Speedtype 8

A Vision for Filipino Competitiveness

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When Lee Kuan Yew became Prime Minister of Singapore, he made an important decision to ask all Singaporeans to learn Mandarin and English, the official language spoken in mainland China and international commerce. He believed that if knowing Mandarin and English becomes a national standard, Singapore would achieve a level of business competitiveness, not only in Asia but worldwide. History proved him right.

I often wonder: if every Filipino could type very fast, would it help Philippines competitiveness? I honestly don't know. My personal experience tells me it might.

When I was a young man growing up in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, there was a typing school about two miles from our barrio. It took about an hour to walk to that school and an hour back. And then, inside the classroom, students type for about two to four hours. The classes were five days a week for at least six months.

The long hikes under the hot sun and the tedious class works discouraged others. But those who graduated and earned a typing certificate were almost sure to find an office job. It was a small achievement but, because of its economic impact, someone's graduation was worth a family-wide celebration in the barrio.

I did not go to that school because my father had his own typewriter and he gave me typing lessons when I was in 5th Grade. When I was 14 I had my first office job as a temporary typist for World Vision. A teacher in high school also hired me to type her master thesis. Then, as a starving student in the University of the Philippines, I earned money by typing term papers for other students.

After I created Speedtype in 1987, I dreamed of someday returning to the Philippines to distribute it to typing schools. It didn't happen. Instead I found myself stuck in Dallas, Texas, looking for a job, struggling to survive. Fortunately I was hired by Bank of America as administrative assistant, a rather long title for secretary.

My job application at Bank of America was certainly helped my typing test result of 75 words-per-minute with 99 percent accuracy. Two weeks of practice on Speedtype helped. My hiring as a permanent employee was the break I needed. Because I could type faster than anyone, I was an office favorite. My typing skill did not keep me from promotion, as some wrongly warned. Soon I was a project analyst, a business continuity planner, then a systems analyst.

I'm still here in Texas and had not gone to the Philippines to distribute Speedtype to schools. Sometimes I feel it's too late, that it's not needed anymore. But I did not want to just give it up. So I asked my children's help. I said, "Let's put Speedtype on PinoyDirectory.com and let anyone from the Philippines use it." And it happened, thanks to my loving children who were born stateside but "pusong pinoy pa rin."

Now you can try it. And if you like it, tell others, too.

Ray Colorado

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About Ray Colorado
Ray Colorado was born in the island of Mindoro, Philippines, where people speak different Filipino languages. Tagalog was his first language. He also speaks Ilocano, Bicol, English and Spanish. He learned these languages because of his father's job - Methodist Evangelist and Pastor. They moved every two years, living in places where people spoke differently. He had to learn each local language in order to survive and win new friends. He also formally studied English and Pilipino, the national language, in elementary, high school, and the University of the Philippines. He started creating Web-based Tagalog lessons in 1999. He moved to United States in 1984. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife, former Lura Eden Alampay, and their three sons Marc Dexter, Maxwell Lucas, and Hexel James. He may be reached at ray@coloradobrothers.com.