Lesson 3: Rizal’s Life: Family, Childhood, and Early Education

Learning outcomes
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
 Analyze Rizal’s Family, Childhood and Early Education
 Evaluate the people and events and their influence on Rizal’s early life.
FAMILY
The family of Rizal is known for being a big family during his time.
 Rizal’s family was considered as one of the most respected and well-known family. Aside from
which they are also considered affluent back then.
 It was 1850 when the Spanish Governor General Narciso Claveria had decreed that “Mercado”
should be their family name. But it happened that Jose’s father was a self-determining mentality.
He thinks that to be called “Mercado” which means “market” is not applicable for a farmer or tenant
like him. Don Francisco, as commonly called by townspeople as Mang Kikoy, was responsible in
cultivating the rice field and providing animals and tools. For that reason, he decided to change his
family’s surname and used the word “racial” which connotes “green field”, changed the spelling to
“Rizal”, and gave his children that name, as a person of self-determining and sense of
appropriateness. However, Rizal himself revealed he was only to use the surname Rizal in the
family.
 The Mercado’s and Alonso’s belonged to the Principalia. They had enough land and money to
raise a living, stone houses which were among the first of its kind in the town of Calamba, sari-sari
store of no other competitors, horses that only affluent families could own, preferences in civic and
in religious processions. They owned the largest built in library in Calamba. (A. Delos Santos,
2014)
Francisco Mercado II and Teodora Alonso Realonda
Both Jose’s parents were educated in well-established schools at the time. Don Francisco studied
at Colegio de San Jose in Manila while Dona Teodora completed her education at the Colegio de
Santa Rosa, a prestigious college for girls in Manila. Both of his parents were his source of virtues
patience and self-sacrifice.
Rizal’s Siblings
They are Saturnina, Paciano, Narcisa, Olympia, Lucia, Maria, José, Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad
and Soledad.
CHILDHOOD
 Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonzo Realonda, the seventh child of Francisco Engracio Rizal
Mercado y Alejandro and his wife, Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda y Quintos, was born in
Kalamba, June 19, 1861.
  He was a typical Filipino, as few people in this land of mixed blood could boast a more diverse
bloodline than his. Almost all ethnic elements, including the Negrito in the distant past, were
combined in his blood.
 Jose was shaped by nature to be an artist. This was manifested to him when he was five years old.
His parents including his uncles recognized this usual talent and gave him all encouragement.
Uncle Jose Alberto, a fine artist himself, helped him develop his innate gift in arts.
 Another happy influence in building Jose character was the parish priest who lived in the convent
near house of Jose. He was Father Leoncio Lopez who was independent thinker with wide
intelligence and sound judgement.
 He was sent to the school for boys in Binan, where his uncle Jose Alberto lived, when he was nine
years old. His teacher was a devout follower of the ancient Aquino Cruz. He was a strict believer in
teaching knowledge not only through hearing and seeing, but also through the palm of one’s hand.
 His mother was imprisoned, accused of a purely speculative crime. The charge against her was
that she plotted with her brother, Alberto, to murder his wife, who had divorced him. In reality, Don
Francisco was arrested for failing to obey the order of two Spanish officials to feed their horses. As
a result of her disobedience, Dona Teadora was forced to walk 50 kilometers from Calamba to
Santa Cruz, where she was imprisoned for two years at the provincial jail. Zaide and Zaide (2008)
EDUCATION
Education is the most powerful weapon we have to change our lives.
Everyone requires an education. It enables us to obtain better opportunities.
Jose Rizal recognized the importance of education in his own life at a young age. Rizal’s education
provided him with knowledge, but it was his wisdom and passion that helped shape him into the man he
became.
Rizal’s Early Informal Education
 Dona Teodora was a significant figure in the life of the national hero. She was Rizal’s first teacher.
A remarkable woman with a good reputation. Jose learned the Alphabet and Catholic prayers on
her lap when he was three years old. Jose’s parents hired a private tutor to teach him at home as
he grew older.
 Aside from his mother, he was mentored by his sister Saturnina and three maternal uncles. Jose
Alberto, his uncle, taught him to paint, sketch, and sculpt. Uncle Gregorio encouraged him to
continue reading. Uncle Manuel, for his part, helped Rizal develop his physical skills in martial arts
such as wrestling.
 But a small-town education and a tutor did not satisfy the young man’s thirst for knowledge, so the
family began to make plans for his admission to the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, the Philippines’
capital.
Studying in Binan
 Despite flaws in the Spanish elementary education system, Rizal was able to obtain a basic
foundation for college work in Manila and abroad. The school was constructed of nipa and was
 located 30 meters down the street from his aunt’s house. Paciano introduced Rizal to his teacher,
Justiano Aquino Cruz, also known as Maestro in the area.
