FAJITAS IN THE CLASS ROOM
Beatriz D.L. Pineda
LinggongWika
circa 2014
Grade 7 pa lang ako noon, bagong sabak sa mundo ng high school. Kumbaga very hilaw pa ang kaalaman ko sa high school at sa naglalakihang mundo sa labas ng school ko. Naghahanda na ang 4th year students sa kanilang interpretative dance sa may tabi ng stage, pero tinigil sila ng isang teacher. Kinuha niya ang isa nilang prop, isang placard na may nakapaskil na malaking, “ERAP RESIGN.” Sabi ni teacher bawal daw gamitin ito sa performance, kaya hindi siya ginamit ng mga students. Hindi niya sinabi kung bakit, pero ang kumalat na balita ay may isang student na kamag-anak si Erap. (Totoo ito, may student nga na kamag-anak si Erap).
TINRATO SIYA BILANG TSISMIS
at never akong umaatras sa tsismis
Grade 7 lang ako noon, pero hindi ko na siya nalimutan most definitely because tintrato siya bilang tsismis, at never akong umaatras sa tsismis, lalo na ang high school tsismis. But what led me to seeing it in a different light was when I was in 8th grade. This was the time when my older sister started studying in UP. With all the stories she would bring home in the weekends, to all the posts and articles she would share on her Facebook timeline (and eventually affected the algorithm in my own Facebook), I eventually became more exposed to social ills and realities, including Erap and why he was ousted. It feels a bit embarrassing having known about it so late, but Philippine history, in the K-12 curriculum, was taught in 6th grade, and why would an 11-year-old care about who Erap is when the only thing taught to them about him is that he was the 13th president of the Philippines. Fortunately, dahil sa mga bagong pagkakataon, mas lumalim na ang aking pagtingin at nabigyan ito ng iba’t-ibang kahulugan at pagkakaunawa. Hindi na lang siya tsismis.
FASCES, MEANING BUNDLE
Nakwento ng isa kong katrabaho sa student council ngayong college na ang Mexican food na fajitas at ang fascism ay galing sa iisang root word, fasces, meaning bundle. Ang fajita ay gawa sa samu’t-saring sangkap na binalot sa isang tortilla wrap, habang ang fascism naman ay isang political movement na nagsusulong ng isang monolitik na nasyon sa ilalim ng isang lider diktador (Waxman, 2019). Sa konteksto ng fasces, Ito ay ang sapilitang pagbigkis ng mga tao sa iisang pangkat. Bawal kumalas o kumontra.
PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED (1968)
PAULO FREIRE
INTERSECTION
Na-realize ko na may intersection na nagaganap sa dalawang konseptong ito. Ang banking concept ay may similarity sa fasces in the sense na bigay lang ng bigay ang guro sa mga estudyante ng iisang kaalaman, ideya, at patakaranna(sapilitang)sinusunod.
BAKIT? DAHIL...
UNA, MAS MURA ITO.
PANGALAWA, LESS TAXING PARA SA TEACHERS.
AT PANGHULI, MAS MADALI MAHULMA ANG MGA STUDENTS INTO WHAT THE SCHOOL AIMS THEM TO BE.
Saganitongklasengedukasyon,angguro langangmaycontrolsakunganoang natututunanngmgaestudyante.
Itong Erap incident ay hindi nalalayo sa mga konseptong ito kung titignan natin: pinilit ng teacher ang kanyang mga estudyante sa iisang ideya o paniniwala. Kung dahil lang ba talaga sa isang student na kamag-anak ni Erap para hindi siya ma-butthurt, o dahil ba we just love being apolitical in this school, either way, hindi binigyan ang mga students ng pagkakataon na makapagsalita o sumalungat sa utos ni teacher.
KASI SABI NI TEACHER.
Nagiging sunud-sunuran ang mga estudyante sa mga patakaran sa school kahit napaka walang kwenta ng mga ito. Dapat color white ang rubber shoes kapag PE, o dapat natatago ng medyas ang mga bukong-bukong. Wala namang kinilaman ang kulay ng sapatos o haba ng medyas sa pagkatuto, subalit tinatanggap na lang natin ang mga ganitong klaseng patakaran kasi sabi ni teacher.
It has become common practice to not question because we would most likely get in trouble if we do: receive a grade deduction, or get called in the principal’s office, two of the most unfavorable things that could happen to a student. We simply accept what we are told and taught because it is in our natural make-up as students to listen and follow.
Technically, hindi naman ako naging directly involved sa Erap incident na ito. Sadyang malala lang talaga ang tsismosa virus ko. Pero dahil dito ay nakita ko na ang experience ng mga 4th year students na ito ay isang manifestation ng pangkalahatang danas ng sangkaestudyantehan. Nasabihan ka ng teacher mo na aloof ka na sa religion kasi nagiging “rebellious” ka, o kaya naman ang turo sayo sa klase ay ang sex ay parang lock and key lang at wala ng iba, ang lahat ng ito ay may aspect ng banking concept at fasces.
