by Clark Bilorusky
This thesis is a case study of the Filipino-English bilingual program at the Filipino Education Center in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Using naturalistic research methods over the course of three years, including participant observation and interviews, this documents the political and classroom practices from the past fifteen years and questions why Filipinos have been repeatedly denied equitable bilingual education. Specifically, this thesis examines the relationships and roles which parents, teachers, and community advocates have in influencing the district’s policies; how generation and cultural perspectives can divide the community, further complicating the fight for a strong, unified program; and how financial, social, and racial inequities influence policies which determine the future of the Filipino bilingual program in the SFUSD.
http://sfsu-dspace.calstate.edu/handle/10211.3/145559
by Clark Bilorusky
Kayraming dakilang nagawa!
Ipinagmamalaki nila ang mga tagumpay
Inihahanay sa harapan ng bayan.
Nilulunod ng pagpuri ang ating mga pusong mag-pagtuya.
Hindi nila maririnig ang mga luha.
Ang nalimutan, ang nakatago, ang Pilipino.
Na nilulupig sa pangahas
Ang pagwawalang-bahala
At paglabag sa bayang matapat.
Printed in the Filipino Language Journal
by the South and Southeast Asian Studies Department
at the University of California, Berkeley
Series 2, Volume 2 – Sumpa
Translation
Too many heroic accomplishments!
You are all prideful of success
While they line up before the community.
Applaud drowns our hearts with ridicule.
You cannot hear the tears.
Of the forgotten, the hidden, the Pilipino.
Subdued boldly
With indifference
And violation of the public’s trust.
by Clark Bilorusky
Kay layo ng mga tala.
Ngunit sila ang pinagmumulan ng buhay.
Kaya’t sila’y mahalaga,
Para sa atin,
Para sa akin.
Nais kong maglakbay araw-araw
Sa isa sa mga tala.
Natatakot ako sa walang katiyakang kapalaran,
Hindi napapanahong katapusan,
At kung hindi na tayo magkikita
Kailanman.
Sa mga tala
Sa aking langit:
Kay rami nating dapat ituro sa isa’t isa.
Kay raming dapat ibahaging alaala.
Nabubuhay akong balisa sa araw-araw,
Hanggang ika’y matugunan,
Sa langit, aking Ilaw.
Printed in the Filipino Language Journal
by the South and Southeast Asian Studies Department
at the University of California, Berkeley
Series 2, Volume 1 – Sangandaan
Translation
How far those stars are,
Yet they are the source of all life.
For this reason they are important,
To us,
To me.
I yearn every day to travel
To one of the stars.
I fear an unknown fate,
An untimely ending,
And thus we will never meet.
To the stars of my sky:
There are many lessons
To teach one another.
There are many memories
For us to share.
I live each day anxiously,
Until we meet
in the sky, my Ilaw.
by Clark Bilorusky
Sa Kuwarto ng aking gunita,
Tanging katahimikan.
Balisa ang aking nalalasahan,
Hindi ko mabata.
Printed in the Filipino Language Journal
by the South and Southeast Asian Studies Department
at the University of California, Berkeley
Series 1, Volume 3 – Metamorposis
Translation
In the room of my memory,
there is only silence.
I taste anxiety,
I cannot endure this.