Jose Rizal is a beacon of hope and inspiration in the Philippines. As the national hero, his legacy has influenced Filipinos to embrace freedom and sovereignty.
Rizal regarded education highly. His studies began under the tutelage of Doña Teodora, his mother. Rizal then learned from private tutors before proceeding to Biñan to further his studies. Rizal attended Ateneo in 1872 and although was regarded as inferior in class, he graduated on March 23, 1877, attaining sobresaliente or excellent marks with five medals.
From 1887 to 1882, Rizal attended the University of Santo Tomas and pursued various studies, including Cosmology, Metaphysics, Theodicy, and History of Philosophy. In the following term, he took up preparatory courses for Medicine.
Rizal’s pursuit of knowledge brought him to Spain to study at the Universidad Central de Madrid, where took up two courses: Philosophy and Letters, and Medicine.
He later traveled around Europe to specialize in ophthalmology with the goal to help his mother’s failing eyesight.
From early in his life until his last moments, he sought to learn and teach others any new information he could. He believed that education is a powerful instrument to empower people and improve societies holistically. Moreover, through education, Rizal thought that Filipinos could gain the knowledge and skills necessary to take control of their destinies and overcome colonial oppression.
In his many letters written to his friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, Rizal often mentioned how education can be the catalyst for change that the Philippines needs to become self-sufficient and progressive and how every Filipino must have the right to access quality education.
Some of Rizal’s significant contributions in education occurred during his exile in Dapitan. It was there he began exciting the youth’s national consciousness through community service. He implemented a “hands-on” school program that benefitted sixteen high school boys who lived near him.
Aside from earning a living from apprenticing in Rizal’s medical clinic, horticulture, and livestock farm, the students received free academic lessons in the afternoon. Rizal also took them on field trips and taught physical activities because he believes in the saying “sound body, sound mind.”
Besides the children, Rizal also taught Dapitan folks about applied engineering to improve street infrastructures and designs. He even drained marshes to minimize the malaria threat in the area.
It was also Rizal who opened opportunities for Dapitan residents to engage in the fishing industry and entrepreneurship. He trained the local fishermen after his request for a big net for trawl fishing from his brother-in-law, Manuel Hidalgo, arrived.
Meanwhile, Rizal also promoted the establishment of a farmers’ cooperative in Dapitan, managed by the people themselves, to improve local farm products, promote cooperative marketing, and protect its members.
The Philippines’ educational landscape today wouldn’t be the same without Rizal’s passion for learning and patriotism. He fought for the right to education and used the pen’s might to create masterpieces, like Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, that would remain relevant centuries later.