FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in PROF EDUC 104 The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and Organizational Leadership Module No.4

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 4

THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER: A SOCIO-CULTURAL ISSUE

A nation empowers itself depending on the beliefs, goals, ideals, aspirations, and values of its citizens. In
order to achieve national unity and progress, it needs the full cooperation of its people. Values as a people
and as a nation give the identity that differentiates one race from the others. These values may improve or
hinder development and progress but nonetheless, with unity of diversity, development and progress are
achievable.

A Filipino holds strengths that most other nationalities admire but there are also weaknesses that
make him a laughing stock of its foreign neighbors.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, you should have:

THE FILIPINO CHARACTER (STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES)

STRENGTHS

1. Close Kinship - a Filipino considers family as an important social structure that they must love and
care. Close family ties results to the family still being intact regardless that the children are old
and with families of their own.
2. Respect for Elders - the use of “po” and “opo” in conversing or addressing older people is a sign of a
Filipino’s respect for the elders. Filipinos do not send their elders to nursing homes because they still
value the worth and presence of the elders at home
3. Hospitality – the Filipino community are very warm and hospitable. They even give “pasalubong”
(welcome gifts) and “pabaon” (farewell gifts) to guests. At times, they sacrifice their own comfort to
accommodate their guests very well.
4. Strong Faith in God - their faith in God keeps them united to overcome all the problems and
challenges of life.
5. Flexibility / Adaptability / Resiliency - the Filipinos have the trait to laugh at themselves and their
misfortunes or failures. This is a coping mechanism to balance emotional stress and to boost the
capacity to survive. They can smile in midst of problems and hardships. They can still crack jokes
despite the stresses of their daily lives and during calamities. They are strong and cheerful people.
6. Ingenuity and Creativity - they are good inventors. They often improvise and make productive use of
available resources.
7. Patience and Self-sacrifice - a remarkable quality of a Filipino is his capacity to endure difficulties
and hardships. Maybe related to the long suffering they endured during the many colonization in
Philippine history. They are patient enough to wait for their turn to be blessed with greener pastures
as long as they do what is right and good.
8. Hard work and Industry - Filipinos are globally recognized for their excellent performance in any
physical and technical tasks. Maybe visible due to the desire for economic security and advancement
for one’s self and family.
9. Fairness and Justice – they always show concern for the well-being of others. They uphold the
humanity of all people and regard everyone with respect and empathy. They are keen on
interpersonal relationships, their primary source of security and happiness. Fairness & Justice –>
Equality –> Social Justice –> Development & Progress.
10. Readiness to Share and Help – they’re always ready to lend a hand, not only in times of need
(calamities or disasters) but also in festive occasions (“fiestas”, baptisms and weddings). The
“bayanihan” spirit, or giving help without expecting something in return, of a Filipino is widely admired.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1

Study Guide in PROF EDUC 104 The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and Organizational Leadership Module No.4
WEAKNESSES

1. “Bahala Na” – this is also synonymous to the phrase “Que sera sera” (Whatever will be, will be), or
“Hakuna Matata” (No Worries). It leaves everything to chance or just let the circumstances take care
of themselves, embracing luck over good reason.
2. “Ningas Kugon” – “kugon” is a kind of grass that burns easily when dry but extinguished easily as
well. Like the cogon grass, Filipinos start things with great enthusiasm but at the first sign of difficulty,
the enthusiasm is consumed as fast as it has ignited.
3. Colonial Mentality – Filipinos prefer foreign-made products instead of patronizing Philippine-made
ones. This result to higher gains for foreign businessmen than local businessmen. Thus, it motivates
Filipino businessmen to improve the quality of their products to make it more competitive against
foreign ones.
4. “Mamaya Na” or “Bukas Na Lang” Habit - a poor habit, a sign of laziness, of leaving for a later time
what can be done at the moment or today. Thus resulting to stacked workload to be done and then
complain about it.
5. Crab Mentality - a troublesome trait evident in a Filipino where when one sees the progress of a
comrade, the other becomes resentful rather than happy for the achievement. Rather than to praise,
he would highlight everything negative about that person in an effort to bring him down or destroy his
reputation. They would focus on other’s own faults rather their own inadequacies.
6. “Patigasan” - most Filipinos find it hard to say “I’m sorry” or “pasensya na”. Their precious pride
always gets the best of them.
7. “Kanya kanya” - a trait which shows self-centeredness and lack of regard for others. There are
Filipinos who give priority to what they and their families could have, rather than what they can do to
share their wealth and serve others better. This trait shows poor signs of patriotism, loyalty to
community, and concern for the needs of others.

Passivity (submission to others or to outside influences)

1. Indebtedness “Utang Na Loob” – Filipinos are fond of asking for personal favors from others. It is
ingrained for them to acknowledge the person who had helped them in times of need. This is a good
act but if forced to repay with something bad to show gratitude then it becomes a problem. “Utang na
loob” must not be paid with unlawful acts.
2. Interpersonal Relationships “Pakikisama” - every person wants to belong to a group where they
can share ideas, jokes and feelings but sometimes it becomes a negative thing when the group is the
one that influences the person to do unlawful or foolish things in order to belong or to gain approval.
This is usually evident in the Filipino youth where peer pressure challenges someone’s morality.
3. Lack of Self-confidence “Hiya” - the Filipinos are shy to boast their achievements because they
might be regarded as show-offs. They prefer to just hide those achievements and call the idea “being
humble”. This is actually a sign of lack of self-confidence.

