Rizal’s Childhood and Education

Assignment
1. Describe the life of Rizal when he was a young boy?
The childhood of Jose Rizal can be characterized by his desire to learn, even
frequenting the church nearby his home to watch and observe people but not being
religiously inclined. Jose Rizal was not physically blessed or strong. However, he had a
strong will guided and taught by his mother, his first teacher.
2. What inspired Rizal to write the poem “In Memory of my Town?” What was the
message of the poem?
- It was written to express his love and appreciation for where he grew up.
- He had the happiest childhood, and his town's hospitality, wealth, and cleanliness
made a beautiful impact on him, as well as the industry of Calamba. This place
shows his characteristics and values.
3. What are the conditions in Rizal’s family that may have contributed to his
intellectual pursuits? Explain your answer.
His mother was his first teacher, she taught him how to read and, as a result, to
appreciate reading as a way of learning and spending one's time meaningfully.
Moreover, Rizal learned to value time as life's most valuable gift as Doña Teodora
taught him to never waste a single moment of it.
4. Describe Rizal’s education in Ateneo, Letran, and the University of Sto. Tomas.
When he was 11 years old, Rizal entered the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He earned
excellent marks in subjects like philosophy, physics, chemistry, and natural history. At
this school, he read novels; wrote prize-winning poetry (and even a melodrama—“Junto
al Pasig”); and practiced drawing, painting, and clay modeling, all of which remained
lifelong interests for him.

Rizal eventually earned a land surveyor’s and assessor’s degree from the Ateneo
Municipal while taking up Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas.
Upon learning that his mother was going blind, Rizal opted to study ophthalmology at
the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. He, however, was not able to complete the
course because “he became politically isolated by adversaries among the faculty and
clergy who demanded that he assimilate to their system.”

Without the knowledge of his parents, Rizal traveled to Europe in May 1882. According
to his biographer, Austin Craig, Rizal, “in order to obtain a better education, had had to
leave his country stealthily like a fugitive from justice, and his family, to save themselves
from persecution, were compelled to profess ignorance of his plans and movements.
His name was entered in Santo Tomas at the opening of the new term, with the fees
paid, and Paciano had gone to Manila pretending to be looking for this brother whom he
had assisted out of the country.”

Rizal earned a Licentiate in Medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid, where he

also took courses in philosophy and literature. It was in Madrid that he conceived of
writing Noli Me Tangere. He also attended the University of Paris and, in 1887,
completed his eye specialization course at the University of Heidelberg. It was also in
that year that Rizal’s first novel was published (in Berlin).

Rizal is said to have had the ability to master various skills, subjects, and languages.
Our national hero was also a doctor, farmer, naturalist (he discovered the Draco Rizal, a
small lizard; Apogania rizali, a beetle; and the Rhacophorus rizali, a frog), writer, visual
artist, athlete (martial arts, fencing, and pistol shooting), musician, and social scientist.