Pre-Twentieth Century Filipino Thinkers and Educators: Dr. Jose P. Rizal

Dr. Jose P. Rizal's Concept of Education

• Rizal emphasized the importance of education in his work "Instruction", calling for improvements in schools and teaching methods.
• He believed that education is the foundation of society and a prerequisite for social progress, and that it is the key to saving the country from domination.
• Rizal's philosophy of education centers on providing proper motivation to bolster social forces, cultivating intelligence, and giving individuals "life eternal".
• He believed that the school should train citizens in three aspects of life: moral, intellectual, and physical.
• The school's role is to prepare individuals to live efficiently as both individuals and members of their community.
• Rizal saw the school as a social organization that plays a crucial role in shaping the future of nations.
• He believed that education is indispensable to nation-building and must occupy top priority, even higher than political options of revolution and separation.

Rizal's Vision for Nation-Building

• Rizal's main preoccupation was the formation of a new national community, the Filipino nation.
• He believed that moral education is essential to remedy the weakness of the national moral character.
• Leaders of the new emerging nation must prioritize moral education to produce a government that would establish the conditions for justice and freedom.
• Rizal envisioned the task of nation-building as dependent upon education, which must aim for moral regeneration.
• Upright personal behavior and a sense of selfless service are essential to the life of the emerging nation.
• Rizal saw the necessity of setting up schools for his countrymen, emphasizing the importance of education in achieving moral regeneration.