Jose Rizal's Early Education

Jose Rizal's First Teacher

• Rizal's first teacher was his mother who discovered his talent for poetry
• She taught him the alphabet and prayers and encouraged him to write poems
• He learned the alphabet and prayers at age three
• Doña Teodora was a patient, conscientious, and understanding tutor
• She told many stories to reduce memorization monotony and stimulate her son's imagination

Private Tutors

• Rizal's parents employed private tutors for him at home
• Maestro Celestino was his first tutor
• Maestro Lucas Padua was his second tutor, teaching arithmetic

Leon Monroy

• Leon Monroy, a former classmate of Rizal's father, instructed him in Spanish and Latin
• Monroy lived at the Rizal home and died five months later
• After Monroy's death, Rizal's parents decided to send him to a private school in Biñan

Rizal Moves to Biñan

• Rizal left Calamba for Biñan on a Sunday afternoon in June 1869
• Paciano accompanied Rizal on a carromata
• The trip lasted for one and a half hours, and then proceeded to their aunt's house
• Rizal's cousin Leandro invited him for a walk around the town on Sunday night
• Rizal felt homesick as he remembered his mother and sisters

First Day at the Village School

• Paciano accompanied Rizal to the village school under Maestro Justiniano Cruz
• Maestro Cruz also taught Paciano during his elementary school days
• Pedro, son of Maestro Cruz, laughed at Rizal's response to the Maestro's question
• Rizal challenged Pedro to a fight on his first day of school in the afternoon
• After class, classmate Andres Salandanan challenged him to an arm-wrestling match
• Days after, he had other fights with boys from Binan

Academic Studies at the Village School

• Rizal demonstrated his intellectual superiority in Latin, Spanish, and other subjects
• This caused jealousy from his classmates, leading to him being made to look bad and punished
• Rizal didn't enjoy his schooling under Maestro Justiniano Cruz
• He described his teacher a tall man with a long neck, a sharp nose and a body bent slightly forward

End of Schooling at the Village School

• Rizal returned to Calamba after receiving a letter from his sister Saturnina
• He was able to return to his hometown by December 17, 1870
• A steamship named Talim took him home

Scholastic Triumphs at Ateneo de Manila (1872-1877)

• Jose was sent to Manila four months after the martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za
• Doña Teodora was still in prison
• He studied at Ateneo Municipal, a college under the supervision of the Spanish Jesuits
• It was a bitter rival of the Dominican-owned College of San Juan de Letran
• Formerly, the Escuela Pia(Charity School) was for poor boys in Manila, established in 1817
• In 1859, its name changed to Ateneo Municipal by the Jesuits and became the Ateneo de Manila

Rizal Enters at Ateneo

• On June 10, 1872, Jose and Paciano went to Manila
• Entrance examinations were taken on Christian Doctrine, arithmetic, and reading at the College of San Juan de Letran
• Father wanted him to study at Letran but decided on Ateneo instead

Father Magin Fernando

• Father Magin Ferrando, college registrar of Ateneo Municipal, refused to admit Jose
• The reasons for this refusal ware that he was late for registration, sickly and undersized (11 years old)

Ateneo Admission

• Upon the intercession of Manuel Xeres Burgos, nephew of Father Burgos, Jose was admitted to Ateneo

Rizal Adapts

• Jose adopted the surname 'Rizal' at Ateneo because their family name 'Mercado' was under suspicion
• Ateneo was in Intramuros, Manila- he boarded on Caraballo Street
• The boarding house, 25 min walk from the college, was owned by Titay, who owed the Rizal family P300
• Jose boarded there to collect part of the debt

Jesuits System of Education

• Jesuits trained the character of the student by rigid discipline, humanities, and religious instruction
• They attended Mass in the morning before class and classes were opened and closed with prayers
• Students were divided into two groups: Roman Empire & Carthaginian Empire

Jesuit Empire Ranking

• Each empire had its rank

• Students fought for positions; opponents with 3 mistakes lost their position

Rizal's First Year in Ateneo (1872-1873)

