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Studying Under Nobel Winner Edmund Phelps
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Jan 1, 1970
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Seeing the Stars at the US OPEN 2006
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Jessica Agra: Tennis Champ at Fourteen
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Travelers, We All Are
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Kamsamida Kim
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Confused state of MY religion
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A Leap of Faith
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Buon Giorno! The Start of a European Adventure
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Inspired by Leaders, Bill Clinton Included
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Leaving my Heart in Shanghai
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On Finding the Right Words to Describe Greece
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The Chronicle of Human Life
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The Kiss of Eternity: A Fairytale
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Til When Do We Continue to Care
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Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
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A League of Their Own
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Dean Rudy Ang: Educating Future Men for Others
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A Teacher’s Voice
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Ithaca
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Nicole Lim: Life at Harvard
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The Lord of the Rings: Beyond the movie
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The Sound of Music
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The Game: Popet Lizardo on Tennis
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Filipino Wisdom in Foreign Shores
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Victor Calanog: Flying High
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Wilson Lee Flores: The Passions of a Writer
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A Greater Scheme of Things
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Remembering Our Grandfather
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Filipino Wisdom in Foreign Shores
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Thursday, January 1, 1970
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An Interview of Dr. T. Ruanni R. Tupas
There is no denying the presence of Filipino talent in practically every corner of the world. And, well…to the risk of sounding nerd-y, I have always given special notice and looked up to those who excel in the academic field.
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Studying in a foreign country is never easy – for most people, that is. There is a whole adjustment period one has to go through. I myself can attest to this. I went through a long process trying to convince myself that I didn’t make a terrible decision – leaving behind friends, family, and a perfectly good school where I was already happy in. Thus being said, teaching abroad is an even greater feat. Imparting one’s hard-learned knowledge to groups of diverse students must certainly be exciting, but also frustrating at times.
One of the biggest factors which led to my studying abroad was the fact that my dad did the same. Though my dad never said anything about my leaving the country (and was in fact one of strong opponents to this idea), he would tell my brother and I stories of how exciting his entire college life was. Luckily for him, Dr. Bobby Mariano, then a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a person I’m truly proud of to have as my ninong, was there to act as a mentor and make the transition process easier and less intimidating for fellow Filipinos. Little did I expect that I would find someone as welcoming as Professor Mariano in my stay in Singapore – Dr. T. Ruanni F. Tupas.
Dr. Tupas or Ruanni, as most students fondly call him, is a lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Center for English Language Communication. More importantly, he is the acting-kuya of many Filipino students here in NUS. Ruanni, a native of Aklan, graduated from B.A. English Studies: Language (cum laude) and M.A. Critical Language Studies at the University of the Philippines, and recently received his Ph.D. in Linguistics at NUS. He has been teaching since 1992 and has taught courses both in universities and various private and government agencies, including the US Peace Corps, National Bureau of Investigation, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and the Civil Service Commission in the Philippines.
Ruanni believes that teaching and researching English are inescapably social and political in nature. As a mentor to young Filipino students at NUS, Ruanni shares his insights in this interview, shedding light on the pros and cons of studying and teaching in foreign shores.
YS: How long have you been teaching?
I started teaching in 1992, after I graduated from U.P. I taught some undergraduate courses in U.P., then left for the U.S and taught at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. I went back to U.P. for a year then came to Singapore. I started full-time teaching at NUS only recently, but have been teaching part-time since 1999 while I was doing my Ph.D.
YS: What prompted you to enter the field of education?
The main source of inspiration was really my family. Many in my family are in the field of education. My mom is currently a dean in a local institution in Aklan. My grandmother was a principal. Basically, I was born and taught to teach.
YS: What traits do you believe someone must possess to be considered as a “good teacher?”
I think it’s really about a having a vision for your students. It’s basically the same in any profession, right? You need to have passion for what you are doing. In teaching, every time you enter your classroom, you can’t just relay information to your students. You need to understand what it is that you want your students to be in the future. It’s really more about wanting to mold them into certain kinds of students, and not just simply going to the classroom and giving them the information that they need.
YS: What made you decide to apply for a teaching job in Singapore?
