Early immigrants to Winnipeg: a teacher’s experience

2nd Update: August 21, 2022, 4:12 PM

Updated: August 20, 2022, 10:00 A.M.

Part Two

Early teaching experiences of Filipino Teachers in Winnipeg

Lolita Tumanguil Oandasan

When I arrived in Winnipeg in 1965 there were no Filipino teachers  in Winnipeg public schools. As far as I knew there was only one female Filipino teacher teaching in a private Catholic school. There were also very few Filipino nurses in Winnipeg’s two main hospitals St. Boniface and Winnipeg General Hospital. Many Filipino nurses and a handful of doctors who were in the United States came to Manitoba in the late ‘60s and early 70’s after their American work visas expired. Most of the professionals decided not to go back to the Philippines and instead chose to immigrate to cities like Winnipeg in Canada.

First Gr. class, Prince Edward Schoo, 1966.

There was a shortage of teachers when I came to Canada so getting hired was easy. To begin teaching, after showing evidence of being a teacher in the Philippines, one just had to take three courses to get a teaching certification. Nurses were also in high demand in Canada. In 1968, three years after we arrived, a large group of Filipino nurses were brought into Winnipeg and were allowed to work as licensed registered nurses right away. The number of Filipinos in the city went from about 30 to several hundred within a few short years. Family reunification was opened by Canada’s immigration department and many of the early Filipino settlers quickly sent in applications to bring their family members into the country. This contributed to the rapid increase in number of Filipinos in Winnipeg.

Philippine Association of Manitoba (PAM)

An organization called the Philippine Association of Manitoba (PAM) was formed to help support the growing community. In 1977 a provincial conference was organized among the members of PAM. Different subgroups began to organize representing different common interests. I initated the idea of the Manitoba Association of Filipino Teachers, and became its first President., a position I held for seven years .We started with a group of a dozen members, all of whom knew one another through community connections. Our objective was to promote and preserve the Filipino language and our culture among Filpinos in the province.

All-Canadian teaching staff I joined at Prince Edward School in 1966. (Photo provided)

The membership grew to more than 30 after a couple of years. Our members were Filipino teachers trained in the Philippines. By the late 70’s Winnipeg began experiencing an oversupply of teachers in the city, and we were finding that newly arrived Filipinos with teaching backgrounds began having trouble obtaining Manitoba teaching certfication. In addition, with the increasing numbers of Filipinos and their families immigrating to the city, the number of Filipino students attending Winnipeg schools increased dramatically in a very short  time. Winnipeg teachers in general across school divisions, were experiencing challenges with students because of language barriers impacting their education. Some of the schools were diagnosing newly arrived Filipino children as slow learners or even worse, labelling them as mentally retarded.

Filipino parents began voicing their concerns about the experiences their children were facing and these issues were reported to our association. In my leadership role within the Manitoba Association of Filipino Teachers (MAFTI) , I began to organize parents’ groups in schools where there were significant numbers of Filipino students.  Most of the organized parent’s group were from Winnipeg School Division No. 1.

Filipino Christmas Program sponsored by MAFTI. (Photo provided)

At one of the school board meetings held by Winnipeg School Division No. 1, parent representatives came and together we presented our concerns about the mislabelling of our Filipino children. We lobbied for the school division to hire Filipino teachers in schools where there were significant number of Filipino students enrolled. I explained to the members of the school board that these children needed someone in the school with whom they could identify. Thankfully the school board trustees listened. They began with hiring a para-professional educator, to support Filipino students and as a resource to teachers at John M. King elementary school. Eventually they were hired as a classroom teacher in the school. Another elementary school, Victoria Albert, also hired a Filipino Teacher Aide who eventually became a classroom teacher. There were more Filipino teachers hired in other Winnipeg School Division #1 schools over the subsequent years. I then initiated the hiring of a Liaison Officer at the Junior and High School levels after trying to negotiate for the hiring of a Filipino guidance counselor in the schools. The school division created this liaison position due to the absence of a qualified Filipino guidance counselor available in the city to hire. Several presentations were made to the school boards before I finally succeeded in having them fulfill the request.

Members of MAFTI with Manitoba Education Minister Maureen Hemphill. L-R (Front) Leonie Bailon (deceased), L-R facing picture Leonie Bailon (deceased) can’t identify this second one, Rose Falgui,Rosalinda Cantiveros (deceased),Maureen Hemphill (Minister of Education),Gemma Dalayoan,Lolita T.Oandasan,Caridad Rino, Back Row Condrado Santos (deceased),Rey Pagtakhan,Romulo Magsino Can’t identify three of them Enter Lolita Lolita Oandasan Beside Leonie Bailon is Jenny Hernaez, unidentified, Rose Falgui,Rosalinda Cantiveros (deceased),Maureen Hemphill (Minister of Education),Gemma Dalayoan,Lolita T.Oandasan,Caridad Rino. Back Row: MLA Condrado Santos (deceased),Rey Pagtakhan,Romulo Magsino,unidentified. (Photo provided)

Teaching Pilipino

Today the legacy of the Manitoba Association of Filipino Teachers has been sustained as many Filipino teachers work not only in Division #1, but also in Seven Oaks school division where high concentrations of Filipinos live. In order to fulfill the association’s objectives to preserve and promote Filipino language and culture, we put forth a proposal to teach Pilipino , together with the teaching of Music and Folk Dances.  Again, I went to the school board Division # 1 and with the support of parents asked that Pilipino language classes be offered with cultural music and dance taught as a core subject. Some classes were opened at John M King school, Tyndall Park school and Victoria Albert school all in Winnipeg School Division# 1. The members of the Association through my leadership developed a curriculum for Grade One to  Six. The Winnipeg School Division #1 also approved the teaching of Pilipino as a core subject at the secondary level in some of the high schools in the Division. Unfortunately both core programs, in the elementary and secondary school systems lost support from both parents and students after a few years . It was at around this time  when I stepped down as President of the Association. Fortunately the teaching of Pilipino language and Filipino culture continued but only on Saturdays and after school in some schools and on a volunteer basis.

