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Lesson 2

RIZAL'S EARLY EDUCATION

EDUCATION IN CALAMBA

Dona Teodora was Rizal's first teacher is not just a so •rt of

"venerating" his mother who sacrificed a lot for our hero. It was actu;ally a
technical truth. In his memoirs, Rizal wrote, "My mother taught me how to
read and to say haltingly the humble prayers which I raised fervently to God."

In Rizal's time, seldom would see a highly educated woman off fine
- culture, like Dona Teodora who had the capacity to teach Spanish, rea..ding,
poetry and values through rare story books. Lolay, indeed was the first
teacher of the hero --- teaching him Spanish, correcting his composed poem
and coaching him in rhetoric. On his mother's lap, Jose learned the alphabets
and Catholic prayers at the age of three and learned to read and write at the
age of 5.

Aside from his mother, Jose's sister Saturnina and three maternal
uncles also mentored him. His uncle Jose Alberto taught him painiting,
sketching and sculpture. Uncle Gregorio influenced him to further love
reading. Uncle Manual, for his part, developed Riz'al's physical skills in martial
l arts, like wrestling.

i To further strengthen and polish what Rizal had learned, private tutors
l - were hired to give him lessons at home. Thus, Maestro Celestino tutored him,
and Maestro Lucas Padua later succeeded Celestino. Afterward, a former
classmate of Don Francisco, Leon Monroy, lived at the Rizal home to become
the boy's tutor in Spanish and Latin. Sadly, Monroy died five months later. (Of
course, there is no truth t some naughty students' comical insinuation that
Rizal had something to do with his death.)
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EDUCATION IN BINAN
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i Jose Rizal studied to a private school in Bi nan. In June 1869, his brother
L Paciano brought him to the school of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz. The
school was in the teacher's house, a small nipa house near the home of Jose's
i aunt where he stayed. In Rizal's own words, his teacher "knew by the heart
L, the grammars by Nebrija and Gainza."

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During Rizal's first day at the Binan School, the teacher asked him:
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"Do you know Spanish?"
"A little, sir," replied Rizal
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"Do you know Latin?"

"A little, sir."
His classmates, especially the teacher's son Pedro, laughed at the newcamer.
With this annoying and insulting situation, Jose challenged the bully Pedro to
a fight. Having learned wrestling from his Uncle Manuel, the younge1r and
smaller Jose defeated his tormenter-Pedro. (Compared to bullying vi,ctims
today, we can justify that Rizal did not wait for anyone to enact a law a§5ainst
bullying, but rather took action into his own hands.)

After the class, He had an arm-wrestling match with his classm iates,
Andres Salandanan. However, Jose lost and even almost cracked his head on
the sidewalk. (This only proves that merely being a desperado won't anake
you win all your fights but the point is, you've manifested a gallant attr;bute
to show masculinity)

Jose Rizal had other fights with Binan boys. (If his average wa~ two
fights per day, as what happened during his first day in Binan school. Then he
might have been more active than today's MJ./iA (mixed martial arts) fighters).
For his scuffles, he nonetheless received many whippings and blows on the
open palm from his disciplinarian teacher.

Rizal might not have won all his physical fights but he beat all Binan
boys academically in Spanish, Latin and many other subjects. After sometime,
I Jose told his father that he had already learned all there was to be taught in
Binan. His father sternly scolded Jose and hustled him back io the school.
Maestro Cruz, Jose's teacher in Binan, later confirmed, however; that Jose
l had indeed finished already all the needed curricular works. So despite his
wife's reluctant, Don Francisco then decided to send Jose to a school in Manila
inorder to enhance his superb academic prowess.

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_ii$ LEARNING ACTIVITY

Suggested Class Activities

1. Read Rizal's "Memoirs of a Student in Manila, "Chapter 1 (available

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on line in the article "Memoirs of a Student in Manila" by P. Jacinto
(a Pen Name of Jose Rizal)" in OurHappySchool.com)
2. Create a timeline of Rizal's childhood and early education.
l- 3. Assessment:
Write a short biographical essay that compares your early childhood
education with Rizal's own.
l. 4. Class Discussion:
a. Analyze Rizal's family, childhood and early education.
I b. Mention and evaluate the people and events and their influence
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on Rizal's early life.

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f!J E-LEARNING ASSIGNMENT

Taking Exciting E-Learning Fun Quiz Game:

1. Go online to www.OurHappySchool.com. Through its search engine
(upper right section), look for the entry " How much do you know
Jose Rizal: A Fun Quiz Game."

EVALUATION

I. Matching Type: Match Column A with Column B. Write the corresponding

letter before the number.

