Chapter 11: Rizal Formal Schooling: Being Atenean

Formal Schooling at Ateneo

Ateneo (Private Catholic Jesuit Research University in QC, founded in 1859, third oldest university in Phil.)
• Escuela Pia (Charity School)
- A school for poor boys in Manila established by city government in 1817
• Ateneo Municipal
- Bitter rival of the Dominican-owned College of San Juan de Letran
- A college under the supervision of the Spanish Jesuits
• Ateneo de Manila
- Acquired prestige as an excellent college for boys

(On June 10, 1872, Jose together with his brother went to Manila to grant his wish of enrolling Jose in San
Juan de Letran. Jose Rizal took the entrance examination and passed them with flying colors, then he went
back to Calamba to saty a while for his family and attend their town fiesta only to find out that his father's wish
changed instead of enrolling him to San Juan de Letran he wished to enroll him to Ateneo de Manila.)

(Although Rizal was eleven years old, he passed good entrance exam in Manila, he nearly failed to matriculate
in Ateneo in July, because his mother's arrest had made him a month late and looked so little, slender and
young.)

Rizal Enters the Ateneo

• Father Magin Ferrando, who was the school registrar, refused to admit Rizal for two reasons:
1. He was late for registration
2. He was sickly and undersized for his age
However, with the help and intercession of Manuel Xerez Burgos, nephew of Padre Burgos, Rizal was finally
admitted to Ateneo.
• Jose was the first of his family to adopt the surname Rizal. Their family name Mercado had come under the
suspicion of the Spanish authorities.
• Rizal first boarded at Caraballo Street (house outside Intramuros)
- 25-minute walk from the college
- Owned by a spinster named Titay who owed Rizal family Php 300

Rizal in Ateneo (1872-1877)

Rizal’s First year in Ateneo (1872-1873)
• First day of school - Rizal first heard the mass at the college chapel and prayed for guidance and success.
• He belonged to the class composed of Spaniards, Mestizos and Filipinos.
• First professor of Jose: Fr. Jose Bech
- a man who had Greek features.

(Tall, thin man, with a body slightly bent forward, a hurried walk, an ascetic face, severe and inspired, small
seep-sunken eyes, a sharp nose that was almost Greek, and thin lips forming an arc whose end fell toward the
chin.)
(As a newcomer and knowing little Spanish, he was considered as inferior and placed at the bottom of the
class.)

• Belonged to the Carthaginians in which he was an "externo" or "extern student"

• The Calamba boy progressed rapidly and at the end of the month he become "emperor"
• Brightest pupil in class (inferior to emperor)

(Having divisions and competition in class, Rizal was more inspired to achieve and excel to represent the might
of the Filipino race. He proved he was no inferior for at the end of the month he became the emperor and
received a prize, a religious picture. He exerted more effort to learn ahead and he then took the extra effort to
stand out and maintain the academic supremacy.)

• Improved his knowledge in Spanish by taking private lessons in Santa Isabel College during noon recess
while students were playing and doing leisure activities.
(He paid 3 pesos for those extra Spanish lesson.)

Summer Vacation
• He returned home to Calamba but he did not enjoy his vacation since his mother was still in jail, although his
sister Neneng (Saturnina) tried to cheer him up. Without telling anyone, he visited his mother in prison, who
was very happy of his stories of his brilliant performance in Ateneo.
• When summer vacation ended, returned to Manila for his second year. This time he boarded inside
Intramuros at No. 6 Magallanes Street. The landlady is old widow Dona Pepay with widowed daughter and 4
sons.

Rizal’s 2nd year in Ateneo (1873-1874)

• Once more, he become "emperor"
• He had new classmates in the school
1. Three of them were from Binan, former classmates in the school of Maestro Justiniano
• At the end of school year - he received not only excellent grades in all subjects but also a "gold medal for
scholastic honors".

Summer Vacation
• He returned to Calamba in March 1874.
Prophecy of Mother’s Release
• Rizal visited his mother in the provincial jail. He cheered up his mother’s lonely heart with news of scholastic
triumphs in Ateneo and with funny tales about professor and fellow students. His mother was very happy
because of the splendid progress in college of her child.
• Upon their conversation, Dona Teodora told her son of her dream the previous night. Rizal, interpreting the
dream told her that she would be released from prison in three months’ time. His mother smiled, thinking that
her son’s prophecy was a mere boyish attempt to console her.
• Rizal’s prophecy became true. After three months, Rizal’s mother was set free. By that time Rizal was already
in Manila to attend his class at Ateneo.
Teenage Interest in Reading:
- Became interested in love stories and romantic tales.
1.) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (First favorite novel)
- Why? It gives him a deep impression on him
- The sufferings of Edmond Dantes, the hero who was imprisoned, related to the political situation of the
times, and likewise found himself sharing the same feelings and compassion of the hero
(He read not only fiction but also non-fiction. So, he persuaded his father to buy him a costly set of Cesar
Cantu’s historical work entitled Universal History)
2.) Universal History by Cesar Cantu
- Valuable work and was a great aid in his studies.
3.) Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor Jagor
- It was an analysis of the Spanish colonization and its defects
- The prophecy that Spain would lose the Philippines to the United States of America in the future

Rizal’s 3rd year in Ateneo (1874-1875)

• It was in his Junior year in Ateneo that his mother was released from prison
• His grades was excellent but won only medal- Latin, he failed to win the medal in Spanish because he is not
fluently sonorous and proficient as the Spaniard who could naturally speak fluently and with right accentuation
(He himself was not impressed by his Scholastic work ‘cause he only got medal-Latin)

Rizal’s 4th year in Ateneo (1875-1876)

• On June 16, 1875, he became a boarder in Ateneo (“Interno”)

(He befriended his professor Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez, whom he regarded as great educator and
scholar.)

• Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez,

- inspired Rizal to study harder and to write poetry
- he became an admirer and a friend of Rizal
- considered as greatest professor in Ateneo
- "model of uprightness, earnestness, and love for the advancement of his pupils", as Rizal describes his
professor.

(The Jesuits didn’t fail to impress Jose Rizal and evoke him to venerate the Spanish culture and Catholicism.)

• He topped all his subject and won 5 medals at the end of the school term because of Fr. Francisco, his
inspiration.

Last year in Ateneo (1876-1877)

• Excelled in all subjects and considered as the most brilliant Atenean.
• "Pride of the Jesuits”

Commencement day (March 23, 1877)

• Rizal was 16 years old when he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts with highest honors
1878
• He took a post-graduate course there in land surveying. Rizal Mercado completed his surveyor’s training in
1877, and passed the licensing exam in May 1878, but could not receive a license to practice because he was
only 17 years old. (He was granted a license in 1881, when he reached the age of majority.)

*Rizal was captivated and astonished of the Spanish culture and believes that the Spanish way of life is
supreme, and every Filipino must strive to be of the kind.
*He now believes that Filipinos must study, hone skills and abilities, and exhibit the Spanish culture to be
successful.
*The Jesuits’ way of teaching, of enforcing discipline as well as promoting a culture of learning inspired Rizal to
great heights of achievement. Since the Jesuits also teach foreign literature, Rizal eventually became
fascinated by stories and ideas from abroad, leading to a widening of perspectives and also an appreciation of
foreign culture.

(He was not merely a bookworm but was also active in extra-curricular activities.)
Extra-Curricular Activities in Ateneo
• An "emperor" inside the classroom, a campus leader outside
• An active member, later secretary, of a religious society, the Marian Congregation
• Devoted to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception the college patroness
• Member of the Academy of Spanish Literature and the Academy of Natural Sciences
• Continued to solicit Father Sanchez' help in improving poetry
• Devoted his spare time to fine arts
- Studied painting under the famous Spanish painter, Agustin Saez
- Studied sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus
• Engaged in gymnastics and fencing under his sports-minded Tio Manuel

Sculptural work in Ateneo

• Carved an image of The Virgin Mary on a piece of batikuling (Philippine hardwood) with its pocket knife
• Requested by Father Lleonart who was impressed by his sculptural talent, to carve him an image of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Placed at the door of the dormitory of the Ateneo boarding students
- Reminded all the Ateneans the greatest alumnus of their Alma Mater, Dr. Jose Rizal
- Played a significant part in Rizal's last hours in Fort Santiago

Anecdotes on Rizal, the Atenean

Felix M. Roxas
- Revealed the hero’s resignation to pain and forgiveness
Manuel Xerex Burgos
- Illustrated Rizal’s predilection to help the helpless at the risk of his own life

Dramatic work in Ateneo

• He wrote a drama manuscript entitled san Eustacio, martyr (St. Euslace the martyr) due to request of his
favorite teacher Fr. Sanchez

Poems Written
Mi Primera Inspiracion (my first inspiration)
• The first poem Rizal and dedicated to his mother

Inspired by Fr. Sanchez (1875)

• Felicitacion (Felicitation)
• El Embargue: Himmo a io fluta de magananes (The Departure: Hymn to Magellan’s Fleet)
• Y’ Es Espaniol: Elcono, El primero en dor la vuelta al mundo (And He is Spanish: Elcano, the First to
Circumnavigate the World)
• El combate: Urbiztondo, terror de Jolo (The Battle: Urbiztondo, Terror of Jolo)

1876 – Rizal wrote poems on various topics – religion, education, childhood memory
• Un Recuerdo a mi Pablo (In memory of my town)
- A tender poem in honor of Calamba, the hero’s natal town.
• Avianza Intenia antre La religion Y La Buena Educacion (Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Good
Education)
- Rizal showed the importance of religion in education. To him, education without God is not true
education.
• Por la Educasion Recibe Lustre la Patria (Through Education the Country Receives Light)
• El Cantiverio Y el Triunfo: Batalla de Lucina de Boadbil (The Captivity and the Triumph: This Battle of Lucena
and the Imprisonment of Boabdil)
- This martial poem describes the defeat and capture of Boabdil, last Moorish sultan of Granada.
• La Antrada Triunfal de los Reyes Catolices en Granada (The Triumphal entry of the Catholic Monarchs into
Granada)
- This poem relate the victorious entry of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel into Granada, last Moorish
stronghold in Spain.
1877 – He wrote more poems. He was his last year in ateneo
• El Heroismo de Colon (The Heroism of Columbus)
- This poem praises Columbus, the discoverer of America.
• Colon Y Suan II (Columbus and John II)
- This poem relates how King John II of Portugal missed fame and riches by his failure to finance the
projected expedition of Columbus to the New World.
• Gran Consuelo en lo mayor Dedicha (Great Solace in Great Misfortune)
- This is a legend in verse of the tragic life of Columbus
• Un dialogo alusiva a la despedida de los colegiales (A Farewell Dialoque of the Students)
- This was the last poem written by Rizal in Ateneo; it is a poignant poem of farewell to his classmates.

