Teachers as Believers of Marcos Lies

I cannot imagine as I truly lament teachers being Marcos apologists. They are the kind of human beings who first taught us the evils of cheating, lying, and any form of academic, behavioral, and disciplinary misconduct, but continue to defend a cheater and a liar joining the Philippine presidential race.

The biggest “scholastic dishonesty” that Marcos Jr. and his minions of teachers-apologist is when he lied about his educational achievements. I was surrounded by teachers at home and relatives and friends beyond it, both real and virtual. I cannot remember any of them lying about their educational status. Much more they are condoning those who lie about it or any other lies related to the pursuit of education, teaching in particular.

But some mentors are fighting nail and tooth for the truth about the evils of the Marcos dictatorship just like the teachers from all over the world condemning Hitler’s Nazi regime. 

This blog entry is for teachers only to react and just focus on his claim that he was really an Oxford graduate (other lies or issues are to follow).

Oxford graduate?

A certain Jacques Aboy, apparently a teacher from an organization called Rise for Education Alliance rightly puts it: “The worst kind of Marcos apologists are the learned ones, especially teachers. Imagine being exposed to research in the academia but would rather believe in the conspiracies from Tiktok, YouTube, and other unverified ctto sources. And there is a potential of them perpetuating lies to their students.” I just stumbled quote over Twitter yesterday so my fingers immediately hit the keyboard.

Speaking as a teacher by profession, those conspiracy theories about Tallano gold, Marcos Jr. as the true first man on the moon, his lies about his Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford University, among many, many, many others. But allow me to focus only on the Oxford thing for last night, as a participant in the SMNI Presidential Debate, Marcos Jr. was referred to as an “economist” twice by anchor Mike Abe which is outright dishonesty. Simple research would lead us to the truth that a special diploma in social studies is not a degree.

Talking of research at the backdrop of that Marcos Jr.’s Oxford dishonesty, it was Ferdinand Sr. who first lied on his son’s academic achievements. Joel Ariarte Jr., Miguel Paolo Reyes, and Larah Vinda del Mundo, researchers from the University of the Philippines that the lie began in 1978 when Marcos Sr. mentioned in his address before graduating students of the Philippine College of Commerce (now Polytechnic University of the Philippines) that his only son was "still a senior at Oxford." Truth is, Marcos Jr. was then preparing not for a college degree in which he had a senior standing but for a "special diploma in social studies."

Indeed, Jr. is his Sr.’s son. He shares the sins of his father. He benefitted from them.

To those in the academe who wants to delve more into studies and research, for verifiable and scientifically researched historical facts, to aid you in educating your students about the Marcos Regime, try to scroll, read and ingest the entries in this scholastic research and not just those from TikTok, Facebook or YouTube. The site can be accessed HERE.

Accessing this is good for your academic journey and …. sanity.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is both imperative for the teacher and the learner, the educator, and the student. They must look at a source document critically in their discussions. I was taught by my teachers that the education the students get from schools is a major factor in developing critical thinking.

In the contemporary Philippine setting, the teachers and the students themselves are so accustomed to having any information they need at their fingertips, they don’t realize that not all of this content is from YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, and other unverified sources is real especially Marcos’s Oxford lies.

I am very lucky to have my former mentors like Norma Malilay and Clemencia Mabalot, to mention just two, for instilling to my mind such a priceless virtue. Ma'am Clemen is my Philippine History teacher way back in college while Ma'am Norms taught the Works and Life of Jose Rizal.

In the end, all of us are responsible for the formation of our children, biological or otherwise. We, as a community, are the biggest influencers that will shape the hearts and minds of our children as we move on fighting for and telling the truth against lies.

Hope the scales fall from the eyes of those who don't.

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Photo: Malacanang Museum and Library