To be honest, it’s really all about money. (laughing) For me, nothing actually beats teaching in the Philippines. But especially now, since I just got my Ph.D., I just might spend a few years in Singapore to save up, make the most of the fantastic resources here, and establish contacts with fellow scholars in the region. When you want to create a name for yourself as a scholar in your field, particularly in Southeast Asia, this is the place to go.
YS: How different is it to teach Filipino and foreign students (specifically, Singaporeans)?
It’s very different in the sense that the kind of students that I encountered here in Singapore and in the Philippines came from different socio-political contexts. Of course, I can’t speak for any group in general because I only taught students from U.P. I can’t say that those are all the students that we have in the Philippines. If I can say something about students in U.P., I think students there are more unpredictable. Generally, students are students and especially in a non-Western context like in the Philippines, students still show a lot of respect for their teachers. However, in terms of ideas, I find myself more nervous every time I meet a new set of students in U.P. I think this is because there’s always a variety of ideas or an explosion of arguments. There’s always the possibility, however small, that someone will simply stand up and tell you that he/she doesn’t believe in what you’re saying and will walk out of the room.
In Singapore, students tend to listen to their teachers more. They do what the teachers want them to do. They follow instructions more often than Filipino students. One thing I like more about Singaporean students – for better or worse, they take their studies very seriously. From the point of view as a teacher, it has never been a problem of mine to motivate students. In U.P., you need to do more arm-twisting. A teacher there needs something to grab students’ attention. Students there come from a variety of backgrounds – the broad spectrum of Philippine society – rich and poor – is there. The challenge is always how to mediate between a variety of needs and interests.
YS: Why do you think that Singaporeans are said to be more hardworking?
The pressure from society is there to start with. The present educational system requires kids to study hard. If not, they will lose out. The discourses and ideologies that are promoted in society are those of competitiveness and being the best. As young as 7 or 8, kids are already told if they’re good or not good. Because of the limited resources in society, there is more pressure to gain access to such.
In the Philippines, a different kind of access is being dealt with. There is definitely less access to society’s resources from the point of view of the poor. But I think that issue really is that historically, support for education has not been very firm from the state. Education has deteriorated because of such. On one hand, Filipino culture dictates that education is very important. On the other hand, because of the deteriorating quality of education due to lack of funds, focus is not really on quality, but just getting a diploma. In my case for example, since I was schooled in the province – in Aklan, my only goal when I entered U.P. was to pass. It didn’t seem to matter what grades I got. The pressure to excel is the Philippines is not as great as compared to a very very small society such as Singapore.
YS: In the university level, what are the differences between the educational systems?
Naturally, there are a lot of pros and cons. In U.P. there is what you call academic freedom on the part of the teachers. Different sorts of voices are allowed in the classroom. Teachers can change their own curricula as much as they want to. Students have access to a variety of ideas. The disadvantage is that there seems to be lack of uniformity of ideas. Not that I want uniformity – but the discipline needed is just not there. Anyone can just say this and that without a lot of thinking and decision-making. Academic freedom has also been stretched to the point that is it okay for some teachers to just tell their students that they don’t have to be in class. For the whole semester some teachers will just show up three or four times. Why? Because Filipinos believe that students can actually be educated outside the classroom. This is the kind of uniformity or discipline that I have in mind – structuring one’s own professional life for the benefit of the students. I was also a student back then in U.P. and I was also confused in that sense. Students’ rhythm depends too much on the mood of the teachers.
In NUS, it’s the other side of the coin. I really value the kind of professionalism that the university imposes upon the teachers. There is less teacher-factor in the teaching of any course. Whether there are three or five of us teaching the same course, we always know that the basic content is being taught by everyone across the classes. Of course, the main disadvantage is that the creativity of the teachers is being curtailed. You cannot do as much even if you think you can benefit the students just because everyone else is not doing it. The ideal thing is probably to be professional about what you teach but at the same time be given the opportunity to design your own courses as much as you want.
YS: Personally, what are the advantages and disadvantages of teaching in a foreign country?
