The Filipino-American families we interviewed expressed a very high regard for education. Several parents' comments are quoted below.

"Children must have knowledge and use it to better the world."

"Education is a legacy. It is the greatest gift families give their children."

"Education is the key to success."

"Education helps to get a good job and succeed in your goals."

"If you get an education, you can get ahead in life easily."

"Education is very important. It is a first priority. Without education, you have nothing, and you get no where. With education, you have many more opportunities and options."

"To Filipinos, education is very important. There is a high percentage of college graduates in the Philippines. That is the way you can succeed in life."

"Education is the best. The only wealth I could give my children is knowledge, and they can only get that through education."

A Filipino-American teacher who has taught in SFUSD for more than twenty years told us about the school system in the Philippines.

"In the Philippines, elementary school is from K-6. There is no middle school. High school consists of 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, and 4th year. At the age of 16, students graduate high school. The decisions of whether or not students can further their education as well as what they study in college seems up to the parents. In general, there are fewer problems with Filipino students because of the values they get from their parents."

Today, most schools in the Philippines teach bilingually in Tagalog and English. In the Past, most Filipino schools taught exclusively in English; students would have been punished for using Tagalog at school.

Teachers and students familiar with schools in both countries helped us better understand how Filipino schools differ from American schools.

"There is a higher standard of education in the Philippines. Students are taught well, and teachers are considered second parents to the students."

"In the Philippines, the students stay in one classroom and their teachers come to them - unlike here where the students are the ones who move. The study here is a little longer and harder compared to the Philippines."

"Oral presentations are more emphasized in the Philippines than here. In California, students do a lot more writing in the lower grades than they do in the Philippines."

"Not much difference, but the schools in the Philippines are very strict."

"The schools in here in California have much higher standards than those in the Philippines."

"School hours are longer in the Philippines that here. Education isn't free, you have to pay for it. If you have no money, then your kids can't go to school. Here, education is free, up until college anyway."

"In school in the Philippines, there is a big emphasis on teaching kids to respect their parents and their elders; to always behave and stay out of trouble."

"In California, the technology used is more hi-tech than in the Philippines."

"I think education in California is more advanced, and the kids are smarter and not as shy."

"Education here is more advanced and easier. Most important is that it's free."