Rizal’s Education in Biñan

At age of nine, Rizal left Calamba with his brother to study in

Biñan. After one and half hour of travel, they reach the town of carromata.
They went to the house of their aunt where Rizal stayed for more than a year.
Before leaving his brother, Paciano introduce Rizal to the teachers, Justiniano

Aquino Cruz, who was also

Paciano’s former teacher.

 The class, as describe by Rizal (P. Jacinto, 1879) was in a nipa
house, about thirty meters away from his aunt’s house. Every day, Rizal would
wake up early and either hear mass at four o’clock in the morning or study his
lesson first and go to class from which he could come out at ten o’ clock and
come out at five. He would pray with his cousins at six and then study

for a while before going to sleep.

 In Biñan, he excellent in Latin and Spanish, He also had painting
lessons under Maestro Cruz father-in-law, Juancho, an old painter. Rizal’ s
leisure hours were mostly spent in Juancho’s studio where he was given free
lessons in painting and drawing.

After receiving a letter from his sister, Saturnina, Rizal returned to

Calamba on December 17, 1870 after one-and-a-half-year of schooling in
Biñan. He went home on board the steamship Talim and was accompanied by
Arturo Camps, a Frenchman and friend of his father. (P. Jacinto, 1879).
 RIZAL IN ATENEO
Rizal sent by his father to Ateneo Municipal, formerly known as
Escuela Pia, for a six-year program, bachiller en Artes. He took the entrance
exam on June 10, 1872, four months after the execution of Gomburza. He
followed the advice of his brother, Paciano, to use the name José Rizal instead
of Jose Mercado. He feared that Rizal might run into trouble if it was known
openly that they were brothers since Paciano was known to have links to Jose
Burgos, one of the leaders of the secularization movement and one movement
and one of three priest executed.
 During this time, Ateneo Municipal was known to offer the best
education for boys. Like all colleges in Manila, Ateneo was managed by priest,
but with an important difference in the sense that these religious were not
friars but Jesuit Fathers. Students in Ateneo were require to attend masses in
the morning before the start of classes. Ateneo was also known for its rigid
discipline and religious instruction that trained students character.
 Students in Ateneo were divided into two groups, the Romans and
Carthaginians. The Roman Empire was composed of students boarding at
Ateneo while the Carthaginians Empire was composed of non-boarding
students. The grouping was done to stimulate the spirit of competition among
the students. At the start, Rizal lagged behind his classmates but because of his
perseverance and seriousness in studies,

he became the “emperor” a title

given to the most outstanding student

in class, in just a month’s time.

 Rizal studied at Ateneo from 1872-1877. In those years, he
consistently showed excellence in his academic performance. He passed the
oral exaqminations on March 14, 1877 and graduated with a degree Bachiller
en Artes, with the highest honors.
Thank you very much