Republic of the Philippines

COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Region V
POLANGUI COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Polangui, Albay

Course Code: GE 09
Course Title: The Life and Works of Rizal
Course Type: GEC
Course Credits: 3 units
Duration: Second Semester 2020-2021
Instructor: ROCHELLE M. BACONG, LPT
Contact Information: rochellebacong22@gmail.com/ 0935-474-0232

Module 4-5
Rizal’s Cultural Roots

I. Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, the students should be able to:

1. Discuss the family background of Rizal
2. Identify the important events during Rizal’s childhood that influenced the formation of his character
3. Narrate a personal childhood experience

II. Introduction
This module presents the background of Rizal’s life – his family and his childhood years in Calamba and
notable achievements during his early education. It also recalls the life of Jose Rizal through the written works of
various historians and writers. It also presents Rizal’s background, his roots, and the events that were significant in the
formation of his character.

III. Eliciting Concepts/Vocabularies

Give the meaning of the following words:

a. Family
b. Childhood
c. Education

IV. Learning Content

Rizal’s Life: Family, Childhood and Early Education

 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.

ROCHELLE M. BACONG, LPT Page 1

 He was baptized JOSE RIZAL MERCADO at the Catholic of Calamba by the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes
with Rev. Pedro Casañas as the sponsor.28 September 1862.
 Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco Mercado II and Teodora Alonso
Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.
 The Mercado - Rizal Family- The Rizal's is considered one of the biggest families during their time. Domingo Lam-
co, the family's paternal ascendant was a full-blooded Chinese who came to the Philippines from Amoy, China in
the closing years of the 17th century and married a Chinese half-breed by the name of Ines de la Rosa.
Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of Japanese, Spanish, Malay and Even Negrito
blood aside from Chinese.

 JOSE RIZAL’S PARENTS

 FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898) Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offsprings of Juan and
Cirila Mercado. Born in Biñan, Laguna on April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose College, Manila; and died in
Manila.
 TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida
de Quintos. She studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. She was a business-minded woman, courteous,
religious, hard-working and well-read. She was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827 and died in
1913 in Manila.
 JOSE RIZAL’S SIBLINGS

 SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913) Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of
Tanauan, Batangas.
-PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930) Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in
Manila; became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.
-NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939) The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and
musician.
-OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.
-LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.
 MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
-JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on
December 30,1896.
-CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)The eight child. Died at the age of three.
-JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.
-TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to die.
-SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)The youngest child married PantaleonQuintero.
 Early childhood

- When he was four years old, his sister Conception, the eight child in the Rizal family, died at the age of three. It was
on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed real tears for the first time. 1865 – 1867. During this time his
mother taught him how to read and write. His father hired a classmate by the name of Leon Monroy who, for five
months until his (Monroy) death, taught Rizal the rudiments of Latin. At about this time two of his mother’s cousin
frequented Calamba. Uncle Manuel Alberto, seeing Rizal frail in body, concerned himself with the physical
development of his young nephew and taught the latter love for the open air and developed in him a great
admiration for the beauty of nature, while Uncle Gregorio, a scholar, instilled into the mind of the boy love for
education. He advised Rizal: "Work hard and perform every task very carefully; learn to be swift as well as
thorough; be independent in thinking and make visual pictures of everything.“ 6 June 1868 With his father, Rizal

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 made a pilgrimage to Antipolo to fulfill the vow made by his mother to take the child to the Shrine of the Virgin of
Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of delivery which nearly caused his mother’s life. From there
they proceeded to Manila and visited his sister Saturnina who was at the time studying in the La Concordia College
in Sta. Ana.1869.
- At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem entitled "Sa Aking Mga Kabata." The poem was written in tagalog
and had for its theme "Love of One’s Language."
Rizal’s Early Education
The Hero’s First Teacher

