Alternate history

Because we were discussing Alternate History in my classes last term in Speculative Fiction at the Ateneo and De La Salle, I asked my students to write down the one thing they would change in Philippine history if they were given the chance. Their answers are interesting not just in themselves, but in what they show us about today’s youth.

Here are some of their answers:

Magellan would not have come to the Philippines.

The Spaniards would not have burned all pre-Hispanic texts and documents.

We would still be under Spanish rule.

Jose Rizal would live well into the 20th century.

Andres Bonifacio would have killed Emilio Aguinaldo.

We would have remained independent after winning the Philippine Revolution.

Dewey would have lost the Battle of Manila Bay.

Gregorio del Pilar would not have died in Tirad Pass.

The Americans would not have invaded us.

The Americans would not have left us in 1946.

We would have been made an American state.

The Japanese would not have invaded us.

We would not have instituted the Filipino First policy.

Magsaysay would not have died.

Ferdinand would never have met Imelda Marcos.

Marcos would have lost the 1965 election.

Ninoy would not have been killed.

Marcos would have survived EDSA I.

There would have been no EDSA I.

Erap would not have become president.

There would have been no EDSA II.

Gloria would not have become president.

Ondoy and Pepeng would not have occurred.

I would not change anything.

What are the young people telling us?

First, that they know their history. They have a long memory that extends not only to the time cellphones became necessities, but to the time Spanish soldiers and friars had not yet come to our islands.

Second, that they have a strong sense of being Filipinos. Some of them think that we would have been better off had the Spaniards or the Americans not left us, but at least they are thinking of what would be best for the country (whether we agree with them or not). Many think that we should have been left alone by foreign powers. Whatever their views on colonization, our young people are clearly thinking of the country as a whole, not just of their families or their friends.

Third, they have strong opinions about our leaders, from Rizal, Bonifacio, and Aguinaldo to Magsaysay, Marcos, Ninoy Aquino, Estrada, and Arroyo. Interestingly enough, no one mentioned Cory Aquino, a sign that it was the dramatic sacrifice of Ninoy rather than the quiet leadership of Cory that serves as an inspiration to the young.

Fourth, the young do not approve of the two EDSA so-called revolutions. This might be a clue to the failure of attempts by older people to gather a crowd to protest the blatantly illegal and unethical actions of Arroyo. Our young people do not believe in people power (the way my generation, having grown up during the First Quarter Storm and having joined both EDSAs, does).

My classes in Speculative Fiction, by the way, have been extremely exciting for me. I always begin my classes with a short written exercise. I ask my students to write a paragraph answering a speculative question.

Here are examples of questions I pose to my students:

What will a typical college class in the Philippines be like a hundred years from now?

Do you think the world will end soon?

If you had the technology to bring a dead person back to life, who would it be?

When we finally make contact with extraterrestrials, will they be friends or enemies?

Would you get on a bus not knowing its destination?

Is there magic in real life?

Would you like to be still alive during World War III?

Would you want to live in a world without crime?

Given the chance, would you be willing to be a Watchman?

When you resurrect at the end of the world, how old would you like your body to be?

Would you marry someone you met only on Facebook and will not see until your wedding day?

Will science fiction still be written in the 22nd century?

Of course, the students have to justify their answers, usually in the context of a text that we take up in class. It is not only their answers that are interesting, but the way they explain why they answer in the way they do.

My classes in Speculative Fiction are student-driven. On the first day of class, I ask the students what texts they want to take up during the term. Usually, they choose texts that are familiar to me, but sometimes, they come up with texts that I have not read or watched (if the text is a movie). Then I spend the rest of the term trying to catch up with them!

Faculty Focus, a teacher training website I subscribe to, recently featured an online video seminar on “Strategies for Teaching What You Just Learned.” The seminar answered this question faced by teachers like me: “Is it possible to be a good teacher before you’ve mastered the subject matter?” After teaching Speculative Fiction and after having had such excellent students, I have my own answer: you can teach anything if your students know more than you do.