Teaching Controversial Topics at the Intersection of History and Politics

Teaching controversial historical and political topics throughout the Philippines is transformative and important. School materials for education feel effects of curriculum biases plus colonial legacies. Parental pressure and community pressure, along with the threat of red-tagging, also affect these materials. It also looks with the problems of Spanish schools and problems of American colonial schools comparing those problems to pre-colonial systems of knowledge stressing oral traditions in addition to community apprenticeship based in barangays. Some textbook narratives that is available online spanning the Marcos era to the K-12 curriculum are also reviewed. These narratives and their alterations are also included. The chapter discusses the challenges teachers face daily through postcolonial theory along with critical pedagogy because they experience insufficient resources, inadequate training to address sensitive topics, and the need to be cautious with the administration. It shares real stories from teachers who actually have found innovative ways for addressing these issues, for examples, collaborating with Indigenous elders to then create some teaching modules, using storytelling and empathy circles, and also peer networks are formed so those materials can then be shared. Even with obstacles posed by the system, these examples show decolonization and critical awareness. The chapter ends with suggestions that are practical as well as theory-based for incorporating multiple perspectives, protecting academic freedom, and improving teacher training. It encourages educators and curriculum developers as well as policymakers to see education as a place in which students can learn not only about history but can also change history for the better.