LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL and follies

LESSON 4 - RIZAL’S HIGHER EDUCATION Equally important was Father Jose Villaclara
who instructed Rizal in the sciences and philosophy. He
Introduction/Overview was a young man who believed that Rizal was wasting
his time with poetry. He developed a scientific curiosity
This lesson presents the education of Jose Rizal in young Rizal that lasted until his death. It was Father
that was an important aspect of his political thought. Villaclara who convinced Rizal to take a “scientific
Like many children of the well-to-do, Rizal received his attitude” about life. Villaclara’s classes encouraged
early education at home. He had private tutors, but it Rizal to express his earliest national ideas. He was
quickly became obvious that he was advanced beyond determined to serve his people. That service would
his teachers. Although, he attended school in Biñan, define the key elements of Philippine national feeling.
young Rizal primarily educated himself in the family During his years in Ateneo Rizal desire to serve as a
library and through conversation with family and local nationalist. Rizal write his poem “Por la
friends. Finally, it was decided that he would attend the Educacion Recibe Lustre la Patria”, (Through Education
prestigious Ateneo Municipal School in the walled the Fatherland Receives Glory) argues that education is
Intramuros, part of Manila. Thus, began the higher an integral part of the national character. The friars, by
education of the future Filipino nationalist. not educating the Filipinos properly Rizal, argued,
prevented the full implementation of civil rights. The
second-rate educational system created second class
Rizal’s Formative Years in Ateneo and Scholastic citizens and Rizal was quick to point out that this was
Records what the friars intended. An examination of Rizal’s
student memoirs, as well as his diaries, suggest that the
The role of the Jesuits in Philippine education is Ateneo years was the formative ones. Eventually, Rizal
very important. After they were expelled from the would excel as a scientist, a fiction writer, a nationalist,
archipelago in 1768, the order remained dormant until and a medical doctor. All these would have been
members returned in 1859. When the Jesuits re-emerged impossible without his early education.
to convert the Mindanao population, they were also
asked to take charge of the Ateneo School. By 1865,
Ateneo was a secondary school that offered rigorous College Life in Unibersidad de Santo Tomas
courses almost equivalent to college academics. Ateneo
was considered the finest school in the Philippines After Ateneo, Rizal enrolled at the University of
because of the rigorous intellectual standards of the Santo. Tomas, a Dominican school. This school was the
Jesuits. It was in this environment that Jose Rizal began only University in the Philippines during the 19th
the education that would solidify his political thoughts. century. It was at the University of Santo Tomas that
While attending Ateneo, Rizal developed into a first-rate Rizal continued to create his vision of Philippine
student. He was remembered as an original thinker, a nationalism
creative scholar, and a natural leader.
The Dominican school was an important change
The Ateneo years were a coming-out period for for young Rizal. It was here that Rizal improved on the
Rizal. He not only became the leader of his fellow academic lessons he learned in Ateneo and placed them
students, but he also took up fencing and gymnastics. at the boarder historical perspective. Quietly on his own,
The most noticeable change in Rizal’s education was his Rizal continued to work on his political ideas. He
mastery of Spanish. When Rizal began school, he was received passing marks but found that the heavy
only moderately successful in speaking and writing emphasis on science was not to his liking. He remained
Spanish. But Rizal worked hard, read constantly and a poet at heart and his educational goal was toward the
finally Father Francisco de Paula Sanchez remarked that liberal arts.
he was becoming proficient in the language. At this Rizal, upon entering the university, was not
point, Rizal began writing in Spanish. Most of his certain which course of study he wanted to pursue. The
famous works were written in that language. It was Jesuit priests who had been his former mentors had
Father Sanchez who recognized Rizal’s talent as a poet advised him to take up farming, or to join the order and
and encouraged him to practice this craft. Rizal’s student be a man of the cloth. However, his tastes went towards
poems are impressionistic and amateurish, but they law, literature, or medicine. In the end, he decided to
contain the seeds of his future nationalism. As a member sign up for Philosophy and Letters during his freshman
of the Society of Muses, Rizal enjoyed himself, but year because of the following reasons:
increasingly found his poems expressing a national 1. It was what his father would have wanted for him.
theme. He could see a sense of Philippine nationalism in 2. He had failed to seek the advice of the rector of
writing about flowers; even the early poems suggest the Ateneo, Father Ramon Pablo.
critical voice that castigated the Spanish for their foibles
thing –they discriminated him more. During this time,
As part of the course, he had to complete units in even the Dominican friars were discriminating him. It
the following subjects: Cosmology and Metaphysics, was the very first time in which Rizal witnessed the
Theodicy, and History of Philosophy. After completing friars doing something like that. From that day onwards,
his first year, Rizal decided to take up medicine as his he saw by his heart that the ones that he treated as the