A B
__1. Jose Rizal's sister who served as the mediator a. Calamba
Between the teenage lovers, Rizal and Segunda
__2. The educated and highly cultured woman from b. Leoncio
, Sta. Cruz, Manila also known as Lolay Lopez
__ 3. The birthplace of Rizal, which was derived from c. Trinidad
"kalan-banga", meaning "clay stove" (kalan) and
r- -·· "wat~r jar" (banga). _________._______ __ _____ _
I __4. He was a classmate of Don Francisco who lived at d. Jo~e
the Rizal home to be a tutor of Spanish and Latin. Alberto
1---- t -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - · -
__ 5. Rizal mournfully wept when she died of sickness in e. Olympia
1865.
_6. The uncle who taught Rizal on painting sketching · f. Lucia
and sculpture.
_ 7. The Catholic town priest in Calamba who was g. Teodora
esteemed and respected bv Rizal. Alonzo
__8. The sister of Rizal who became the custodian of his h. Leon
1--- __,_l_
as_t _a_nd greatest poem . ,\~on;oy
_ 9. Her husband died during the cholera epidemic in I i. Paciano
May 1889. ,
_10. The only brother of Rizal who became the general i j. Concha
of the Philip~e Revolution. i

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II. Identification: Identify the best answer by choosing from the box:

r Narcisa ,+iaestro Celestino College of Santa Rosa

Tiniente Kiko Atipato Usman
Casco Leon Monroy Paciano
Pepe Concha Jose Alberto
Justiniano Cruz To Mv Fellow Children My Retreat
Maria Rizal
Colegio de San Jose Andres Salandanan

_ _ _ _ _ _ 1. Rizal's father gifted him with this pony, which he loved

to ride or take long walks in the meadows and
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lakeshore with his black dog.

_ _ _ _ _ _2. The flat-bottomed boat with a roof, which Rizal and his
father rode on their way to a pilgrimage in Anti polo.

_ _ _ _ _ _ 3. The poem, which was previously believed to be Rizal's

first written poem at the age of eight.

_ _ _ _ _ _4. She helped in financing Rizal's studies in Europe, even

pawning her jewelry and peddling her clothes if needed.

_ _ _ _ _ _ 5. Rizal had an arm-wrestling match with this classmate

after class.

_ _ _ _ _ _6. The esteemed school for girls in Manila where Dor:a Lclay
was educated.

_ _ _ _ _ _7. The sister with whom the hero talked about wanting to
marry Josephine Bracken.

_ _ _ _ _ _8. The reticent but vigorous gentleman from whom Jose

I inherited his "free soul".
I.

_ _ _ _ _ _9. The maestro in a private school in Binan where Rizal was

brought by Paciano.

_ _ _ _ _ _ 10. The surname suggested by a provincial governor, which

caused confusion in the commercial affairs of the family.

l I MODULE SUMMARY

l- Dr. Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 to a religious and model
Filipino parents in the picturesque town of Calamba, Laguna. This town is
between the legendary Mt Makiling and the largest lake in the Philippines, the
I- Laguna de Bay. He is the seventh among the eleven children of Dona Teodora
and Don Francisco.

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I His family and his home town gave an ideal and conducive learning
environment for the growth and development of Jose. Both his father and
mother were educated, highly respected, and socially affluent parents.
Calamba, a town of fertile fields of rice and sugarcane; its evergreen
r meadows, its singing birds, and the panoramic views of its lovely sunrises
constitute the background and environment for the growing child- Jose Rizal.
He was a religious boy, born and bred in a wholesome atmosphere of
Catholicism. At the age of three he already participated in family prayers and
at five, he read the Spanish family bible. He loves to go to church, take part
in novenas and join religious processions.

His mother, Dona Teodora, became his first teacher. At age three he
learned the alphabet. For misbehavior, his mother used to spank him with her
slippers. He learned a lesson from the story of the moth that her mother read
to him- that is sacrificing one's life for an idealism.

Dr. Jose Rizal was also influenced by his three uncles. His Uncle
Gregorio taught him to work and study hard; his Uncle Jose for painting,
sketching and sculpture. His Uncle Manuel taught him swimming, fencing and
wrestling.

A phenom like Jose Rizal possessed artistic talents and skills. Even
before he learned to rectd, he already sketched pictures of birds, flowers,
fruits, animals and persons. He painted religious banner used during religious
processions. He made statuettes which he kept in his room which were made
out of clay. Before he was eight years old, he wrote his first poe,n entitles,
"Sa Aking Mga Kababata." He also wrote a drama which was staged in Calamba
in connection with the town fiesta.

The influences in Rizal's babyhood which made how great includes, a)

hereditary influence, b) environmental influence, c) aid of the Divine
Providence, which he said has the greatest influence.

The first formal schooling of Jose was obtained in Binan under Maestro
Justiniano Aquino Cruz. Jose surpassed and outsmarted his classmates in all
subjects.

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/j'$ SUMMATIVE TEST

Essay

1. Who do you think had been the most influential among the family and
relatives of Rizal? Justify your answer.

2. Why do you think Rizal felt that the moths' tale could serve as an
allegory of his own destiny?

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3. How was value for good education shown in the life of Rizal?

4. Discuss Rizal's relationship with his parents and siblings?

5. Cite virtues that were exemplified in the life of Rizal based on his relationship
with his family, his childhood, and early education.

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