2025 December Articles

Articles - December 2025 - Weekly Features

December 3, 2025 The Pipers Arrive: Establishing the American Education System in Surigao
The arrival of the Americans signaled an immediate shift from the Spanish system, which provided little development and education beyond the Cartilla. The Americans almost immediately sought to establish a public education system, with the first teachers arriving in 1901-1902. These pioneer American educators were popularly, though indiscriminately, known as "Thomasites," named after the troop-ship USS Thomas. They found an educational void, with makeshift schools run by elderly locals who knew only the local dialect, prompting the Americans to replace them with young people who had "absolutely no previous preparation" and had to be taught a "strange and foreign language".

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December 10, 2025 Evangelists of Culture: The Thomasite Mission and Early Resistance 

The American teachers, exemplified by figures like George N. Briggs, Carl M. Moore, and Carrie J. Briggs, were driven by a missionary zeal to spread the American way of life and culture, acting as "new evangelists" in the predominantly Catholic province. Despite this dedication, attendance was initially poor due to several factors, including outright "Church opposition" in three towns where Catholic schools had already been opened by the local priest. Compounding this difficulty were epidemics of cholera and smallpox, and the fact that troops fighting nationalist resistance forces (labeled by the Americans as ladrones—thieves—but who were actually the forces of Sison and Concepcion) occupied many school buildings, disrupting instruction.

December 17, 2025 The Turning Point: Forging the Filipino Teaching Corps and the Provincial High School 

A critical turning point in the American educational program was the establishment of training facilities for locals, known as the Summer Normal Institute. The first successful session in 1903 enrolled 96 participants, representing 21 towns of the province, 77 of whom were prospective teachers. This development enabled better teaching work in towns without American instructors. Furthermore, the Provincial High School was established on June 29, 1903. Although housed in a rented building due to the poverty of the province, the Americans pursued this initiative, convinced that training the natives would ultimately form the backbone of the teaching corps.

December 24, 2025 Pied Pipers and Prosperity: The American Dream Takes Root in Surigao T

he secret of the Americans' success in the rural communities stemmed from their unique policy of operating primarily as "supervisors," rather than autocratic rulers. Unlike the Spanish, who held a contemptuous opinion of the natives' intelligence, the Americans recognized that the Filipinos had "tremendous potentials" and sought to cultivate friendly relations. This approach proved effective, as the new education offered Surigaonons "deliverance from the bondage of poverty" and provided a path for social and economic upliftment. As a result, the innocent folks "followed the Pied Pipers of the American dream".

December 31, 2025 From Pensionados to the Pipers’ Limit: The Thomasites and the Unconquered Tribes 

The American commitment to advancement was exemplified by the pensionado program, which awarded scholarships to the "best and brightest" students to study in the United States. Surigaonons such as Pilar Elumba and Lino Arreza were among the first batch of scholars in 1904-1905, later devoting their careers to education in the province. However, the American educational push, while welcomed by lowlanders, faced resistance from the indigenous Mamanwa and Manobo tribes. Despite efforts to teach them and even establishing a Mamanwa reservation in Mainit, these "Indigenous People" proved "tenacious in eluding the cold embrace of an alien culture". Notably, one Thomasite, John M. Garvan, stopped teaching altogether to live among the Manobos, choosing to learn from them rather than attempt to Americanize them, thereby providing the world with the first kind and authoritative writings about the tribes.

Interact with the book through Artificial Intelligence (AI): Visit the customized GPT by Open AI HERE and the Book Section of the Surigao Historical Society HERE

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