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The Thomasites was originally a group of about five hundred American teachers sent by the U.S. government to the Philippines in August 1901 who arrived on the USAT Thomas but it has also be expanded to include any teacher that arrived in the first few years on the American Colonial Period of the Philippines. ==Foundation, purpose and etymology== The Thomasites arrived in the Philippines on August 21,〔karnow, In Our Image, Page 85〕 1901, to establish a new public school system, to teach basic education, and to train Filipino teachers, with English as the medium of instruction.〔Karnow, Stanley. ', Ballantine Books, Random House, Inc., March 3, 1990, 536 pages, ISBN 0-345-32816-7〕〔("The Thomasites:An Army Like No Other", News.Ops.gov.ph October 12, 2003 )〕〔(Thomas Sites In the Philippines Remarks by US Embassy Charge d'Affaires Michael E Malinowski In Honor of the Thomasites Centennial Memorial Program at the American Teacher's Plot North Cemetery Manila on August 26 2001 (from the U.S. Peace Corps Online Website) February 17 2003 )〕〔(Tan, Michael L. "The Thomasite Experiment", Homestead.com, September 03, 2001 )〕〔("Quezon National High School: A Century Hence" from Quezon National High School Website ) (archived from (the original ) on 2007-02-12).〕〔(International Book Project: Thomasites and Thomasites Centennial Project from U.S. PeaceCorpsOnline.org, June 28, 2001 )〕〔(Rivera, Guillermo Gómez. "The Thomasites Before and After" (eManila:05 August 2001), date retrieved: 27 May 2007 )〕 The Philippines had enjoyed a public school system since 1863, when a Spanish decree first introduced public elementary education in the Philippines. The Thomasites, however, expanded and improved the public school system and switched to English as the medium of instruction. The name ''Thomasite'' was derived from the transport vessel USAT ''Thomas'' (earlier known as SS ''Minnewaska'' in private service), which brought the educators to the shores of Manila Bay.〔 Although two groups of new American graduates arrived in the Philippines before USS ''Thomas'', the name ''Thomasite'' became the designation of all pioneer American teachers simply because USS ''Thomas'' had the largest contingent. Later batches of American teachers were also dubbed Thomasites.〔 The Thomasites—365 males and 165 females—left Pier 12 of San Francisco on July 23, 1901, to sail via the Pacific Ocean to South East Asia. The U.S. government spent about $105,000 for the expedition. More American teachers followed the Thomasites in 1902, making a total of about 1,074 stationed in the Philippines.〔〔〔 At the time, the Thomasites were offered $125 a month, but once in the Philippines salaries were often delayed and were usually paid in devalued Mexican pesos.〔〔〔 Although the Thomasites were the largest group of pioneers with the purpose of educating the Filipinos, they were not the first to be deployed by Washington, D.C. A few weeks before the arrival of USS ''Thomas'', U.S. Army soldiers had already begun teaching Filipinos the English language, thus in effect laying the foundation of the Philippine public school system. The U.S. Army opened the Philippines’ first public school in Corregidor Island, after Admiral George Dewey vanquished the Spanish Pacific fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898.〔 Also, a few weeks before the arrival of USS ''Thomas'', another group composed of 48 American teachers also arrived in the Philippines, aboard the ''USAT Sheridan''.〔 After President William McKinley’s appointment of William Howard Taft as the head of a commission that would be responsible for continuing the educational work started by the U.S. Army, the Taft Commission passed Education Act No. 34 on January 21, 1901, which established the Department of Public Instruction. The latter was then given the task of establishing a public school system throughout the Philippines. The Taft Commission also authorized the further deployment of 1,000 more educators from the U.S. to the Philippines.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Thomasites」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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