 The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, who was a remarkable woman of good character and fine culture.
On her lap, he learned at the age of three the alphabet and the prayers. "My mother," wrote Rizal in his student
memoirs, "taught me how to read and to say haltingly the humble prayers which I raised fervently to God.”
As tutor, Doña Teodora was patient, conscientious, and understanding. It was she who first discovered that her son
had a talent for poetry.
 Uncle Jose Alberto (the youngest brother of Doña Teodora)
-gave wise direction in the regular studies of Jose
 Uncle Gregorio
-was a tireless reader, with a flair for the artistic.
“Work hard and perform every task very carefully learn to be swift as well as thorough; be independent in thinking
and make visual pictures of everything.
 Uncle Manuel
-a man of athletic belt, developed the physique of the Young boy Jose.
 His Father Francisco kept an old man Leon Monroy in the family for many months for the purpose of teaching the
boy the beginnings of Latin. Maestro Celestino and Maestro Lucas Padua are Rizal’s private tutor at home.
At the age of 5, Rizal began to draw with his pencil and mould in wax or clay in any object
He has painting ability. He’s good in playing magic tricks and skills in manipulating puppets.
 When he was about 6 years old his sisters laughed at him while spending so much time making those images
rather than participating in their games. He told them:
“all right laugh at me now! Someday when I die, people will make monuments and images of me!”
 Father Leoncio Lopez
-whom Rizal paid a beautiful tribute (in “Noli Me Tangere”).
Early Education in Biñan

 At the age of 9, Don Francisco sent his son to Biñan to continue his studies in Latin under Maestro Justiniano
Aquino Cruz Juanco – an old painter who owned a shop (painting), where Rizal learned painting. He gave Rizal
lessons in drawing and paintings. Rizal stayed at Biñan for one and a half year. Rizal left Biñan on December 7,
1871.
At the age of 8, Rizal wrote a poem in Tagalog entitled “Sa Aking Mga Kababata” (To My Fellow Children). It is an appeal to
his countrymen to love their national language First Taste of Injustice. The tragic incident happened in the Family when his
mother Doña Teodora was arbitrarily arrested on a malicious charge that she allegedly aided her brother Jose Alberto, in
trying to poison Alberto’s wife. The police forced Doña Teodora to walk in barefoot nearly fifty kilometers over a rough road
to the prison in Sta. Cruz. Awakening of Jose Rizal’s Concept of Love of Country. Jose found his brother Paciano distracted
over a ghastly tragedy through the execution of Gomburza. Gomburza were sentenced to death by means of GARROTE on
February 17, 1872 at Bagumbayan, Manila. Paciano Rizal had loved and well-neigh worshipped Fr. Burgos, “the most
popular professor in the university.”
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 V. Learning Experiential Activities

Lesson/s Synchronous Asynchronous

Take the online quiz as pre-test: Individual Activity 1:
Rizal: Family,
Childhood and https://quizizz.com/join/quiz/
Early Education of 5d634c9165e5d5001ba82598/start A. The Story of the Moth: Jose Rizal’s
Rizal Character
Google Draw:
- Using Google Draw or other apps, Instructions: Read the passage below.
create your own Family Tree. Afterwards, answer the following questions.

-One of the stories that Teodora Alonzo told Jose

PowerPoint Presentation (Google slides)
Rizal was that of the moth and the flame. In the
story, an old moth warned a young moth not to
 Present a slide or picture/video
come close to a lighted candle because it might
presentation about your birth and life
cause the young moth’s death. However, the
as a toddler highlighting your
young moth was so attracted to the candle’s light
childhood memories.
and warmth, so it disobeyed the old moth’s
 Create a timeline of Rizal’s childhood
advise. The young moth flew too close to the
and early education
candle’s flame. Its wings caught fire and burned
and the moth died. While listening to the story,
Jose was watching the moths flying around the
lamp of their table. Just like in the story, one of
the moths flew near the flame and burned its
wings. But that was not how it died, it fell into the
pool of coconut oil at the bottom of the lamp
where it drowned and died.

1. Research on how the story of the moth and the

flame shaped Rizal’s social and political ideas?

2. What are the instances when Rizal manifested

a social and political character?

Activity 2: Make your own Family Tree. Be

creative. (Note: Please be guided by the rubric
provided on the next page)

Activity 3: Create a timeline of Rizal’s childhood

and early education

VI. Assessment
Activity 1:
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 A. Rizal’s Love for Language

Instructions: Read Rizal’s poem below.

