Observing LINGGO NG WIKA in a Play School - Dawn of Consciousness of National Identity

Observing LINGGO NG WIKA in a Play School - Dawn of Consciousness of National Identity 

(The Philippines used to hold a week-long celebration, from August 13 to 19, every year, until President Ramos declared it should be month-long starting 1997)

Love of national language must be instilled in early age. National language is the foundation of cultural values and identity of a country and its people.

College and university professors in Filipino are up in arms against the memorandum of the Commission on Higher Education/CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 20, Series of 2013. This memorandum aims to remove Filipino as a subject to be taught in college by 2016 as part of the new General Education Curriculum (GEC).

“Removing Filipino as a subject in the new GEC is not just a local issue; it is a moral issue that goes against the integrity of our race.” – Prof. Patrocinio Villafuerte, professor and writer. (From "Removing Filipino as a subject in college: A betrayal in the name of business?" By Ina A R Silverio)
 
Dr Abe V Rotor

Growing up with the national language guided by parents and teachers. 

Kill the language and kill the culture;

Kill the culture and kill the people; 

kill the people and kill the country;

kill their history and their memory; 

Ad infinitum to global doom.

                                                                   - AV Rotor

                   

Mother at home (Mommy Anna) and mother in school (Teacher Joy) for young Mackie. .
Growing up in a beautiful Philippines in actual drawing experience.

Linggo ng wika is linked with other celebrations such as Nutrition Week, Health week, United Nation week. (Young Mackie's school work.)  

 
Hands-on learning with classmate and parents block building (left), and food preparation with mommy.  Learning our national language requires such attention 
and guidance.  

Poems by Dr Jose Rizal on the importance of language

TO MY FELLOW CHILDREN (Sa Aking Mga Kababata, 1869)

Whenever people of a country truly love
The language which by heav'n they were taught to use
That country also surely liberty pursue
As does the bird which soars to freer space above.

An Open Letter to School Principals, Teachers, and Parents

For language is the final judge and referee
Upon the people in the land where it holds sway;
In truth our human race resembles in this way
The other living beings born in liberty.

Whoever knows not how to love his native tongue
Is worse than any best or evil smelling fish.
To make our language richer ought to be our wish
The same as any mother loves to feed her young.

Tagalog and the Latin language are the same
And English and Castilian and the angels' tongue;
And God, whose watchful care o'er all is flung,
Has given us His blessing in the speech we claim,

Our mother tongue, like all the highest that we know
Had alphabet and letters of its very own;
But these were lost -- by furious waves were overthrown
Like bancas in the stormy sea, long years ago.

The famous poem was a nationalistic undertaking to promote the usage of Tagalog language by the Filipino people. The poem “To My Fellow Children” was believed to be the national hero’s first written Tagalog poem at the age of eight.