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Thomasites
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Thomasites are a group of about five hundred pioneer American teachers sent by the American government to the Philippines in August 1901 to establish a public school system, to teach basic education and to train Filipino teachers, with English as the medium of instruction. The name Thomasite was derived from the transport vessel, the USS Thomas (formerly Minnewaska), that brought them to the shores of Manila Bay. Although two groups of new American graduates arrived in the Philippines before the USS Thomas, the name Thomasite became the designation of all pioneer American teachers simply because the USS Thomas had the largest contingent. Later batches of American teachers were also dubbed as the Thomasites.
The Thomasites, 365 males and 165 females, left Pier 12 of San Francisco on July 23, 1901 to sail via the Pacific Ocean to South East Asia. The U.S. government spent about $105,000 for the expedition. More American teachers followed the Thomasites in 1902, making a total of about 1,074 stationed in the Philippines.
At the time, the Thomasites were offered $125 a month, but once in the Philippines salaries were often delayed, and were usually paid in devalued Mexican pesos.
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Although the Thomasites were the largest group teachers the purpose of educating the Filipinos, they were not the first to be deployed by Washington, D.C. A few weeks before the arrival of the converted cattle ship, USS Thomas, the U.S. Army soldiers had already began teaching Filipinos the English language, thus in effect laying down the foundation of the Philippine public school system. The U.S. Army opened the Philippines’ first public school in Corregidor Island, after Admiral George Dewey vanquished the Spanish Pacific fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898.
Also, a few weeks before the USS Thomas, a group composed of 48 American teachers also arrived in the Philippines aboard the Sheridan.
After President William McKinley’s appointment of William Howard Taft as the head of a commission that would be responsible for continuing the educational work started by the U.S. Army. The Taft Commission passed the Education Act No. 34 on January 21, 1901, which established the Department of Public Instruction. The latter was then given the task of establishing a public school system throughout the Philippines. The Taft Commission also authorized the further deployment of 1,000 more educators from the U.S. to the Philippines.
After being quarantined for two days after their arrival on August 21, 1901, the Thomasites were finally able to disembark from the USS Thomas. They travelled from the customs house near the Anda Circle then stayed at the walled city Intramuros, Manila before being given initial provincial assignments which included Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Masbate, Samar, Zambales, Aparri, Jolo, Negros, Cebu, Dumaguete, Bataan, Batangas, Pangasinan and Tarlac.
The Thomasites taught the following subjects: English, agriculture, reading, grammar, geography, mathematics, general courses, trade courses, housekeeping and household arts (sewing, crocheting and cooking), manual trading, mechanical drawing, freehand drawing and athletics (baseball, track and field, tennis, indoor baseball and basketball).
The Thomasites built upon the contributions laid down by the U.S. Army. They built elementary schools and learning institutions such as the following:
- Philippine Normal School, 1901
- Philippine School of Arts and Trades (PSAT), 1901
- Tarlac High School, September 21, 1902
- Quezon National High School, 1902 (now, Tayabas High School)
They also reopened the Philippine Nautical School, which was originally established by the Board of Commerce of Manila in 1839 under Spain.
About a hundred of the Thomasites stayed on to live in the Philippines after finishing their teaching assignments.
They transformed the Philippines into the third largest English-speaking nation in the world.
They became the precursors of the present-day U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers.
For their contribution to Philippine education, the Thomasites Centennial Project was established in cooperation with American Studies associations in the Philippines, the Philippine-American Educational Foundation, the Embassy of the United States of America in Manila, and other leading cultural and educational institutions in the Philippines.
- Philinda Rand
- Hattie Grove, the English-language teacher of Carlos P. Romulo
- James D. Barry
- A.V.H. Hartendorp, the founder and publisher of the Philippine Magazine
- Adeline Knapp
- Carrie Rice Shaw
- Blaine Free Moore
- Glenn Anthony May
- Mary Fee, author of An American Woman’s Impression of the Philippines (GCF Books)
- Austin Craig, an American expert on José Rizal
- Audrey Boyle, former principal of Quezon National High School
- Henry H. Balch, former principal of Quezon National High School
- Benjamin Neal
- Roy Matthews
- Paul Gilbert
- Maud Jarman
- Blaine Free Moore
- Harry Cole, husband of another Thomasite, Mary Cole
- Frederic Marquardt, is himself a son of a pioneer Thomasite, who went back to the Philippines in 1987 to unveil a bust of his father.
- C. Goddard
- James O'Hara
- Edwin Copeland, first dean of UP College of Agriculture and founder of the University of the Philippines at Los Baños.
- Claude Edgar Andrews
- In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines by Stanley Karnow, Ballantine Books, March 3, 1990, 536 pages, ISBN 0-345-32816-7
- 12 October.htm An article about the Thomasites: An Army Like No Other, October 12, 2003
- An Article About the Thomasites' Centennial Project: Launching of a Book on Thomasites and Photographs August 15, 2003
- U. S. Peace Corps On-line
- An article about the Thomasites by Michael L. Tan
- Quezon National High School
- U.S. Peace Corps
- Thomasites Website
An Article on What the Thomasites ate on their voyage to the Philippines by Ambeth Ocampo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18 June 2004