UNIT 3: The Life of

Jose Rizal
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

LESSON 1: Rizal’s Childhood and Education

Gec 9/Gem 1
Rizal’s Childhood and Education
LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson the student must have:

• Analyzed Rizal’s family, childhood and his education here in the
Philippines and in abroad.
• Evaluated the people and events that influence on Rizal’s early life.
Rizal’s Childhood and Education

• Dr. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, or popularly known as

Dr. Jose Rizal is a doctor, poet, essayist, author, painter, sculpture and the
national hero of the Philippines.
• Possess intellectual brilliance. Took a stand resisting the Spanish colonial
government. Became an exceptional instrument for the sovereignty of the
Philippines, by his works and writings that helped awakened the patriotism
and nationalism of the Filipino people.
• While his death sparked a revolution to overthrow the tyranny, Rizal will
always be remembered for his compassion, concern and love towards the
Filipino people and the Philippines as a whole and his legacy and intelligence
will always remain not just in history but in the memories of every Filipino
people.
Rizal’s Childhood and
Education
RIZAL’S FAMILY
• The Rizal family was considered as one of the most
respected, well-known and wealthy families at their
time.
• Jose Rizal’s father was Francisco Mercado (1818-1898)
-was born in Biñan, Laguna.
-Studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San
Jose Manila.
-Was a tenant-farmer of the Dominican-owned
hacienda. He was hardy and independent-minded man,
who talked less and work more, and was valiant in spirit.
Rizal’s Childhood and Education

• His mother was Teodora Alonso (1826-1911)

• was born from Sta. Cruz Manila.
• Educated at the College of Sta. Rosa.
• She was remarkable woman, possessing
refined culture, literary talent, business
ability, and courage of Spartan women.

• Rizal’s parents had Negrito, Indonesian,

Malay, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish
blood.
Rizal’s Childhood and Education
RIZAL’S SIBLING
• Rizal was the seventh, among the eleventh siblings,
composed of two boys and nine girls.
• His siblings were as follows:
• Saturnina (1850-1913), Paciano (1851-1930), Narcisa (1852-
1939), Olimpia (1855-1887), Lucia (1857-1919), Maria (1859-
1945), Jose (1861-1896), Concepcion (1862-1865), Josefa
(1865-1945), Trinidad (1868-1951) and Soledad (1870-1929).
Rizal’s Childhood and Education
• Jose Rizal was born in Calamba, Laguna in the Philippines in 19th
June of 1861 and was named Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso
Realonda.
• Jose's family lived on rented property that was owned by a religious
order
• Although the family were descendants of a Chinese immigrant, the
family began using Mercado as their last name in order to hide
their family background because of sentiments against the Chinese
at the time.
• At an early age, Jose Rizal displayed an outstanding intellect. He
learned the alphabet from his mother at the age of 3 and could
read and write at the age of 5.
Rizal’s Childhood and Education

