His Studies at

Ateneo de Manila

His Studies at Ateneo de Manila

Rizal continued his studies, in spite of his mothers
imprisonment.
It was four months after the martyrdom of the three
priests, Gom-Bur-Za and he had not yet celebrated his
eleventh birthday when he was sent to Ateneo de
Municipal, a college under the management of the
Spanish Jesuits, and which later became Ateneo de
Manila.
Rizal entered the school accompanied by his brother,
Paciano.

Rizal had taken an entrance examination on various subjects

such as arithmetic and reading at the College of San Juan de
Letran and passed them, but after he attended the fiesta in
calamba his father changed his mind and decided to let him
enroll in Ateneo.
At first he was refused admission to Ateneo Municipal, for two
reasons:
1. He was late for registration.
2. He was sickly and frail, as he looked undersize for his age at
eleven.
.Due to the entervention of Father Manuel Burgos, a nephew of
the martyr Father Burgos, he was finally admitted to school.

Paciano Rizal

The Jesuit Educational System

One of the objectives of the Jesuit system of education

was to develop the child academically, in such subjects as
physical culture, humanities, and science as found in the
Bachelor of Arts curriculum, in wich he was enrolled.
It trained the student to have strong character through
rigid discipline and training.
Religion was emphasized through masses every morning
before the beginning of the class and prayers before and
after class sessions.
The students were divided into two camps, the internos
and externos.

Internos (boarders) designated as the Roman

Empire.
Externos (non-boarders) the Carthaginian
Empire.
The leader in each empire was called an emperor, a
position which every student vied for and wish
could be lost by failing to answer three questions
asked of him on the days lesson.
Ateneo students wore a uniform consisting of hempfabric trousers and striped cotton coat materials
called rayadillo.

His Four Years in Ateneo de Manila

He was first year in Ateneo de Manila in the year 1872 to
1873, second year in 1873-1874, third year in 1874-1875,
and fourth year in 1875-1876.
It was during his first year in Ateneo that he adopted the
name Rizal, changing Mercado, the reason being that the
latter namew was under the suspicion of the Spanish
authorities.
He had been using the surname Mercado at the College of
Father Manuel Burgos, a professor, at the same time a
nephew of the martyr Father.
The name Rizal was given by a Spanish alcalde mayor of
Laguna, who was family friend.

First Year in Ateneo

His first professor was Father Jose Bech, a tall, thin man who
had Greek features.
Being an externo, he was assigned to the Carthaginians, and
to the bottom of the class, for not being proficient in Spanish.
At the end of the first week, he became the emperor and
was dubbed as the brightest in the class and was awarded a
prize, the first he ever won in Ateneo.
He improved his knowledge and fluency in Spanish by taking
private lessons in Santa Isabel College during noon recesses
for the amount of three pesos.

Second Year in Ateneo

In his second year, he regretted not studying as much as
in the first year, due to a remark given by a professor, but
he overcome this by studying hard and was once more
dubbed as the emperor.
He had new classmates, three of whom where from Binan
and former classmates in the school of Maestro
Justiniano.
At the end of the school year, he received not only
excellent grades in all subjects but also a gold medal for
scholastic honors.

He returned to Calamba for summer vacation and his

sisters was so happy with his tales of his academic
conquests.
In his visit to his mother prison, Rizal interpreted his
mothers dream and prophesied that she would soon be
released, which was fulfilled after barely three months.
It was this summer period Rizal, now a teenager, began to
read romantic novels.
One of his favorites was The Count of Monte Cristo by
Alexander Dumas, which made a deep impression on him.

He also read not only romantic novels but also

historical works by Cesar Cantu which greatly helped
him in his studies.
He also read Travels in the Philippines by Dr.
Feodor Jagor, a German scientist who visited the
Philippines in 1859-1860.
The last book interested him because:
1. It was an analysis of the Spanich colonization and
its defects.
2. The prophecy that Spain would lose the Philippines
to the United States of America in the future.

Third Year in Ateneo

It was when he was in the Junior year in Ateneo
that his dear mother was released from prison.
Inspite of the joyous reconciliation, Jose was not
happy, and did not show as much performance as in
the previous year, although his grades in the
academic subjects were excellent, but he won only
one medal- in Latin.
He did not receive the gold medal for Spanish
because he was not as proficient as the Spaniard
who beat him.

Fourth Year in Ateneo

He felt refreshed for the coming school year and was
prepared to do the best time, especially with the
encouragement given by his professor Father Francisco
Paula Sanchez, to study harder and to write poetry.
Father Sanchez was a great educator and teacher, whom
Jose learned to love, admire and respect and to rate him
as the best professor in school.
As a result, he topped in all his subjects and won five
medals for academic excellence at the end of the school
term.

Last Year in Ateneo

Rizal finished his course with the highest honors, having
one kind of grade of all his subjects from the first to fifth
year, which was excellent gaining him the fame of being
the brightest Atenean of his time.
He graduated at the age of sixteen with the degree of
Bachelor of Arts on top his class which made a
graduation day a proud day for the Rizal family.
On the eve of his graduation, he prayed very hard to the
Virgin Mary, asking for guidance and protection as he
takes his place in the world of community.

The development of Rizal as a student in college was

not lopsided towards the academic subjects. There were
also extra-curricular activities to reckon with. Being an
emperor of an empire corresponded to leadership
outside of the school.
He was an active member, later, secretary of a religious
society, the Marian Congregation; was a devote of Our
Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the College
Patroness, and also a member of the Academy of
Spanish Literature, the Academy of Natural Sciences,
and other extra- curricular activities, which only those
with academic standing can qualify.

THANK YOU!!!