Definitely, as what I said, the technology and resources are here. At just one click of the mouse, I can have the stuff I want for my classes and research. Second, it has always been my philosophy that precisely because I’m in the teaching profession, the more varied the cultural backgrounds are of my students, the better. This is when you’re being a good teacher is being tested. One cannot just simply say that this particular method is an effective way of teaching without really knowing who the students are. In this sense it has always been a challenge to read my students’ minds, to understand the kind of practices that they have in their study habits, the kind of exam questions that they want. For example, in UP, when you tell your students that it is an open book or essay exam, everyone celebrates because that means that there is less preparation. You still have to read, but the idea is that you will pass without memorizing. In NUS, an open book exam is less valued that something more empirical in nature. Students wouldn’t know what to study for and they are less comfortable with this. It’s really more about always broadening one’s idea of what makes an effective teacher because an effective teacher in one culture is very different from being an effective teacher in another culture.
YS: What about the quality of education given in NUS as compared to our local universities? How important are the rankings being released by Asiaweek or more recently – Asia, Inc.?
Well, in the first place, who defines what quality education is? Of course, we can always philosophize that quality education is something that cannot really be empirically tested. On the other hand, the reality of it all is that it has to be empirically tested so that you know that what you’re doing is “right” or “wrong.” After the Asiaweek rankings, UP for example – even after questioning the idea behind the survey, has somehow accepted the survey as it is and told itself that something has to be done. Whether or not this survey was skewed is another issue. Ranking will definitely be an important gauge but not the only measurement for quality education. Once again, the value of education varies from one culture to another. I believe that in the Philippines, we have a much more dynamic non-Western view of quality education. Example, education can be done on the streets; you can learn from the people you talk to and so forth. It’s not just a matter of being able to absorb the information being given to you or being able to mouth back whatever that was taught to you but being able to critically survey the ideas that have been taught to you.
In Singapore, if one observes carefully, there has been a growing emphasis towards critical thinking. Perhaps it may not be as easy to encourage because the entire Singapore system is not as open as the Philippines.
YS: What about the quality of education in Asia compared to those in Western Universities? Can Singapore or Philippine schools be competitive internationally?
I believe so. I haven’t been to most of the Western universities, but I’ve done some research in the States and I’ve visited universities in England. I can speak only for my field in Applied linguistics. I study language in context. When I say “context,” it is in the Southeast Asian region, in Asia. In this sense, education is comparable depending on the kind of expertise the country provides. In some aspects – yes, maybe Western universities are better, but in some areas Singapore or local universities can take the lead.
YS: Do you have any family members in Singapore?
Yes, I recently got married to Mildred B. Gonzales. She is with me in Singapore. My parents visit from time to time.
YS: Do you have any long-term plans to settle down in Singapore?
Well, not really, but I don’t want to close the door so to speak. It has not really been my plan to grow old here. I’m here to do research, to start off a career, to share ideas with my colleagues and learn from them. But why not, if a good opportunity arises?
YS: After experiencing how it is to study in a foreign country, would you recommend young Filipinos to study abroad?
Yes, but it actually depends on why you would like to study abroad. It is good if you want the best of all technologies and quality teaching. A lot also study abroad to learn to be independent. But whether or not going out of the country is the be-all and end-all of one’s life, is of course a different matter. You can study in the Philippines and still become successful.
YS: How diverse is the student and staff body at NUS?
Really diverse. There is a growing number of international students coming to Singapore. The Government is encouraging such. As I said, this is very very useful. The more cultures that are available, the better because you get to broaden your perspective of the world. The faculty staff is diverse culturally, but not as diverse educationally. Be they Chinese, Malay or Indian, they are usually products of the West. The kind of educational orientation that the faculty provides is anchored in Western tradition. Interacting with a culturally diverse staff has been a mind-opening experience.
YS: Are you happy with your job as a professor?
Yes, teaching is a passion for me. I love teaching. Anywhere, anytime, teaching will always be something that is close to me and that I will love to do.
YS: How big is the Filipino student community? Is it a close-knit community?
Yes, there is also a growing Filipino community at NUS. I actually miss the times when there were fewer Filipinos and we all knew each other. During cultural presentations and the international night, I’m proud to see a lot of Filipinos participating. Right now, there’s a plan to start a Filipino youth group called Samahang Kabataan. The challenge is to produce a strong leadership to bring everyone together and to continue activities we have been doing for the past years.
YS: What words of advice would you like to send out to students and teachers aspiring to go abroad?
Not to forget the fact that you are a Filipino. Wherever you are, always ask what can you do as a Filipino. No matter how small it is, no matter how insignificant it seems to be, the fact that you ask that kind of a question is already something that is meaningful.
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