If we are serious about education reform, we must start with our textbooks

In the long and winding conversation about education reform in the Philippines, much has been said about curriculum, pedagogy, infrastructure, and teacher training.

- ANNA MAE YU LAMENTILLO

Yet one of the most insidious roots of our educational woes remains largely untouched — our textbooks. These silent authorities in classrooms across the country continue to reproduce a version of history that undermines our identity and reinforces colonial narratives. If we are truly serious about meaningful reform, we must confront the problematic content still being taught to millions of young Filipinos — especially the notion that our history began with Ferdinand Magellan “discovering” the Philippines.

To be blunt: the Philippines was not discovered by Magellan. Our ancestors were here for thousands of years before European ships cut across our seas. We had thriving communities, sophisticated maritime trade routes, and cultural systems that connected us to neighboring civilizations in Asia. When we tell children that Magellan discovered us, we not only perpetuate a falsehood — we also reduce our ancestors to footnotes in their own land, erasing agency and dignity from the story of who we are.