by Leila Castro | Leilacastro.ca@gmail.com
Roughly a month ago, a 204FM member took to social media about a situation she witnessed while waiting for her appointment at a clinic. She described the very rude manner of a Filipino staff towards a trainee. The poster said that she brought this up to serve as a reminder to fellow kababayans to be mindful of the feelings of other people. The post became trending for a week resulting in a long thread of comments citing similar stories. Many mentioned about Filipino immigrants becoming arrogant and having the tendency to be rude and to belittle newer immigrants.
Have many Filipino immigrants become arrogant; or are the newcomers who have not yet fully adapted to the Canadian culture and environment just sensitive? I reached out to Dr. Porfiria Pedrina to get her view about the observed attitude of Filipino immigrants. Dr. Porfiria Pedrina obtained her degrees in Bachelor of Arts and Secondary Education- major in English, Master of Arts -major in Educational Management, and Doctor of Education- major in Administration and Supervision, from highly accredited institutions from the Philippines. Moreover, she obtained Sociology as her minor teachable area under the Post Baccalaureate Degree Program of the Faculty of Education at University of Manitoba.
Dr. Pedrina has completed a number of academic research projects not only in the Philippines but also in Canada. She has had twelve years of teaching and administrative experience at Saint Michael’s College of Laguna, Philippines. She and her family moved to Canada in May of 2006 and became Canadian citizens in 2010.
Upon arrival in Winnipeg, Dr. Pedrina worked as research-assistant at University of Manitoba for two years and became a substitute teacher for Winnipeg School Division 1 and Seven Oaks School Division from 2008-2011. She is now blessed with a full-time permanent teaching job at Maples Collegiate of Seven Oaks School Division and is currently the president of Seven Oaks Filipino Employees Association (SOFEA).
We did not have the time to do a face to face interview, Dr. Pedrina instead wrote this enlightening article.
