Education is a Brain Washing Machine: Historical
Perspective
By Sheryl G. Iballa
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of Education as a Brain
Washing Machine. Specifically, Philippine Education throughout history
was reviewed as justification to the concept of education as a brain
washing machine. The history of Philippine Education is likewise shaped
and altered by the colonizers—Spaniards, Americans and Japanese
through curricular reforms, policy structures, ideology and pedagogical
philosophies. It has undergone dramatic changes depicted in the various
epochs of educational evolution.
"Brainwashing is a system of befogging the brain so a person
can be seduced into acceptance of what otherwise would be abhorrent to
him. He loses touch with reality. Facts and fancy whirl round and change
places.... However, in order to prevent people from recognizing the inherent
evils in brainwashing, the Reds pretend that it is only another name for
something already very familiar and of unquestioned respect, such as
education or reform." Edward Hunter, Brainwashing (1956).
Introduction
Education recognized as the mirror of historical changes due to
its dynamism. The evolution of Philippine education has been heavily
influenced by its colonial history. Various colonial political and cultural
policies are accounted for describing the kind of education people acquired.
History has become an eyewitness as to how the colonizers manipulated
the educational system according to their master plan. As a consequence,
the authentic identity of Philippine Education vanished. Filipinos are more
acquainted with the foreign culture and educational system.
The impact of the three colonizers is still reflected on the
present-day educational system’s thinking and practices (de Guzman,
2003). Spaniards propagated Christianity and succeeded in converting the
overwhelming majority of Filipinos, while Americans instituted the
foundation of a democratic system of education and academic English
Language and Literature as their focus, influencing the Filipino mentality
has made the Philippines as the third largest English speaking nation in the
World and Japanese, though has made the people realize the country’s
position as a member of the East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, the true
meaning of establishment of a New Order in the Sphere (Martin, 1980).
Several
educational
reforms
have
been
instituted
and
implemented by political leaders since from the liberation of the Philippines
from the three colonizers up to contemporary period.
INPUT
PROCESS
OUTPUT
SPANISH

Religion
AMERICAN

Reforms, policy
structures,
ideology and
pedagogical
philosophies
Democracy
in
JAPANESE