The Role of Politicians

The author as a member of the Board of Regents o The University of Winnipeg is seen seated 5th from left. (Photo provided.

In the eighties when the New Democratic Party (NDP) was the government of Manitoba, I became very involved in politics. I supported the NDP candidates who ran for the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. Some of these candidates that won in the election became cabinet ministers. I became friends with the Minister of Education Maureen Hemphill. She was very supportive of multiculturalism. The Pilipino Language Program that was initiated when I was President of the Manitoba Association of Filipino Teachers was strongly supported by her. She helped us obtain some funding for our teaching of the Filipino Language and Culture program. She recommended me to be a member of the University of Winnipeg Board of Regents where I served for five years. It was through her recommendation to the Department of Education that we were able to develop the Pilipino Curriculum from K- Junior High school which was used in the teaching of Pilipino both as a core subject and at the after-school programs. A number of Filipino teachers that were already hired as classroom teachers were excused from their teaching duties once a month for five years to go to the Department of Education in order to work towards the development of the curriculum. We also developed a number of bilingual Pilipino story books for the children’s use in these classes.  My association with these politicians and the work I saw they could facilitate, encouraged me to run for City council in one of Winnipeg’s civic elections. I ran against two candidates that year : one was the incumbent Mr. Skowron, a long-time councillor of the area; and the other was a businessman. As it was my first time to be involved in a municipal election, I did not realize how hard it was to campaign.

Encountering racism at the front door

Every afternoon after a full day of teaching I would go out to knock on doors and meet people in the neighbourhood. What I didn’t expect was the level of racism that was behind closed doors. I encountered some people in the community who told me to my face to go back to my home country. There were others who would not even open their doors upon seeing that I was coloured. These experiences disappointed me and taught me that discrimination truly existed in Canada. Having lived in the city for at least two decades at the time, teaching in a community and a school division with few Filipinos, completing a graduate degree and sitting as a Board of Regents at the University of Winnipeg, with two daughters in medical school, I believed we belonged and had every right to be accepted into the community. To witness the ugliness faced on the campaign trail was disheartening. However, we ran a strong positive campaign and in the end we were just 200 votes behind the  winner. I learned many things from this experience but most importantly was proud to have tried. I continued to serve the community by sitting on committees of various organizations such as the St Alphonsus Catholic School Board, the St. Mary’s Academy Resource Development Committee, CEDA, just to name a few.

Looking back now, I don’t have any idea how I was able to juggle my schedule so that I could attend all of the meetings. I value all these experiences and they truly enriched my life. In 1994, I was nominated for the YM/YWCA’s Women of Distinction Award . Someone had heard of my years of volunteer work and achievements for the community to be recognized along side such an amazing group of women and the special dinner offered in our honour at the Fairmont Hotel is a milestone I will not forget.

Retirement at Last

After thirty one years of teaching in Winnipeg, Manitoba , Canada and ten years in the Philippines, I finally decided to retire.Teaching was becoming more like a babysitting job. The children have no respect for their teachers and the parents have so much say about the affairs of the school.The work was demanding and so many of the teachers were experiencing burn out and stress.My daughters were completing their residency programs in Ontario and the eldest was getting married.The children would eventually settle themselves and their families in Ontario and abroad. It was time to leave the classroom and begin to enjoy a well earned and more relaxed retirement lifestyle.

Lolita and Cesar Oandasan enjoy their retirement with travels abroad. Here they are in a Geneva trip in 2018. (Photo: Facebook)

Reflections over the years

Looking back on our decision to come to Canada in 1965, our reason to immigrate was to improve our lives. We took a chance as a young couple. We experienced hardships in the first few years , but we never regretted the decision . We have lived a very fortunate life with many blessings. I believe that my upbringing contributed to my desire to help others and I can only thank my husband and my children for allowing me to give of myself in the service of others so that they could live a better life. This is a legacy that I want to leave to my children and grandchildren. I am grateful to God for all the years that He guided and directed me and especially giving me wisdom to know what I was doing. He has rewarded me with a loving family and good health that enables us to visit our children and beautiful grandchildren regularly and to enjoy embarking on various adventures while traveling the world. We have enjoyed family reunions in Toronto and many other places such as France,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia,Dubai and AbuDhabi,UAE,Geneva,Switzerland, Barcelona, Spain, Australia,TajMahal in India,the Pyramids in Egypt,African Safari in South Africa, Petra in Amman Jordan,Central Europe, the Holy Land,South America, Southern Caribbean the Philippines and a few more. Since my retirement we started travelling once or twice a year and have traveled to around sixty countries so far.

Related reading: Part 1

 

Early immigrants: A teacher’s journey

 

1 thought on “Early immigrants to Winnipeg: a teacher’s experience”

  1. Corazon Guiang Fernandez

    Very informative and impressive Manang Lita, million thanks for inspiring and guiding our community during the early years, a true legacy that will remain to most Filipinos here in Winnipeg especially the students and parents whom you have shared your kindness and best outlook in life, more blessings to you and your family, thanks for sharing.

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