Trends and Fads Time Travel in the Philippines

19th century to 21st century - the fads and trends in education and communication technology.

19th Century (January 1801 - December 1900)

Trends and Fads in Education

   

       During the colonization of Spaniards in the Philippines, a lot has changed in the once a virgin paradise. Along that change is the innovation of the way of living among the Filipinos. Education of the ancient early Filipinos during the pre-Spanish era was informal and unstructured. The first teacher of the Filipinos was their very own parents. Fathers taught little boys to cook and hunt or any means of livelihood while mothers taught girls the household chores, thus preparing them to be good husbands and wives in the future. Early Filipinos loved education very much. At an early age, children would know how to write and read the ancient alphabets or the alibata. 

• Alibata  

       Alibata was the first educational trend among the early Filipinos. It was composed of 17 symbols representing the letters of the alphabet. These 17 symbols consists of 3 vowels and 14 consonants. Alibata or the Baybayin can be written on how you say it. In the symbol Ba there is a corresponding Be and Bo where a symbol is added at the top or at the bottom part of the symbol. The same goes to the other symbols.

             When the Spaniards came, a great change happened in the Philippines' educational system. It was formal. The religious congregations built the pillars of educating Filipinos with their beliefs and has established schools in primary and tertiary level. The schools thereby focuses on Christian Doctrines and they have preserved the purity of male and females by separating the schools of boys and girls. The Ilustrados or the wealthy Filipinos were prioritized of the opportunity to learn.

              

• Educational Decree of 1863

             The Educational Decree of 1863 is a kind of trend that has protected the poor Filipino students and has given them the opportunity to be in schools despite their economic status. Here are the advantages of establishing the Educational Decree. Inside this ED are the skills, knowledge and abilities that every Filipino should acquire are: reading, writing, catechism; knowledge in: Philosophy, Mathematics, Spanish language, Religion and Geography.

        The Educational Decree of 1863 was an effort by Spain to reform the Philippine colonial education system. The Decree established a complete system of education in the archipelago--it required two elementary schools in each municipality (one for girls and one for boys), standardized the curriculum, and established normal schools, thus making systematized education available to the masses. 1

            In the nineteenth century, educational opportunities opened to a segment of society previously kept under control by the religious orders through a selective curriculum of rudimentary academics and a heavy dose of catechism. The colonial logic was to create a cadre of clerks and officials in service of the new, liberal colonial state, but the Educational Decree of 1863 had an impact that was the reverse of what Spain intended. The formal system of education created in the Philippines under Spain, even when unevenly implemented, provided Filipinos with the tools to function outside of colonial rule. 2

• Christian Books or Books that promotes Christianity

            Since it is included in the curriculum of the Spanish educational system, Christianity books like Doctrina Christiana.

• Dominicans

              The Dominicans are the first Filipino formal teacher. Their trend rose and become of great numbers since they are the teachers needed for a catholic-based school. Their knowledge must be taught first hand in order to attain intellectual Filipinos.

            After the colonization of the Spaniards follows the colonization of the American where they set fads and trends that are not only helpful in education but also helpful in the daily lives of the Filipino.

• Pensionado Act

         The Pensionado Act is a trend that set education in the Philippines to another level. This act enable Filipinos, especially males, to attain their education and degree in America where the system is much better than the prototype American Curriculum in the Philippines.

• English Language

           This trend has been taught in the Philippines ages ago until now. Ancient Filipinos were taught of the English language since time immemorial. This trend never fades after centuries.

• Thomasites

            Volunteer American soldiers also helped the Filipinos in attaining their their great intellectual capacity during the primitive years. Thomasites are the trend teachers during this era.

19th Century (January 1801 - December 1900)

Trends and Fads in Communication Technology

• Telephones

            19th century is also the era where telephones become the highlight of the Filipino market. It enables people to communicate with each other despite the long distance. In this matter, teens were the number one users of this trend because of their socially active nature. 

• Printing Press

             Printing press also existed and becomes a trend in this era. The Dominicans are believed to be the first to establish the printing press in the Philippines. The first book they published was the Doctrina Christiana and La Esperanza was the first newspaper that was published in the Philippines.

• Xylography

               Printing press was made possible through the help of Xylography. Xylography works when an image or a letter is carved in a block of wood with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges. The areas to show 'white' are cut with a knife or chisel leaving the characters or image to show 'black' at the original surface level. The block is cut along the grain of the wood. the surface is covered with ink by rolling over the surface with an ink covered roller (brayer), leaving ink upon the flat surface but not the non printing areas.

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20th Century (January 1901 - December 2000)

Trends and Fads in both Education and Communication

• Web

           One of the biggest trend in 20th century is the web connectivity. WWW or the worldwide web enables its users to connect with each other worldwide, not just nationwide. It was first used by the military to track the terrorists and communicate with their fellow soldier but it became a world wide trend due to its capability to innovate searching and not just searching but connecting with others. It has also been a use in education since it enables the users to search information that relates with a certain school topic.

• Television

            Another trend was the television where it enables the users to view information and have an access to it without the internet. 

• Telephones

            Telephones are also means of communicating with distant persons.

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21st Century (January 2001 - Present)

Trends and Fads in Education

• K-12 Curriculum

                 The new educational system of the 21st century that enables the new learners to advance their intellectual capacity and acquire skills that will help them in the corporate world. K12 has been implemented in other countries but this curriculum has been applied in the Philippines in the 21st century. It explores and exposes the ability of the learners and this system has been the trend in the philippines.

• Application Innovation

           The application innovation enables the Filipinos to use modified apps that suits their lifestyles. In the side of education, there is also an existing application innovation that enables students and educators to conduct a class without being inside a classroom. This type of apps are commonly used nowadays because it makes learning a lot easier and hassle-free. All you need is just a strong connection. 

           Examples of App innovations:

• Digital Literacy of Teachers

                   Since the Philippines engage themselves on the 21st educational system trend, the k-12 curriculum that innovates the way of learning, the digital literacy of teachers is also a must. This trend has started when millennials began to lose interest in the ordinary teaching strategy. Hence, educators should be equipped with the skills to manipulate modern technologies and share it with the students in order to entice them into learning because technology is a way of getting the millennial's attention since they are fond of using it.

• Modern Library

                     Books, most especially, bore most of the millennials. In order to fit in with their taste, the library was modernized and was transferred to a single storage, the phones. This library is found everywhere where there's phone that existed. Modern libraries are now used in most universities where students connect to the internet to get books. Simple. Innovative. It lessens the burden of carrying books.

21st Century (January 2001 - Present)

Trends and Fads in Education

• Cellphones

        Cellphones have been invented at the end of the 20th century but it has been a trend in the Philippines on the 21st century. The first trending cellular phone was the Nokia 3310 unit because the first model of phone was not that popular before and the latest as of today are the iPhones and android phones that enable the users to use their phone in various ways: storage, alternate computer, photograph, library, learning tool and more.

• Computers

              Apart from cellphones, computers has also been a trend in the Philippines that helps the users to be able to write and encode characters, use it for storage and for educational purposes and also by means of communication.

• 5G

                  Unlike the 20th century internet connection, five times faster and reliable in terms of establishing a strong connection for the use of communication. 

But meanwhile, in RTR...

• Bluetooth

             It is a wireless connection between two phones. It is used for transferring files, communication and connectivity. It transfers files without carrying the files to be transferred. Just bluetooth. It connect the devices in a certain place and allows them to communicate with each other.

And now, the Philippines is ready for more. The Filipinos are resilient and would adapt to any changes in education and communication technology. Onward Philippines!