• Rizal's first professor in Ateneo was Fr. Jose Bech
• Rizal was placed at the bottom of the class since he was a newcomer and knew little Spanish
• He was an externo (Carthaginians), occupying the end of the line
• By the end of the month, he earned the title 'emperor' of his Empire
• He was the brightest pupil in the whole class and he was awarded a religious prize
• Rizal took private lessons in Santa Isabel College during noon recesses to improve his Spanish, paying three pesos

Summer Vacation (1873)

• Rizal didn't enjoy his summer vacation because his mother was in prison
• Neneng(Saturnina) took him to Tanawan
• Without telling his father, he visited his mother in prison in Santa Cruz to tell her of his grades
• He returned to Manila after summer and boarded in Intramuros at No. 6 Magallanes Street
• Dona Pepay, a widowed daughter with four sons, was his landlady

Second Year in Ateneo (1873-1874)

• At the end of the school year, Rizal received excellent grades in all subjects and a gold medal
• Rizal's first favorite novel was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
• Rizal persuaded his father to buy him Universal History by Cesar Cantu
• Dr. Feodor Jagor, a German scientist-traveler, visited the Philippines in 1859-1860 and wrote Travels in the Philippines

Third Year in Ateneo (1874-1875)

• Rizal's grades remained excellent in all subjects He only won one medal—in Latin
• He returned to Calamba for the summer vacation (March 1875) He was not impressed by his own scholastic work.

Fourth Year in Ateneo

(June 16, 1875) Rizal became an interno in Ateneo

• Padre Francisco de Paula Sanchez, a great educator and scholar, inspired him to study harder and to write poetry
• Rizal described this Jesuit professor as “model of uprightness, earnestness, and love for the advancement of his pupils"
• Rizal topped all his classmates in all subjects, winning five medals at the end of the school term

Last Year In Ateneo (1876-1877)

• Rizal stood out as the most brilliant Atenean of his time
• On March 23, 1877, Rizal, 16 years old, received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, with the highest honors, from Ateneo Municipal
• The night before graduation, he could not sleep and prayed to the Virgin to commend his life

Extra-Curricular Activities in Ateneo

• He was a member of Marian Congregation a religious society, later becoming secretary
• He got accepted because of his academic brilliance and devotion to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception
• Other membership was with the Academy of Spanish Literature and the Academy of Natural Sciences
• Study of painting was under Agustin Saez and sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus
• He continued his physical training under hi sports-minded Tio Manuel

Sculptural Works in Ateneo

• Rizal carved a Virgin Mary image on batikuling Philippine hardwood using a pocket-knife, amazing the Jesuits
• Father Lleonart requested the carving of an image sacred Heart of Jesus
• Intended to take image of Sacred Heart to Spain, but he forgot-Ateneo boarders placed it on the door of their dormitory
• This image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus plays a signicant part in Rizal's last hours at Fort Santiago

Victim of a Spanish Officer's Brutality

• Summer of 1878 summer vacation, Rizal didn't recognize Lieutenant of the Guardia Civil,
• The lieutenant slashed Jose's back with his sword as a result of his failure to recognize the Spanish official
• Jose reported to General Primo de Rivera, Spanish governor general, but no resolution was ever done because of racial discrimination
• March 21, 1887: wound lasted two weeks

To the Filipino Youth (1879)

• The literary contest was by Artistico-Literario (Artistic-Literary Lyceum
• Rizal, 18 years old, submitted his poem entitled A La Juventud Filipina.
• The first prize given to Rizal was a feather-shaped, gold ribbon decorated silver pen
• Rizal beseeched the Filipino, encouraging to rise from lethargy To let their genius fly swifter than the wind and descend with art science to break the chains

Poem Classification

• The poem is a classic for two reasons-First great poem in Spanish written by a Filipino
• The first nationalistic concept, expressed at the time, said Filipinos and not foreigners, were the “fair hope of the Fatherland."

