sparks-ne... https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/why-university-california-dropping-sat/619522/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/why-univer...
    - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
      I read the first link and some supporting links like “a pathway to equitable math instruction”: https://equitablemath.org/ https://equitablemath.org/ This is…. Reprehensible
      - alasdair_ 5y ago
        In what way?
        TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
        As sibling wrote very well: “ Equal opportunity is a universal value that everyone can agree to strive for. Equalized outcomes is a dystopian nightmare (equity).”
      - roody15 5y ago
        Quite dystopian. Equal opportunity is a universal value that everyone can agree to strive for. Equalized outcomes is a dystopian nightmare (equity). The move to blur the lines between these two concepts is disturbing.
  - 5y ago
TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
Public schools in some districts are terrible. If you can afford to send your children to private school, that’s an easier option than changing the entire public school system in your district (unless you’re Bill Gates).
- aaron_m04 5y ago
  Both you and the person you are replying to are correct. I don't know if you were trying to refute their claim.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  Gates sent his kids to local private schools.
  - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
    And went on to try to change the education system?
- alasdair_ 5y ago
  Of course it goes without saying that even the public schools in Medina, WA (home of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos) are some of the best in the nation.
WalterBright 5y ago
The public schools (at least in Washington State) are run by the teachers' union, which is the most powerful political entity in the state.
- cartoonworld 5y ago
  The teacher's union does not dictate the curriculum. Typically the state legislatures dictate what is in the curriculum broadly, sometimes extra specifically, and the administrators and teachers create their lessons to satisfy the legislation. How does the teacher's union suppress subject matters in the history department?
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    > the state legislatures dictate It's very hard to get elected in this state without a teachers' union endorsement.
    - cartoonworld 5y ago
      It doesn't follow that they suppress Filipino colonization, is there some example of teachers union demanding of legislators that they pass laws like that? It's also hard to get elected without people voting for you, or funding for political campaigns.

jessaustin 5y ago

The Army ran out of Native Americans to massacre, so they arranged another indigenous group to terrorize for the next several decades. (It really was the same racist officers doing the same racist shit.) Some Filipinos had thought USA military would join them in overthrowing Spanish tyranny, but they soon discovered the actual intent was to replace Spain. Decent Americans like Mark Twain were horrified, but the war media was full of lies about subhuman savages who needed American government so most Americans had no idea. Plus ça change...

bryanrasmussen 5y ago
In this context should point to the War Prayer https://warprayer.org/ https://warprayer.org/ which Twain probably wrote in response to the Spanish-American war.

spfzero 5y ago

Hmm, don’t know what school you went to, but in my American public school they certainly covered the Spanish-American war, and the consequent status of the Philippines. Spanish colony, turned over to the U.S., taken over by Japan, independant after WWII ended.

pomian 5y ago

An excellent source for USA/Philippine history, and other history is Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcasts. This one in particular for that topic: https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-49-the-american-peril/ https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-49-the-am... But all his podcasts are phenomenal