TO MY FELLOW YOUTH
Whenever people of a country truly love
The language which by heav’n they were taught to use
That country also surely liberty pursue
As does the bird which soars to freer space above.

For language is the final judge and referee

Upon the people in the land where it holds sway;
In truth our human race resembles in this way
The other living beings born in liberty.

Whoever knows not how to love his native tongue

Is worse than any best or evil smelling fish.
To make our language richer ought to be our wish
The same as any mother loves to feed her young.

Tagalog and the Latin language are the same

And English and Castilian and the angels’ tongue;
And God, whose watchful care o’er all is flung,
Has given us His blessing in the speech we claim,

Our mother tongue, like all the highest that we know

Had alphabet and letters of its very own;
But these were lost — by furious waves were overthrown
Like bancas in the stormy sea, long years ago.
Tasks:

Based on what you have read, share your experiences or insights on how the youth today profess their confidence and
interest in their mother tongue. Do the youth today still value their native toungue? Explain your answer.

Activity 2: Instructions: Create a poem dedicated to your mother or to your native town showing love, honor, gratitude and
appreciation. Be guided by the rubrics below.

Poem Writing Rubric

Criteria Excellent Good Fair Poor

4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
The entire poem is Most of the poem is Some of the poem is No attempt has been
Focus on Assigned related to the related to the related to the made to relate the
Topic assigned topic and assigned topic. The assigned topic, but a poem to the assigned
allows the reader to poem wanders off at reader does not learn topic.
understand much one point, but the much about the topic.
more about the topic. reader can still learn
something about the

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 topic.
The poem contains The poem contains a The poem contains a There is little evidence
many creative details few creative details few creative details of creativity in the
and/or descriptions and/or descriptions and/or descriptions, poem. The author
Creativity that contribute to the that contribute to the but they distract from does not seem to
reader's enjoyment. reader's enjoyment. the poem. The author have used much
The author has really The author has used has tried to use his imagination.
used his imagination. his imagination. imagination.
Spelling and There are no spelling There is one spelling There are 2-3 spelling The final draft has
Punctuation or punctuation errors or punctuation error in and punctuation errors more than 3 spelling
in the final draft. the final draft. in the final draft. and punctuation
errors.
Title is creative, Title is related to the Title is present, but No title.
Title sparks interest and is poem and topic. does not appear to be
related to the poem related to the poem
and topic. and topic.
Many vivid, descriptive Some vivid, The reader can figure The reader has
words are used. The descriptive words are out what to picture in trouble figuring out
reader can picture the used. The reader can the poem, but the what imagery the
Imagery imagery in the poem. somewhat picture the author didn't supply poem is using and
imagery in the poem. much detail. what the author wants
him/her to picture.

Family Tree Rubric

Excellent Good Fair Poor

Criteria Score
4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
No title, name or Does not give any Gives very little Poster is easily
date; no labels for identifying elements information about the readable and
Title / Labels graphics or identifying about the family family understandable
elements about the
family

No pictures, graphics, Provides a few graphic Graphic representations Graphic

or clipart; lacks representations are visually pleasing but representations are
Graphics details, confusing not placed well visually pleasing and
placed well on the
poster
Little or no A few facts but no Several facts are given Contains numerous
Content information about the details are given facts with interesting
family is given details
Frequent grammar Perfect spelling and
Writing Two or more errors Only one or two errors
and/or spelling errors grammar

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 Poster was Poster is Poster could stand on
Neatness/ Poster is somewhat
haphazardly put understandable after its own and still be
Clarity understandable
together explanation only understood
Total

References

 Coates, A. (1969). Rizal: Filipino nationalist and Martyr. Hong Kong Oxford University Press
 Jose Rizal.ph (2004). Early education in Calamba and Biῆan. Retrieved from http://www.joserizal.ph/ed01.html
 http://joseprizal-one.blogspot.com/2006/03/rizal-family-early-childhood-and.html
 https://www.scribd.com/document/437328866/Family-and-Early-Childhood-of-Rizal
 http://www.joserizal.ph/ec01.html
 https://www.slideshare.net/kellyviduya/jose-rizal-ppt-nung-bata-pa-siya-lol

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