The Council of the Gods (1880)

• Another literary contest commemorated the fourth centennial of the death of Cervantes, Spanish and author od Don Quixote
• Manuel De Cervantes was Spain's glorified man of letter
• Rizal submitted an allegorical drama, El Consejo de los Dioses (The Council of the Gods)
• The allegory was based on Greek classics

Aid in Contest

• Rizal was aided by Father Rector of the Ateneo in securing the needed reference materials
• The contest participation included priest, laymen, professors of UST, newspapermen and scholars
• Rizal received first price, winning a gold ring engraved with bust of Cervantes
• D.N. Del Puzo, a Spanish writer won the 2nd price

Champion of Filipino Students

• There were frequent student brawls between the Filipinos and the Spaniards
• In 1880, Rizal founded Companerismo (Comradeship)- secret society of Filipino UST students
• Society members were called "Companions of Jehu"
• Rizal was the chief of the society, while his, cousin, Galicano Apacible was the secretary
• In one of the skirmishes, Rizal was wounded on the head
• Friends brought him to Casa Tomasina where Leonor Rivera took care of him

Decision to Study Abroad

• Rizal decided to study in Spain after the fourth year of medical course
• Paciano, Saturnina, Lucia, Antonio Rivera, the Valenzuela family, and some friends, approved study
• Those who did not know were Rizal's parents, Leonor Rivera, and Spanish authorities

Unhappy Days at UST

• Rizal was unhappy, the Dominican professors were hostile
• Filipino students were racially discriminated against by the Spaniards
• Method of instruction was obsolete and repressive

Rizal Debunked

• Some Filipinos believe that the Americans, particularly William H. Taft was responsible for the veneration of Rizal
• Was done allegedly in a following manner: "....and now gentlemen, you must have a national hero"
• Words addressed by Governor William Taft members of the Philippine Commission
• However, it should be noted that the Revolutionary Government gave tribute to Rizal
• President Aguinaldo’s opening address at the Congress assembled at Malolos Bulacan on Sept. 15, 1898

Tribute

• “Illustrious spirits of RIZAL, Lopez Jaena, of Marcelo del Pilar! Arise a moment from your graves!”

Claim Proclamation

• Then on December 20, 1898 at the revolutionary capital at Malolos, Aguinaldo issued the first official proclamation of Rizal Day
• Proclaimed a National Hero by the First Philippine Republic six years before the alleged proclamation of Taft

Rizal Never Supported Philippine Independence

• Renato Constantino- “Veneration Without Understanding,” Rizal did not deserve to be the Philippines' national hero
• That almost always the leader of that revolution becomes the principal hero of his people, Rizal was not
• Constantino claimed Rizal not a leader of the Revolution, repudiated that Revolution
• Memoirs of the KKK and the Philippine Revolution, radical/revolutionary concepts of Rizal disapprove view
• Valenzuela recounts the private Dapitan meeting with Rizal on June 21, 1896

Rizal Supports

• The resolutions of the Katipunan were suggested to be complied with a after introduction made
• Valenzuela told Rizal the revolution would break out- Rizal claimed opposed stating “the Spaniards WILL annihilate the Filipinos”.

Aid for The Revolution

Rizal opposed immediate start of what he saw, not the movement

• Rizal advised that they must have, sufficient arms, invite rich, influence secret organization.
• Confirmation of supporting revolution can be traced from second stanza his poem “Mi Ultimo Adios.” On battle ground given their, The place matters not, to serve home country's need
• By saying this, Rizal is encouraging Filipinos to fight- Implies dying honorable or executed martyrs in combat

Andres and Rafael

• Rafael Palma Rizal vs Bonifacio-heros Warriors serve cause sword, Philippines serve pen, the pen more effective Napoleon I there only 2 world powers, and Pen always the sword Rizal Organized UST-founded Supremo La liga and President Honorary Presidents Hero wide political monograph Philippines Malayan race Also national identity of the Filipinos was important to them. poems and essays, and national for the country the Filipino,