university course. This change of heart was due to two good ones, are the ones who would trigger the present
factors: condition. This made him realize that the enormous
1. Father Ramon Pablo, rector of the Ateneo, had problem of our country is because of the friars.
advised him to pursue the course.
2. Rizal’s mother had failing eyesight and he thought he As a whole, when Jose Rizal sent to study in
owed it to her to become a doctor and cure her condition Ateneo and UST he experiences both negativities and
positivity and learned lots of learnings.
Rizal’s performance at the University of Santo
Tomas was not as excellent as his time at the Ateneo.
His grades after shifting to medicine had suffered as Supplementary Readings…
well. Unfortunately, Rizal was not happy at UST and
this reflected on his grades (Zaide & Zaide, 1999).
There were three main factors that contributed to his Ateneo Days
unhappiness at the university, namely: 1. The
Dominican professors were hostile to him. In June 1872, it had been four months since the
2. Filipino students suffered discrimination. three priests were brutally killed. Jose Rizal’s mother,
3. The method of instruction at UST was obsolete Donya Teodora, was still in prison on unproven charges
and repressive. of poisoning. Even with all the chaos happening, Rizal
had to think about his own future. He needed to prepare
Likewise, there were three main for high school.
reasons for his struggling
academic performance On June 10th, he and his brother went to Manila.
(Guerrero, 1998): 1. Rizal There, Rizal took a test at the College of San Juan de
was not satisfied with the Letran and passed it. Upon returning to Calamba, Don
system of education at the Kikoy, Rizal’s father, changed his mind and decided that
university. Rizal should study at the prestigious Ateneo instead.
2. There were plenty of things to distract a young This was a good decision because, during the 19th
man in the peak of his youth. century, Ateneo was known as one of the best
3. Medicine was not Rizal's true vocation. He would universities in the Philippines for high school education.
later find out that his real calling was in the arts, not in Ateneo was managed by the Jesuits, who had
medicine. strict academic standards and offered courses that were
almost like college-level classes. Ateneo also focused
on teaching religion, providing advanced education,
Rizal’s Journey in Ateneo and UST: A Comparison enforcing discipline, promoting physical activities, and
encouraging artistic pursuits such as music, drawing, and
In 1872, Rizal entered Ateneo Municipal. As painting.
what usually happens, Rizal was discriminated by his
classmates and professors, mainly because he had only a Rizal returned to Manila with his brother
little knowledge about Spain, and also the fact that he Paciano, but he faced obstacles before he could enroll.
was from Calamba, Laguna. He was also a late enrollee, Father Magin Ferrando, who was then the College
so that added up to the situation. But in spite of the Registrar, initially refused Rizal’s admission for two
negative things that happened to him during this time, reasons. First, Rizal was a late registrant, and second, he
he also experienced good things. The Jesuits thought was very pale, thin, and undersized for an 11-year-old.
them about the educational system like discipline, However, with the help of Manuel Xerez Burgos,
character building and religious instruction. Because of nephew of Padre Burgos, he was accepted into the
that, he learned about the real value of education in a institution.
person’s life, and of course, to be strong despite of all
the people who were trying to pull him down. It was said that Jose was not able to use
Mercado as his surname and was instead registered as
During the 1877th year, he transferred to the Jose Rizal. This is because his real surname had ring a
University of Santo Tomas to continue his studies. He bell with the authorities due to Paciano Mercado’s
was then a new college student —a frosh who was very relation with Father Burgos.
new to the environment. His sacrifices in Ateneo did not
end there. His new classmates in UST also did the same
influenced by his solid foundation at Ateneo. The
breadth of his achievements would have been
Why Teaching at Ateneo was Unique unattainable without the knowledge and skills cultivated
during his formative years.
Rizal enrolled in the six-year Bachiller en Artes program
at Ateneo, which exposed students to five subjects:
UST Years
• Christian doctrine;
• Languages of Spanish, Latin, Greek and French; After studying at the Ateneo, Jose Rizal enrolled
• History and Geography (world history and in the University of Santo Tomas (UST), a Dominican
geography, history of Spain and the Philippines; • school that was established in 1611.
Mathematics and Sciences (geometry, trigonometry,
mineralogy, chemistry, physics, botany, and Donya Teodora, a known advocate for
zoology); and the • Classic disciplines (poetry, education, surprised her son, Jose Rizal, when she
rhetoric, and philosophy). forbade him from studying at the University of Santo
Tomas (UST). In his student memoirs, Rizal wrote: “I
Teaching at Ateneo was unique because classes still remember and will never forget that
were divided into two groups that constantly competed when I was sixteen, my mother told my father, ‘Don't
against each other to foster healthy competition. One send him to Manila any longer. He knows enough; if he
group, called the Roman Empire, was comprised of the gets to know more, they will cut off his head.’My father
interns (boarders), while the other, the Carthaginian did not reply, but my brother took me to Manila despite
Empire, consisted of the externs (non-boarders). my mother’s tears.”