VALUE EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS

Imparting VALUE EDUCATION in Schools

Students of primary classes are often found cheating and using undesirable words. Disrespecting
teachers sometimes starts as soon as they move forward in their school. By the time they enter the middle
school, they have developed all the ways and means to display behavior with no values. It is a pity to see a
student of class 10 or 12 bunking classes and sitting with mobiles in the canteen, aimlessly engaged in
Facebook when actually this is the time to give finishing to whatever they have learnt. Such a scenario really
disheartens the educators who have been trying to create individuals with social and moral responsibilities. In
this fast world of globalization, junk food, terrorism and corruption, students are under continuous stress to
compete and prove themselves. Education system of any country is expected to prepare the following
generation to adapt better in the dynamic society. The process of schooling and higher education should
prepare students to differentiate between dos and don’ts at all stages of life. Our country has been adding
meaning to education by incorporating ‘karma’ and ‘dharma’. Ancient Indian education has produced citizens
with strong moral code and norms of living and conduct. But does our current education system train the
students to accept roles expected from them? Values have been felt to be subtracted from the rigid
boundaries of what we call education. Teaching-learning continues even today and production of citizens also
takes place. But does our current education system prepare students for these challenges? Are we preparing
individuals or humans?

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 2

Study Guide in PROF EDUC 104 The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and Organizational Leadership Module No.4

We educators have to act and accept the challenge of adding values in our education. We have to
develop means and ways to produce humans and not just individuals. The current article is an attempt to
explore the scope of value education at school level.

WAYS OF BRINGING CHANGE

Value education starts from home but it continues throughout life. Value education in schools plays a
major part in individual’s life. Value based education can shape their future and add purpose to their life. It
helps them learn to live the right way of life.

School is the place where the child spends most of his or her learning years. Many attributes and behavior
they develop for a life time have their roots in school. Including value education as a textbook, as a graded
subject or as a lecture per week is not enough. The school has to give due importance and priority for
inculcating these desirable values among children. Special well-planned learning experiences need to be
designed so that students understand the importance of value in the real sense rather than just a fact. These
learning experiences can be designed at two levels - curricular and co-curricular.

Value education through curriculum

We understand that time bound syllabus is very important but it cannot be taught at the cost of values. Our
subjects and treatment to each subject should be done consciously.

Need based: Curriculum should be developed after conducting a detailed analysis of the students of a
particular class. Values which are most important and urgent should be given priority. A group of values to be
achieved in a year’s time can be listed.

Flexibility and innovativeness: The curriculum of other subjects should be flexible enough to incorporate
teaching of values. Any theory or illustration explained may be linked with value in life. For example, while
explaining gravitation, we say anything that has ego falls down.

Teaching of language: While teaching creative writing and grammar rules, emphasis should be given on
values like sacrifice and brotherhood. This will help students explore more about each value.

Value education through co-curricular activities

Through curriculum a student acquires knowledge but overall development of an individual takes place
through co-curricular activities only. These activities help develop confidence and overcome inferiority
complex.

Educational activities: Activities like debate, poem recitation, should be organized on themes like
sincerity, honesty and regularity. This will not only strengthen the expression of feelings in words but also
emphasize to think and understand the importance of such values.

Cultural activities: These should not merely focus on display of talent. Through these art forms, socially
desirable values can be taught. Attributes like team work, coordination, respecting others’ opinion, etc. can be
cultivated while practicing any art form.

Social activities: When a school extends beyond classroom walls, a student realizes the problems in the
outside world. They understand their responsibility to solve these universal problems and start valuing the
things they already have.

Sports activities: They can focus on physical and mental health. Team spirit, honesty, determination, etc.
can be taught along with any game. Students also learn to respect others’ efforts and accept defeat.

ROLE OF TEACHERS AND MANAGEMENT

A strong moral character is an obligatory part of a teacher. No teacher can discharge his or her duties well
if the teacher is morally degraded, dishonest and a participant in the race of collecting unfair money. Value
oriented education is most effective when teacher considers it as a life mission and displays all moral and
desirable behavior traits in front of students. The value education teacher is not solely responsible but all

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 3

Study Guide in PROF EDUC 104 The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and Organizational Leadership Module No.4

teachers together should contribute to this process.

However hard the staff may try, these activities will gain importance only if management has similar
emphasis. The authorities should have a clear vision and anyone who deviates from the same should not be
entertained. Instructions and guidance can be given to teaching and non-teaching staff. Regular follow up of
given instructions should also be taken. Those who follow the given guidelines should be acknowledged and
appreciated.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

Choose three (3) Strengths and three (3) Weaknesses of the Filipinos and state a scenario in each character

SUMMARY

In order to attain development and progress, Filipinos must value and prioritize their strengths rather than
hide under the clutches of their weaknesses. Embracing the strengths and conquering their weaknesses will
truly help the Filipino nation go forward in attaining its plans and aspirations for a richer and more fun
Philippines.

REFERENCES

https://sites.google.com/site/philippinescomph/about

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 4