1.

Donya Teodora, Jose Rizal's mother, warned him the dangers of flying too near
the flame. This was the story of the moth. Donya Teodora told this story to Rizal
at a young age. She always tells her to be careful. In this story, the moth was
attracted to the light. Despite the warnings of the moth's mother, it still flew closer
and closer to it, until it lost its wings and died. Rizal's mother consistently
narrated the story to him. However, Rizal did not fear the light.

Rizal aspired to expose the wrongdoings of the Spanish government and the
people in power. He wasn't scared about what will happen to him and he
continued to face all the hardships as long as he is helping the Filipinos and his
country. Donya Teodora only wanted safety for his son. She wanted Jose Rizal
to be away from danger and live in peace. Even so, Rizal's nationalism was more
important. He wasn't scared at what might happen to him as long as he will give
light to his country. He studied in different schools, acquired a lot of experiences,
and he even studied abroad not just to become an eye specialist for her mother
but to study the cultures, laws, and governments of European countries in order
to help the Filipinos. Rizal was never scared about himself as long as he is doing
everything he can for his country and in the end, he did bring the light to his
country despite facing death.

In addition, there is also another circumstance where Rizal’s mother warned him.
It is when Rizal opted to study Medicine in University of Santo Tomas. Donya
Teodora feared the GomBurZa incident. She warned him that Rizal already has
enough knowledge and if he gets to know more, his life might be at stake.
However, Rizal pursued to study Medicine in University of Santo Tomas because
he wants to cure his mother’s eyes. His mother was slowly starting to be blind
and Rizal just wanted to help her mother. He even studied abroad because of
this issue.
2. During the 18th to the early 19th century, the friars were in control of the
educational system in the Philippines. Ateneo de Municipal, now known as
Ateneo de Manila University, was entrusted by the government to the Jesuits. On
the other hand, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) was established by the
Dominicans.

In Ateneo, they have a Regulated-Regimented System where the students’ time

is not really controlled. Here, every student is treated equally. There is no
discrimination if you are a Filipino. Classes are divided into two: the group
representing the Roman empire and Carthaginian Empire based on the
residency of the students. Also, the two empires are classified into five: Emperor,
Tribune, Decurion, Centurion, and Standard Bearer. The Jesuits’ way of teaching
was enforcing discipline and promoting a culture of learning.

In UST, the Dominicans implement a Europeanized Educational System. In this

educational system, students are expected to be matured and responsible in
using their time. Education in UST was privileged only to Spanish Students. Rizal
experienced discrimination and he had a hard time surviving in this school. There
was no fair treatment in students. There was racism from the hands of the
Dominican priests and even the other students. One thing about this school
based on the experiences of Rizal was that the friars would not let the students
use the laboratory equipment unless there are important visitors in the institution.
Filipino’s experienced injustices even if they have skills and are intelligent
enough.

Two words to describe the educational system in Ateneo and UST are “equal”
and “unequal”. The students are treated fairly in Ateneo and their foreign race are
not something that the Jesuits look at, it is the students’ skills and intelligence.
On the contrary, the Dominicans have an unfair treatment to Filipinos. They only
give importance to Spanish students. Favoritism is obvious.
3. One of the significant changes in the educational system nowadays and in the
19th century is the advanced technology. Also, the dress code is stricter before.
Now, teachers and students can dress according to their preference, but they
must take note that they should still dress professionally. I believe that
discrimination is still evident but not just on Spanish and Filipino students. There
is discrimination in different issues like gender and social status.

Moreover, there are now different modes of learning. There is online learning,
home-schooling, and schools for students with disabilities. There is now a wide
range of learning methods. Additionally, schools now have more requirements to
meet. Also, there private schools and public schools. Some private schools are
Catholic schools or Sectarian. This is usually administered by priests or nuns.
Public schools are administered by the government and it offers less costly
education. In our country, CHED developed an Outcome-based Education for the
Higher Education. Students are taught with expectations of achieving a more
specific outcome in their lessons. The other one is the Standard Based
Curriculum; it is structured on a more material system where students directly
access resources to reason and extract information at their own pace.

In the 19th century, there is not much of a system like what we have now. The
main goal of friars is to teach their students in a way that they can and in their
own strategy. Also, there are only certain students who can study. Spanish
students and Illustrados. Not all women can study in this era. They are expected
to learn household chores or enter the convent. There is gender discrimination
not only in foreign race but also gender. Today, women and men can freely study
what they want.