Within each empire, members were also in In April 1877, nearly sixteen-year-old Jose Rizal
continuous competition as they vied for the top ranks, took a course of Philosophy and Letters in the
called dignitaries, with Emperor being the highest Dominican school. The reason behind this is his father,
position, followed by Tribune, Decurion, Centurion, and who wants him to study metaphysics. This will give him
Standard-Bearer, respectively. a solid foundation in the liberal arts, which could
prepare him for a career in law. At the same time, he
took a course of surveying in Ateneo.
Rizal’s Ateneo & Summer Adventures
After one year of studying Philosophy and
Reflections: Letters at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), Jose
Rizal shifted to Medicine. The reason behind this is
Rizal’s mother, Teodora Alonso, was going blind from
One of the most profound lessons Rizal learned
cataracts. Rizal hoped that by studying medicine, he
during his time at Ateneo was the immense value of
would be able to cure her. He also wanted to defuse and
education. In a poignant poem composed during his
minimize his growing political interests. He reasoned
studies, he likened education to a guiding lighthouse,
that being a doctor was a tedious but respectable
illuminating the path of individuals’ behavior and
profession that would provide him with a good living.
actions.

Rizal finished his surveying training in Ateneo

Rizal firmly believed that education was not
in 1877 and passed his licensing examination in 1878.
merely a personal endeavor but a catalyst for societal
However, he was underage, so he had to wait 3 years
progress. He envisioned a generation of educated youth
(1881) before he could receive his license/title.
who could lead their country into a brighter future,
recognizing education as an essential component in
nation-building.
Academic Performance at UST
Rizal’s experience at Ateneo was transformative,
leaving an indelible mark on his life and work. Beyond Rizal’s academic performance at UST was not as
acquiring scientific skills, he honed his ability to stellar as it was at Ateneo. He still earned mostly high
critically express himself in the Spanish language. marks, but his grades varied from excellent to fair. One
Rizal’s brilliance as a student, coupled with his athletic possible reason for this is that he was not happy during
prowess and gift for writing, shaped him into a his time at UST. According to historian Gregorio Zaide,
remarkable individual. there were three reasons why Jose Rizal was not happy
during his time at the University of Santo Tomas (UST):
As a fiction writer, nationalist, and medical 1. The Dominican professors were hostile to him.
doctor, Rizal’s accomplishments were undeniably 2. Filipino students suffered discrimination.
3. The method of instruction at UST were obsolete
and repressive.
In response to the discrimination and
Likewise, historian Leon Ma. Guerrero identified three mistreatment that he and his fellow Filipino students
main reasons for Jose Rizal’s struggling academic faced, Rizal founded a secret society of Filipino
performance at the University of Santo Tomas (UST): students called “Compañerismo.” Rizal was the
1. Rizal was not satisfied with the system of president of this society, and his cousin, Galicano
education at the university. Apacible, was the secretary.
2. There were plenty of things to distract a young
man in the peak of his youth. Rizal’s activism was also expressed in his
3. Medicine was not Rizal's true vocation. criticism of the faulty and outmoded system of
education at UST. He condemned the humiliation of
Filipino students, who were often insulted by their
Activities at UST Dominican mentors.

