Thomasites

The Thomasites arrived in the Philippines on August 21, 1901, to establish a new public school system, to teach basic education, and to train Filipino teachers, with English as the medium of instruction. Adeline Knapp, Thomasite and author of The Story of the Philippines, said: Philippines had enjoyed a public school system since 1863, when a Spanish decree first introduced public elementary education in the Philippines. The Thomasites, however, expanded and improved the public school system and switched to English as the medium of instruction. The name Thomasite was derived from the United States Army Transport Thomas which brought the educators to the shores of Manila Bay. 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. Although the Thomasites were the largest group of pioneers with 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 Thomas, US Army soldiers had already begun teaching Filipinos the English language, thus in effect laying the foundation of the Philippine public school system. The US 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 arrival of Thomas, another group composed of 48 American teachers also arrived in the Philippines, aboard the USAT 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 US Army, the Taft Commission passed Education Act No. 74 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 US to the Philippines. ==Assignments==

After being quarantined for two days after their arrival on August 21, 1901, the Thomasites were finally able to disembark from the Thomas. They traveled 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, Bulacan, Bataan, Batangas, Pangasinan, and Tarlac. ==Curriculum 1902–1935==

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). ==Legacy==

The Thomasites built upon the Spanish school system created in 1863 and the contributions laid down by the US Army. They built elementary schools and learning institutions such as the Philippine Normal School, formerly the Escuela Normal de Maestros during the Spanish period (now Philippine Normal University) and the Philippine School of Arts and Trades, formerly the Escuela Central de Artes y Oficios de Manila (now Technological University of the Philippines) in 1901, the Tarlac High School on September 21, 1902, and the Tayabas High School (now Quezon National High School), on October 2, 1902. The municipality of New Washington, Aklan was named after US President George Washington as a tribute to the Thomasites. ==List of some Thomasite teachers==

• Harry Borgstadt, Division Superintendent, Occidental Negros, in Philippines for 14 years, eventually became an auditor for the US government in Washington D.C. • Edwin Copeland, first dean of UP College of Agriculture and founder of the University of the Philippines at Los Baños. • Austin Craig, an American expert on José Rizal who was stationed at Baao, Camarines Sur in 1902 • Prescott F. Jernegan, Instructor in Philippine History and Government and author of A Short History of the Philippines: For Use in Philippine Schools (1905, revised 1914). ==See also==