Rizal’s Encounter with Mentors in Binan
 In his first formal schooling in Binan, Rizal described the Maestro as tall, thin, long –necked, with
sharp nose and a body slightly bent forward. His teacher was wearing a sinamay shirt made from
Batangas.
 Rizal eagerly studied his lessons with the motivation of maestro Justiano. Rizal developed his
intelligence under the tutelage of his teacher, which he demonstrated in his later studies at the
Ateneo de Manila. Rizal outperformed his Binan classmates in all academic areas, including
Spanish, Latin, and other subjects. Rizal’s extraordinary young intelligence saved him from the
beatings of Maestro Justiano, who imposed discipline and desired that his students learn the skills
and knowledge that he was teaching.
First School Affray
 Rizal was no exception during his time, just like the little elementary boys in the province today.
Rizal had his first school fight in Binan, according to his diary.
 Pedro, the bully, was introduced to Jose. He was up against Pedro, his teacher’s son, whom Rizal
described as “the naughtiest boy,” who sneered at him in class.
 Rizal and Pedro once fought while their teacher was sleeping. Pedro was challenged to a fight. He
defeated the bigger boy after learning to wrestle from his athletic Tio Manuel. Rizal gained the
respect of his classmates because they couldn’t believe Pedro, who was older and taller than
Rizal, had been beaten to the ground.
Painting Lesson in Binan
 Jose spent many leisure hours at the painter’s studio, drawn there by his love of painting. Old
Juancho freely taught him drawing and painting.
 The best student in the school.
 Jose outperformed all of the Binan boys in academics. He outperformed everyone in Spanish,
Latin, and other subjects.
Life and Studies at Ateneo
 Jose Rizal was present in Calamba, Laguna, when his family was discussing his future education.
He returned home triumphant because, for the first time, he had taken and passed a real
examination. However, due to the family’s confusion in Calamba as a result of the Spanish abusive
treatment of Dona Teodora, they decided that Rizal should pursue his secondary education at the
Ateneo Municipal, also known at the time as Escuela Pia (now Ateneo de Manila University).
 Jose was the first member of his family to take the surname “Rizal.” When Jose was a student at
Ateneo, he boarded in the home of TiTay, a spinster who owed the Rizal family P300. Jose
boarded with her to collect a portion of the debt (as cited Manebog, 2104 pg. 59)
Graduated with Highest Honours
  Rizal passed his exams with flying colors. His academic record at the Ateneo began in 1872, with
excellent marks in all subjects. After finishing his degree at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, he
pursued his passion for the arts by enrolling at the University of Santo Tomas’ Faculty of Arts and
Letters for a degree in Philosophy in 1878. He excelled at philosophy, but due to his mother’s
medical eye condition, he decided to push himself to study medicine. He enrolled in the Faculty of
Medical Sciences at UST to pursue a career in ophthalmology.
Rizal Enters in the University (1877-1882)
 Rizal, who was nearly 16 years old at the time, enrolled in UST in April 1877, taking the Philosophy
and Letters course. Following the advice of the Ateneo Rectors to study medicine, Rizal enrolled in
the preparatory medical course as well as the regular first year medical course the following term
(1878-1879). Another reason he chose medicine as a career is to be able to cure his mother’s
blindness, which is progressing. He passed the final examinations in the surveying course at the
age of 17, but he was denied the title of surveyor because he was under the minimum age
requirement. On November 25, 1881, he was granted the title. (as cited on page 39 of Delos
Santos)
Challenging Life at UST
 After Rizal graduated from the Ateneo de Manila, his father, Don Francisco, decided to send him to
Manila for further education, knowing that his son was gifted with exceptional intelligence. Jose
Rizal returned to Manila in April 1877 and enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas, taking the
course Philosophy and Letters, though Rizal was still unsure of what course to study at the time.
Father Ramon advised him to study medicine, so he enrolled in the medical program, hoping to
help Dona Teodora’s failing eyesight after completing the Ophthalmology course.
Decision to Study Abroad
 Rizal decided to study in Spain after finishing his fourth year of medical school. For the first time,
Rizal did not seek his parents’ permission to travel abroad. Because they will not approve of it. He
boarded a ship to Spain with the help of his older brother Paciano, but without his parents’
knowledge.
 He believed that education in the country was limited, and that spending 10 years in Europe would
change his personality and open his eyes to the world, cultivate his talents, and strengthen his love
for his country.
Academics in Europe
 He left for Spain on May 3, 1882, and enrolled in Medicine, Philosophy, and Letters at the
Universidad Central de Madrid on November 3, 1882. On his 24 th birthday, the Madrid University
awarded him an excellent degree in Literature in Philosophy and Letters. Rizal traveled to Paris
while his mother’s blindness progressed. He was welcomed as a member of the Ethnological
Society, Anthropological Society, and Geographical Society in Berlin. In April 1887, he was invited
to speak in German before the Berlin Ethnographic Society about the orthography and structure of
the Tagalog language.