Filipino families set great store in family values. Children from early childhood are taught to love and respect family, especially their elders. This can be seen through the titles of respect that precede the names of older members of the family (i.e. older brothers and male cousins are called Kuya while older sisters and female cousins are referred to as Ate).
These bonds of family forged in childhood carry on throughout life, with deference being showed to elders of the family. Family ties run deep and are made manifest in crisis. Since I could remember, my parents and my grandmother have been there when I needed help. Indeed, in my childhood, it was my grandmother who was responsible for me much of the time, for my parents were often at work during nights and weekends. Even now, as I speak of the various school topics with my grandmother, I feel the connection I had with her as a child pulling at me. The connection is deep and powerful, ingrained in my heart and soul, for there is nothing I would not do for her or my parents. Yet this bond extends beyond immediate family, because I feel the same respect toward all members of my family which extends to aunts, uncles, cousins, and even special friends of the family (in Filipino society, these friends are given the same honorific titles given to blood relatives).
The second universal trait that I have gleaned from my talks with my grandmother is the devotion that each generation of the family has toward education. Education in the Philippines is the vehicle by which to advance a family's socio-economic status. Thus my family's tradition of fostering a good education among children. My grandmother has spoken of how Filipino education, while similar in organization to the American school system, is much more competitive and rigorous. Class ranking and competition is encouraged and promoted, with more advanced students competing for spaces in the more advanced classes. As in America, top students are rewarded with scholarships to universities and if qualified, to courses of studies which lead to lucrative carriers.
I have written before of my aunts and uncles of both sides of the family being well educated and well off because of that education. My grandmother speaks proudly of all her children, prideful in the knowledge that each of them has had the benefits of a college education (though one of my uncles didn't finish college). To help further illustrate how ingrained the value of education is and how important it is to my family, let us examine my parent's academic carrier. My mother finished valedictorian of her high school and my father finished salutatorian. This earned them a spot at the University of the Philippines, the top university of the country. There they entered into the newly created Physical Therapy program and graduated first and second (my mother also earned a minor in biology). They continued on with a WHO international scholarship to study abroad. My mother continued her studies in India and my father finished a Master's in Physical Therapy at Indiana University.
This dedication to education was passed down through to my generation. I myself am a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant finishing my Bachelor's degree and hoping to continue on to a Master's in Physical Therapy and Business. Among my cousins are an electrical engineer, two Respiratory Therapists, and a nurse. The rest of my cousins are top students in their respective classes at the primary and secondary levels.
Family and education are integral parts of the values taught to Filipino children. Through family, tradition and pride is preserved. Through education, the present generation seeds the future for prosperity. Family and education, pride and prosperity; these are the ties and values which bind Filipino families together.