UNIT IV: The Strength and Weaknesses of the Filipino Character

A Socio-cultural Issue
Unit IV:The Strength and Weaknesses of the Filipino Character: A Socio-cultural Issue

The Filipino Characteristics

The Filipino Characteristics

•Filipinos have been described as friendly, outgoing, sensetive,easily
offended,nosy,garrulous,direct,hospitable,feisty,irreverent,good
natured,clever,witty,gregarious,happy,generous,easy to laugh,gracious,easy to
befriend,casual,fun loving,sensetive and hospitable. Personal and family honor are
stressed,as well as as dignity and pride. Education is highly valued and families make
great sacrifices to educate their children Hiya is instilled in Filipinos at an early age. To
be shamed is the greatest form of disgrace. Filipino culture developed over centuries in
tandem with and in response to Western culture introduced by the spanish qnd later
Americans.

•Filipinos have a strong sense of family and community. They are very gregarious and
like to talk and hang out with family and friends. They love to fool around,gossip,make
jokes and tease one another. Rumors spread quickly. Some say Filipino are happy go
lucky people who are often pessimistic is about today but always optimistic that
tomorrow will be betey.
•People living in urban areas are more exposed to cosmopolitan values. They tend to be
less traditional and more modern. Those living in rural areas, on the other hand, still
value tradition even though life appears to be a struggle,many people are happy with
their lives.

The Strength and Weaknesses of the Filipino Character

Strengths
 Pakikipagkapwa-tao: opening yourself to others and feel one with others with
dignity and respect deal with them as fellow human beings.
-sense of fairness and justice
- Concern for others
- Ability to emphize with others
 - Helpfulness I and generosity
- Practice of hospitality
- Sensitive to others feelings and trust..

2. Family Orientation:a genuine and deep love for family

- Commitment and responsibility
- Honor and respect
- Generosity and sacrifice
- Sense of trust and security
3. Joy and Humor: Filipinos have a cheerful and fun-loving approach to life and its up
and down, pleasant l disposition l, a sense of humor and propensity for happiness that
contribute not only to the Filipino charm but also to the Filipino Spirit. We laugh at those
we love and hate. We tend to make joke about our good and even bad fortune, to smile
even in the most trying of times.
- Emotional balance and optimism
- Healthy disrespect for power and office.
4. Flexibility, Adaptability and Creativity
5. Hard work and industry: capacity for hard work given to raise one's standard living
of a decent life for one's family.
6. Faith and religiosity: Faith in God- accepting reality to comprehend as a human
created by god."Pampalakas-loob"
7.Ability to Survive: Filipinos have an ability to survive, which is manifested in our
capacity for endurance despite difficult times in our ability to get by on so very little.
Filipinos make do with what is available in the environment.

Weaknesses
1. Extreme Personalism
- Always trying to give personal interpretation to actions
- Thank you with"but"(compliment-critism-compliment)
2. Extreme Family Centeredness
- Strong family protection good or bad condition
3. Lack of Discipline: relaxed attitude but poor time management
- Impatient and unable to delay gratification or reward
- love to make short-cuts or 'palusot 'systerm
- Careless
4. Passivity and lack of Initiative: strong reliance to others fate
- yeah proud Pinoy.its all because of the race (nationality/blood) not by persons
attitude l, hardwork,dream and perseverance etc.
 - very complacent (relax) but their rarely is a sense of urgency(its ok we have 1 day
left to finished,just relax)
- too patient without any plan or action l(matiisin) "bahala na system"- no matter what,
at least we tried.
5 Colonial Mentality: patriotism vs Active awareness
- Luck of love and appreciation on what they have
Open outside but side-open or close inside
6. Kanya-kanya Syndrome: self-serving attitude that generates feeling of envy and
competitiveness towards others(status vs prestige).
- Personal ambition but insensitive to common good
_ Crab mentality
- Lack of appreciation resulting unhealthy competition
7. Lack of self-Analysis and Reflection
- Sometimes superficial and flighty
I. Filipino Values
The main traits under Filipino Values and value- orientation:
1)person-alism,2) Familialism, and 3)particularism (popularism) . These strongly
influence Filipino behaviour and decision making, and are the basis of his personal
beliefs, and cultural traditions and practices. They are the basis for acceptable behavior.
Personalism is the emphasis Filipinos give to interpersonal relations or face-to-face
encounters. Successful Leadership or being a good manager necessitates a personal
tough,and problem solving os effective if handled through good personal relations.
Familism emphasizes the welfare and interest of the family over those of the
Community. The family is basis of group action and almost all community activity
centers on the family. The family, and not the individual,decides on important matters l,
and these are decided on the basis of the family, not individual interest. The family
honor and not that of the individual, is at stake when a family member makes a mistake.
Particularism results from the strong family influence on individual and group behavior.
Individuals strive to promote their own and their family's interest over community
interests. Being popular among peer groups is highly desirable , hence Filipinos make
special efforts to entertain friends and relatives.knowing how to entertain people
( marunong umasikaso ng kapwa) is important. Conformity to proper codes of conduct
reaps the rewards of cooperation and assistance; non-conformity is punished by
withdrawal of support.
Value orientation is the way individuals relate to objects, events and ideas. three main
obligationd under Filipino value orientation' relational (pakikipagkapwa) , emotional
(damdamin) , and moral(karangalan). All, or one may influence work or social
relationships.
Relational obligations are moral interpersonal or face-to-face relationships and their
resulting obligations. This is relative to the personalism value in Filipino cultural
orientation . The nature of interpersonal relationships are determined by pakikiramay,
pakikisama, bayanihan, and galang pakikisamahan or smooth interpersonal relations
(SIR) means going along with someone's views whether agreeing or not .this enhances
camaraderie, Trust, confidence , and loyalty. This is related to bayanihan or reciprocal
labour and giving help without compensation. In turn, one can request help in time of
need from those to whom you extended help.