Ang school ay maaaring maging place for fascism dahil sa banking concept. Hindi siya kasing lala ng fascism ni Mussolini o ni Marcos (sana) pero may oppression pa rin. (Disclaimer: This is in no way to invalidate the struggles and experiences of the victims under these regimes). Ika nga, oppression comes in many different forms and degrees. Some more subtle than the others. Baka nga ang iba ay sobrang subtle na feeling mo isa kang fajita na niyayakap ng mainit-init na tortilla wrap. Pero in the end, hindi ka malaya.
Dahil dito, namulat ako sa kung ano ang dapat kong gawin, hindi lamang sa loob ng classroom, kundi na rin sa naglalakihang mundo sa labas nito: ang kumalas at labanan ang mapang-aping status quo. Labanan ang pasismo. Pero note that namulat pa lang ako, hindi ko pa nagagawa.
Unang-una,pagagalitanakongmgamagulang ko.Icomefromamiddle-classfamilynotdirectly experiencingoppression.Satisfiedatkumportable namankamisabuhaynamingngayon,bakitpa akomagtatangkangiwanito?
Pangalawa,redtagging.Napakalalangredtagging sabansanatinngayon,andtheStateusessuchto justifytheirnumeroushumanrightsviolations (HumanRightsWatch,2023).Sapagtanggolsa mgaapiatpaglabansamganang-aapiaymaaari kangmadakipopatayin.
Pangatlo,mahiraplabananangmgakontrabida ngatingbuhay,gayangimperyalistangUS,kung silamismoangnagpapaandarngekonomiya, internationalrelations,military,angbuongbuhay natinatngbansa(Mansoor&Shah,2023).
We are stuck in this cycle of being wrapped around the fingers of our enemies because they are the ones that keep us alive, unfortunately. And this did not happen overnight. It has been happening since the period of colonialism, which thrives exactly through this dynamic. Natutunan ko sa aking Arts 1 class na colonizer countries see the countries they want to colonize as “uncivilized” simply because they live differently. And colonizers have somehow made it their mission to “civilize” them. Gaya na lang ng sa US, Sa pagtayo nila ng mga public schools kung saan ang medium of instruction ay English (Constantino, 1959) ay nagsilbi itong avenue upang ihulma ang mga Pilipino na maging kagaya nila.
Subalit kahit ilang daang taon na rin tayong inapi, at pautloy na inaapi, ay karamihan pa rin sa atin ay hindi lumalaban at imbis ay sumusunod lamang. The reason why fascism is such an attractive idea to many is because it promises to bring people together to become one. Sobrang sakto ito sa pagiging collectivist state natin. With fascism, lahat tayo ay may role to reach the ideal state (in a fascist state). Ayon sa Ethics of Fascism (1936), “The moral mission of man becomes, then, his glad service to the state…” at sino ba naman ang may ayaw na may ambag sa lipunan? Kahit literal na nakakapatay ito (e.g., war on drugs, redtagging), marami pa rin ang sumasang-ayon dito, glorifying violence even, dahil para naman ito sa ikabubuti ng state. A fascist state also promises you a complete version of yourself and your identity because being a part of the state is your identity. (Smith, 1936). When the state’s interests and ideals are aligned with your own, you form this desire to support and be a part of it.
ISM PROMISES. FASCISM PROMISES. FASCISM PROMISES. FASCISM PROMISE
This is also what schools are and promise to be: a safe haven for students, as long as you follow the rules, and you become who the school wants you to be. Kapag sumunod ka, aba, isa kang proud product ng school mo, may tarpaulin ka pa: Congratulations, magna cum laude! Congratulations gold medalist, 100m breaststroke! Pero kapag bading ka, o kinuwestyon mo ang turo o bilin ng guro mo, o may ginawa kang hindi ayon sa nakagawian, sila pa ang unang pupuna sayo. Suddenly kailangan mo ng intervention.
Lahatngnahahamigngpasismoay maypagkakakilanlan,atnaalaganat napoprotektahan.Angpasismo, pinaparamdamnitonasiguradokasa paligidmoatsasarilimo.Kayasiguro
angwarmsaloobngfajitas.
WARM FAJITAS
SOURCES
Constantino, R. (1959). The Miseducation of The Filipino.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.
Mansoor, S., & Shah, S. (2023, February 3). Why the Philippines Is Letting the U.S. Expand Its Military Footprint in the Country Again. Time.
https://time.com/6252750/philippines-us-militaryagreement-china/.
Philippines: Officials ‘Red-Tagging’ Indigenous Leaders, Activists. (2023, January 27). Human Rights Watch.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/01/26/philippines-officialsred-tagging-indigenous-leaders-activists.
Smith, T. V. (1936). The Ethics of Fascism. International Journal of Ethics, 46(2), 151–177.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2989352.
Waxman, O. B. (2019, March 22). What to Know About the Origins of Fascism’s Brutal Ideology. Time.
https://time.com/5556242/what-is-fascism/.
FAJITAS IN THE CLASS ROOM
D.L. Pineda
Beatriz