• Jose Rizal was not a physically blessed or

strong child however, he had a strong will
guided and taught by his mother, his first
teacher. He learned almost without the use
of books. His mother was the one who laid
the foundation of his great knowledge
achieved in such a short time.
Rizal’s Childhood and Education
RIZAL’S EARLY YEARS AS AN ARTIST AND HIS INFLUENCER
• At five years of age, he began to draw with his pencil and
to mold in wax or clay any object.
• Fortunately, his mother, father, and uncles recognized this
unusual talent and gave him every encouragement.
• Three uncles who were brothers of his mother also had
much influence on the early childhood of Jose Rizal.
RIZAL’S EARLY YEARS AS AN ARTIST AND HIS
INFLUENCER
• Three uncles who were brothers of his mother also had
much influence on the early childhood of Jose Rizal.
1. Tio Gregorio – was a scholar and lover of books
2. Tio Manuel – was big and strong man. He aroused
Rizal’s interest in sports like swimming, fencing and
wrestling.
3. Tio Jose – the youngest brother of Donya Teodora.
He was educated in an English College of Calcutta,
India. He inspires Rizal to paint, sketch and make
statues of clay.
Rizal’s Childhood and Education
RIZAL’S EDUCATION
• Jose Rizal’s first teacher was his mother, who had
taught him how to read and pray and who had
encouraged him to write poetry.
• Later, private tutors taught the young Rizal
Spanish and Latin, before he was sent to a
private school in Biñan.
Rizal’s Childhood and Education
RIZAL IN BIÑAN
• Rizal first studied under Justiniano Aquino Cruz in Biñan,
Laguna before he was sent to Manila.
• Have his first brawl in school, a bully, who is the son of his
teacher.
• In academic studies, Jose bear all Biñan boys in Spanish, Latin
and other subjects.
• He experience injustice, Doña Teodora was unjustly accused
of a crime and was sent to jail for two and a half years.
• The Cavite Mutiny flared up which followed by the execution
of Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora.
Rizal’s Childhood and Education
RIZAL IN ATENEO DE MANILA (1872-77)
• Assumed the surname “Rizal” to hide his identy from the
authorities.
• When he was 11 years old, Rizal entered the Ateneo Municipal de
Manila. He earned excellent marks in subjects like philosophy,
physics, chemistry, and natural history.
• At this school (Ateneo), he read novels; wrote prize-winning poetry
(and even a melodrama - “Junto al Pasig”); and practiced drawing,
painting, and clay modeling, all of which remained lifelong interests
for him.
• First romance of Rizal, with Segunda Katigbak
Rizal’s Childhood and Education
RIZAL IN STO. THOMAS (1877-82)
• Upon learning that his mother was going blind, Rizal opted to
study ophthalmology at the UST Faculty of Medicine and
Surgery.
• Rizal eventually earned a land surveyor’s and assessor’s
degree from the Ateneo Municipal while taking up
Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas.
• He, however, was not able to complete the course because
“he became politically isolated by adversaries among the
faculty and clergy who demanded that he assimilate to their
system.”
Rizal’s Childhood and Education
RIZAL IN STO. THOMAS (1877-82)
• Courtship with different girls and relationship
with Leonor Rivera, his cousin.
• Victim of Spanish Brutality
• His Literary works had won (A La Juventud
Filipina)
• Other literary works and artistic masterpiece of
Rizal
Rizal’s Childhood and Education

RIZAL IN STO. THOMAS (1877-82)

•Decision to study abroad in order to
finish his medical studies in Spain,
where the professors were more
tolerant that those of the University
of Sto. Tomas.
Rizal’s in Abroad
RIZAL IN EUROPE
• Jose Rizal decided to live in Europe for 10 years. During
that time, he picked up a number of languages.
• Rizal excelled at martial arts fencing, sculpture, painting,
teaching, anthropology, and journalism, among other
things.
• He also began to write novels and finished his first book,
Noli Me Tangere, while living in Wilhemsfeld with the
Reverend Karl Ullmer.
Rizal’s In Abroad
Madrid
• In May 1882, Rizal got on a ship to Spain without informing
his parents.
• He enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid after
arriving. In June 1884, he received his medical degree at the
age of 23; the following year, he graduated from the
Philosophy and Letters department.
• Inspired by his mother's advancing blindness, Rizal next
went to the University of Paris and then to the University of
Heidelberg for further study in ophthalmology. At Heidelberg,
he studied under the famed professor Otto Becker (1828–
1890).
• Rizal finished his second doctorate at Heidelberg in 1887.
Rizal’s In Abroad
Novels and Other Writing

• Rizal wrote "Noli Me Tangere" in Spanish; it was

published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. The novel is
a scathing indictment of the Catholic Church and
Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines, and its
publication cemented Rizal's position on the
Spanish colonial government's list of
troublemakers.
• In 1891, Rizal published a sequel, titled "El
Filibusterismo." When published in English, it was
titled "The Reign of Greed."
Rizal’s In Abroad

Program of Reforms
• In his novels and newspaper editorials, Rizal called for a number
of reforms of the Spanish colonial system in the Philippines.
• He advocated freedom of speech and assembly, equal rights
before the law for Filipinos, and Filipino priests in place of the
often-corrupt Spanish churchmen.
• In addition, Rizal called for the Philippines to become a province
of Spain, with representation in the Spanish legislature,
the Cortes Generales.
• Rizal never called for independence for the Philippines.
Nonetheless, the colonial government considered him a
dangerous radical and declared him an enemy of the state.