“East-Asia
CoProsperity
Sphere”
EDUCATION
BRAINWASHED
FILIPINOS
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
OF EDUCATION AS BRAIN WASHING MACHINE
Spanish Colonization: The onset of Brain Washing
In over three hundred years of colonial power over the
Philippines, Spain established, operated and controlled the political,
economic and educational aspect of the Filipino.
Spaniards came into the Philippines using their Religion—
Christianity as the main tool in controlling the mind of the native. According
to Oliveros (2002) Spaniards formulated educational policies and
curriculum, which centered on teaching religion. They used religion to
enslave the people’s minds and hasten the subjugation of the natives. The
primary education was comprised of the study of the Christian doctrines
and training to read Spanish and Philippine languages. The secondary
level also stressed the study of religion and the Latin language instead of
Spanish. According to Marcelo H. del Pilar, the friars who were tasked to
teach the natives feared that the people might understand each other and
begin to oppose the undesirable aspects of Spanish rule. This statement of
del Pilar clearly exposed the manipulation practice done by the Spanish
friars to control the way of thinking of the natives.
Literature was also used to spread blind obedience to Spanish
authorities. The Dominican friars established the first printing press in the
Philippines in 1593. The friars published countless sermons, novenas,
prayer books, biographies of saints and others. The other arts forms had
religious orientation and the moro-moro , an anti-Muslim play about the
Christian-Muslim war where Christian always won. All sorts of literature
passed through the censorship of the Catholic Church before getting
published. Educational institutions were open only to Spanish children.
Only during the latter part of the 19th century did they start teaching the
primary lessons to the majority of the natives ( Oliveros, 2002 ). Thus,
Spaniards used religion as their angelic mask portraying that they had the
pure intention of making the natives civilize but beyond it is their thirst for
gold and vast resources of the Philippine Archipelago.
American Regime: Brainwashing the democratic way
In 1898, United States declared war against Spain when it
supported Cuba. This event led to the coming of the Americans to the
Philippines and seized control over it ( Oliveros, 2002 ).
The United States claimed that they had colonized the
Philippines to
civilize and
teach
Filipinos
about democracy and
governance. As what Rudyard Kipling called the concept of “white man’s
burden”, Americans is the big brother of the Filipinos who are willing to
carry and defend them. According to Zenaida Reyes, the American
colonization has two faces: development of education and military
empowerment. US enlisted the support of the prominent and influential
Filipinos or the Ilustrados to hasten the people’s acceptance of the new
colonialists. They started teaching the Filipino people the American way of
life to hasten their becoming consumers and workers of American firms.
Some of these ilustrados are Dr. T.H. Pardo de Tavera, Felipe
Buencamino, Dr. Pedro Paterno and others which campaigned for the
annexation of the Philippines to the United States and called for
collaboration with the US. Through Act 74, the Americans established the
public system to spread the use of English and mold the Filipinos to suit the
US agenda. The first English teachers of Filipino children were the US
soldiers followed “Thomasites” -trained teachers who systematically taught
the children about American ways and thinking. The students were made
to believe in the democracy and suppressed the revolutionary struggle
against the invaders. ( Reyes, 1997 ). In 1901, the Philippine Commision
passed the Sedition Act which imposed imprisonment and the death
penalty to anyone advocating freedom or separation from the US. This
mind control technique of US concretely altered the idea of absolute
freedom that the Filipinos had longing for and replaced it by the idea of
assimilation as president McKinley and Wilson mentioned during their
speech. Thus, like the Spaniard Americans also brainwashed the mind of
the Filipinos by implementing policies in education and forcibly removing
the prior ideas and concept that they had. As a result, Philippines became
economically dependent with US, sense of values was distorted, colonial
mentality flourished and partial lose of racial heritage are evident.
Japanese Occupation: imbibing “East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”
On December 8, 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the US
naval base in Hawaii marked the start of World War II in the Pacific leading
to the successful occupation of the Philippines after the fall of Bataan.
Under the so called “new order” in Asia, Japan pillaged the
natural and industrial wealth of the Philippines, repressed all democratic
institution,
transformed
its
education
and
culture
and
committed
innumerable atrocities to its citizens. (Oliveros, 2002 ).
On January 21, 1942, Japanese Premier General Hideki Tojo
declared that Japan would grant the honor of independence to the Filipinos
if they cooperated in building the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”
if they cooperated in implementing this agenda. This propaganda
disseminated the slogan “Asia for Asians, Philippines for Filipinos”.
Japanese tried to inculcate hatred to Americans in the mind of the Filipinos.
In order to realize this, they suppressed freedom of expression and
produced reading materials and programs exalted Japanese history and
culture. The get rid American influences by reorganizing the school system
by establish the Ministry of Education. The curriculum retained Tagalog and
Nippongo. Japanese forcibly introduced new systems according to their
agenda.
Conclusion
The Philippine Educational system was shaped by the great
influence of machineries used by the three colonizers throughout history.
They used forcible indoctrination to give up the ideas of the native Filipinos
and accept their contrasting ideas. As cited by Edgar H. Schein in his study
this technique was called as Brainwashing which was designed to
manipulate human thought or action against the desire, will, or knowledge
of the individual.
As according to the philosophical view of empiricism colonizers
‘filled up the empty mind’ of the Filipinos believing that they are uncivilized.
They required nothing from Filipinos but passivity and a willingness to
learn.
Invaders imposed authoritarianism in which they expected and
required the Filipino to obey their new instituted policies without questions.
They suppressed freedom of expression. They also seek totalitarian control
over the natives’ access to available information by restriction.( Miller ).
They also tried to condition the mind of the Filipinos by
eliminating all the influences of the previous colonizers just what Japanese
did when they abolished all the American influences. This explains the
classical condition of Pavlov.
As cited by Allan de Guzman in his paper entitle “The Dynamics
of Educational Reforms in the Philippine Basic and Higher Education
Sectors” the impact of the three colonizers is still reflected on the presentday educational system’s thinking and practices. Its long story under the
different colonizers Filipinos are being controlled by using machineries to
imposed their new ideas through education. Thus, at present we need to
revisit educational policies to eliminate those are not suitable for us being
an “Authentic Filipino”.
REFERENCES
Oliveros, Reynaldo (2002) Philippine History and Government 2nd Edition
Manila: IBON Foundation, Inc.
Reyes, Zenaida Q. and Tantengco, Nerissa S.1997 Daloy ng Kasaysayan
At Pamahalaang Pilipino. Quezon City: Dane Publishing House, Inc.
De Guzman, Allan B.2003 The Dynamics of Educational Reforms in the
Philippine Basic and Higher Education Sectors, University of Santo Tomas,
Philippines
Magno, Carlo. 2010 A brief history of educational assessment in the Philippines.
2010. De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
Schein, Edgar H. 1960 Brainwashing . Center for International Studies
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts