Vancouver, B.C.
Filipino education experts are creating the course to be taught starting next fall
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
Students of Filipino descent who wish to be bilingual now have a reason to celebrate.
The Vancouver School Board unanimously approved the proposal to offer a Filipino language and culture course for students in grades 10 to 12 at Sir Charles Tupper Secondary next school year.
According to the board, it will be the first time such a class will be available not only in the Vancouver School District but to any students in British Columbia, according to a cbc.ca report.
The course is designed to introduce students to the Filipino language at the beginner level while also exploring Filipino history, traditions and culture, said the Vancouver School Board in a written statement.
Leonora Angeles, a University of British Columbia professor and president of the National Pilipino Canadian Cultural Centre (NPC3), said the Filipino community has been lobbying for such a move since the 1990s so she welcomed the development.
“This is highly significant,” said Angeles. “I really wish it had come sooner.”
Teacher Maria Ramirez and principal Jason Lauzon worked on creating the course, and Ramirez will begin teaching it next fall, a dailyhive.com report also said.
Filipinos are reportedly the second-largest ethnic minority group in Vancouver, and the third-largest in BC overall — making up 5% of the population of Vancouver.
Filipino or Tagalog will be added to the current list of BC Ministry of Education-approved language courses that includes Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Punjabi, Mandarin, and American Sign Language.
The VSB would need to apply to the Ministry to have its course approved as a template course to be taught in other districts.
According to the NPC3, the number of Filipinos in Canada is approaching one million.
Canadian census data from 2021 shows that almost 83,000 British Columbia residents speak the Filipino language, and a total of 174,280 Filipinos live in the province.
“The Vancouver School Board is on the cutting edge in taking the lead in this because it is host to the biggest Filipino population in B.C.,” said Angeles.
Angeles said she would like to see the curriculum extended further so that students at the grade school level can also have the opportunity to learn about their language and culture.