While José Rizal may not have excelled in his He also criticized the archaic method of
studies like in Ateneo, he made a name for himself in instruction at UST. For example, he ridiculed the
other activities. He was a prolific writer and poet, and teaching of physics, which was taught without any
he often used his work to express his patriotism and his laboratory experiments. Students were not allowed to
belief in the Filipino people. touch the laboratory equipment, which was kept in
display cabinets. Rizal also believed that grades were
In one literary contest, he won first prize for his often given based on favoritism and skin color, rather
poem “A la Juventud Filipina” (To the Filipino Youth). than on academic merit.
In this poem, he boldly declared that the Philippines
was the motherland of the Filipinos, not Spain. He was
also sincerely convinced that the Filipinos, despite their In Defense of UST
misfortunes, handicaps, and vicissitudes, were capable
of greatness. Everything you have read up to this point comes
from textbooks, biographies, and articles that portray
In another literary contest conducted by the Rizal’s experience in the university. In order to be
same society, which was open to students and unbiased (if it exists), let us also hear the side of UST.
professionals alike, Rizal won first prize again. The On the Facebook post of the Nostalgic Thomasian, the
competitors entered the contest using assumed names. page highlighted three specific areas where these
The contest was dedicated to the commemoration of the misconceptions exist:
anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes, Spain’s
greatest poet and writer of Don Quixote. According to UST archivist Regalado Trota
Jose, most biographers of Jose Rizal paint a bleak
The first prize was awarded to a beautiful picture of his stay at the University of Santo Tomas
allegory called “The Council of the Other Gods.” But (UST). However, a book by Fr. Fidel Villarroel (the
when the Spanish judges learned that its author was a reference used by “The Nostalgic Thomasian”) provides
Filipino, they reversed their decision. A Spaniard was more enriching detail and context.
awarded the prize instead.
The book argues that Rizal’s grades in UST
were almost the same as his grades in Madrid. While
Activism at UST Rizal’s grades were not excellent, they were still above
average. It is also worth noting that Rizal never
Jose Rizal was also active in activism during his complained about his grades in UST, while he did
time at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). One of the complain about those he received in Madrid.
most common forms of discrimination that Rizal and
his fellow Filipino students faced was being called According to Lito Zulueta, a UST faculty
derogatory names, such as “indio” or “chongo.” In member, in his essay “Rizal at the University of Santo
retaliation, Rizal and his friends would sometimes call Tomas: The Misunderstood Years” that was included in
their Spanish and mestizo classmates “Kastila” or the book “Rizal +,” “Jose Rizal studied at the University
“bangus.” of Santo Tomas between 1877 and 1881 but no period in
This led to frequent student fights on campus his rather short life is as misunderstood as the five years
and in the streets of Manila. Rizal was known for his he spent as a Thomasian. Misunderstood is a kind word:
skill in fencing and wrestling, and he was often historians and biographers, it appears, have been keen
victorious in these brawls. On one occasion, he was even to portray his years there as the darkest of his life, even
wounded in a fight with Spanish students in Escolta, darker than his exile in Dapitan and his imprisonment in
Manila. Fort Bonifacio and martyrdom in Bagumbayan. To them
Rizal’s story was something akin to Dante’s inferno
minus the allegory…”

Zulueta also challenges the claim that Rizal

hated Dominicans, as he himself had Dominican friends.
He also argues that Rizal did not leave UST because he
was shabbily treated, but because he was “a young man
in search of himself.”

Reference:

Humi (2023, August 22) Rizal’s Life: Higher Education

Life and Works of Rizal. Retrieved from
[Link]