Galang or respect is part of most social encounters. It indicates difference to the

opinions of elders,peers,or those in authority, during important deliberation . Any verbal
clash with older people in public or any sign of extreme familiarity with members of
higjer official status in public meetings, are signs of disrespect.

II. Values Education In school values should be integrated in various aspects of life. It
goes without saying that values go a long way in building a person’s character.
Education without strong character is like a ship without a captain. Good education is
inconceivable if it fails to inculcate values which are indispensable for a holistic life.
Qualifications and skills are essential in the success of an individual hut without values
he is incomplete as a person.

Values are virtues that are imbibed by the children from their surroundings, the
environment ,in which they are brought up the environment in which they live . The
people around them play a vital role in leaving sn impression on the tender minds young
individuals. With the increasing trend of the nuclear families, parents working round the
clock, absence of grandparents and elderly in the family, children spending a lot of time
with housemaids and caretakers.

Here, role of the school and particularly the teacher becomes imperative to ensure that
values are interwoven in all her lessons she takes up with her students. Values should
be a part of each lessons, each topic taken up irrespective of the subject being taught.
Here are few ideas which can help the teachers in incorporating values while designing
lessons for their class:

•Languages are integral part of any curriculum. Various skills such as reading, writing,
and speaking require a lot of textual material. The teacher can make use of motivating
excerpts from the lives of famous personalities for the same. Speeches delivered by
prominent leaders can be used as audio tools. It is vital to expose the students to our
rich and valuable culture, ideas and vision of our great leaders who had the courage to
break away from stereotypes, narrow minded thoughts of the society.
•Dramatics are an essential part in any school curriculum nowadays. Various inspiring
instances from the lives of different leaders which show their determination, courage,
selflessness can be staged or narrated to the students. Even inspirational movies can
be shown to leave a lasting effect on the young minds.
•Social sciences teach us about the society. Debates, discussion, etc. are conducted
frequently during these lessons. These form good tools in teaching values such as
inclusiveness, positive interaction,tolerance,importance of participation and being
respectful towards others despite difference of opinion.
•Circle time is important as the students get a chance to express their feelings. During
this time the teacher can stit the minds of the students and give them a chance to
recognize and express their thoughts. For example, for teaching truthfulness, the
students can be asked how do they feel when they speak the truth and how do they feel
when they dont. What stops them from speaking the truth? Do they feel proud when
they stay-I’m truthful, Im honest, etc. It is important on the teacher’s part to create an
affable environment where students share their ideas and thoughts fearlessly.

•Field visits to orphanages and old age homes present a true picture of the situation of
our society. This can sensitize the students towards the less fortunate individuals of the
society. Students can be encourage to donate a blood, maybe a book,a short,or a toy
and share their happiness with the less privilege counterparts in the society. This will not
just teach them sharing, hekpfulness but akso gratitude for all that they possess.
•There have been many scientists who believes the unbelievable and worked towards
achieving the unachievable. Their lives display their enormous determination and
tireless efforts. While teaching science, the teacher was encourage the students to try to
find out about the lives of various scientists. This can be done as a part of a project too.
Whenever taking up group activity, it is essential to stress on the significance of
cooperation, acceptance and inclusiveness.
•There can be assemblies conducted on different values where students can showcase
the importance of values through dance, drama ,music and etc.
•Games too are an important tool use by the teacher can be as innovative as she
wishes to be to create her own games which will help the students gain what she aims
at. For example,- as part of human nature we all tend to find faults and negativity in
others. There can be a game in which students can b asked to mention one positive
thing about their partner. In this way students can be conditioned to see positivity in
others.
Optimism can be inculcated in the students by the efforts of the teacher. She
should always keep her students motivated by her thoughts and inspired by her
words and actions. The teacher must practice what she preaches as she is a role
model for the students and student emulates their teachers. Also, it is extremely
important to appreciate positive behavior. Students repeat the behavior when
appreciated. So as a teacher never leave any opportunity to praise the students
even for their slightest of efforts. This will help to remain determined , have a
positive outlook and a happy demeanor.