Atenean Education System

Jesuit System of Education

• Supervised by Spanish Jesuits
(Jesuits are the member of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic order of religious men founded by St.
Ignatius of Loyola[spanish theologian and most influential figures of R.C.], noted for its educational, missionary,
and charitable works.)

(Ateneo Municipal home to the Jesuits priests which was considered the best educators in Spain proved their
worth in providing the best education system for both Filipinos and Spaniards)

(In Ateneo, every student is treated equally. Everyone is playing on the equal field.)

• The people who took charge in teaching, implementation of the rules and regulations and the monitoring of
students were assigned to the missionaries during that time.

• Objective of Jesuit System of education was to develop the child academically leading to the degree of
Bachelor of Arts.

• Bachiller en Artes academic program exposed students to five learning areas:

1. Christian doctrine
2. Languages- Spanish, Latin, Greek, and French
3. History and geography- world history and geography and history of Spain and the Philippines
4. Mathematics and sciences- arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, mineralogy, chemistry, physics, botany, and
zoology
5. Classic disciplines- poetry, rhetoric, and philosophy
Vocational courses: agriculture, commerce, mechanics and surveying

• Two kinds of strategy were students was trained to have a strong character
1. Rigid Discipline
2. Religion - was emphasized through masses every morning before the beginning of the class and prayers
and after class sessions
- Classes every subject were opened and closed with prayers.

• Students were divided into two groups:

1. The Roman Empire (red)
- consisting the internos (boarders)
2. Carthaginian Empire (blue)
- composed of the externos (non-boarders)

Ranks
Best students – emperor (To be an emperor, any student could challenge any officer in his “empire” to
answer question on the day’s lesson. His opponent could lose his position if committed 3 mistakes. Any
student might be at the end of the line but if he studied hard and was brilliant he could become an emperor.)
Second best - tribune
Third best - decurion
Fourth best - centurion
Fifth best - standard- bearer

• Kinds of uniform/ attire of the student in Ateneo

- hemp-fabric trousers
- stripped cotton coat
(The coat material was called rayadillo, which later became popular for it and was adopted as the uniform for
Filipino troops during the days of the First Philippine Republic)
(Now: The Ateneo aims to develop all the faculties of its students. It seeks to deepen their knowledge and love
of God, for them to please Him by applying their abilities/talents in serving their fellowmen. In short, the Ateneo
seeks to develop every student into a man-for-others because "only by being a man-for-others does one
become fully human."

To achieve this goal, every Atenean should: (a) adopt a lifestyle that is simple and frugal; (b) serve others
through the equal distribution of material things; and (c) know the defects of society in order to be able to offer
alternatives to correct them. He should also be willing to defend these alternatives.

The Ateneo also strives to develop a deep knowledge and appreciation of the Filipino cultural heritage and to
foster loyalty to Filipino ideals in its students. It seeks to equip them with the competence to serve the
community and with the spirit of service' to wish to do so.

The program of studies of the Grade School aims to equip its students with the basic tools for higher studies.
To this basic aim it adds the new thrust of a Jesuit education: "service of the Faith through the promotion of
justice." Ateneo's students must desire to be active agents of change for them to bring about a better and more
just society.)

Rizal Became "Sobresaliente"

• Rizal obtained his bachelor of arts degree in 1877 with the grade of Sobresaliente (Excellent) and got five first
prize medals in philosophy, drawing, comportamiento (good behavior ), good boarder, and aplicacion
(studiousness) as well as honorable mention in physics and chemistry.

• He graduated as one of the nine students in his class declared sobresaliente or outstanding.

Graduated with Highest Honors

• Rizal graduated at the head of his class. His scholastic records at the Ateneo from 1872-1877 were are
follows:

1874-1875 1876-1877
1875-1876
1873-1874 Latin 3- Excellent Philosophy 1-
1872-1873
Spanish 3- Excellent Rhetoric and Excellent
Latin 2- Excellent Greek 3- Excellent Poetry- Excellent Mineralogy and
Arithmetic- Excellent
Spanish 2- Excellent Universal History- French 1- Chemistry- Excellent
Latin 1- Excellent
Greek 2- Excellent Excellent Excellent Philosophy 2-
Spanish 1- Excellent
Universal Geography- History of Spain in the Geometry and Excellent
Greek1- Excellent
Excellent Phil.- Excellent Trigonometry- Physics- Excellent
Arithmetic and Excellent Botany and Zoology-
Algebra- Excellent Excellent