2 JOURNEY TO HIS EARLY

EDUCATION
“The goal of early childhood education should be to
activate the child’s own natural desire to learn .”
― Maria Montessori

In this Module
• Preparation for Formal Schooling
• End of Schooling at the Village School
• Rizal’s Formal Search for Knowledge

Having education in an area helps people think, feel, and behave in a way that
contributes to their success, and improves not only their personal satisfaction but also
their community. In addition, education develops human personality, thoughts,
dealing with others and prepares people for life experiences. In this module, you will
uncover the experiences of Jose Rizal with regards to his education from early
education up to the time he searched for knowledge in the biggest universities in his
time.

After the completion of this module you should be able to;

• Discuss how Rizal was prepared for formal schooling.

• Identify the persons that Rizal encountered in Biñan.
• Discover how Rizal gained knowledge in the Universities he enrolled to.

Are you excited to begin the lesson? So, let’s get started!
LESSON Preparation for
1 Formal Schooling
TIME FRAME: One (3) Hours
OBJECTIVES:
• Solve a hidden word puzzle.
• Discuss how Rizal had his formal education.
• Create a short summary of the education of Rizal using
pictures or symbols.

Hurray! You are now on the first lesson of Module 1! Tis contains discussion
about how Rizal was trained by his parents specifically his mother to learn alphabets at
the very young age. Further, you will learn that Rizal had his tutors before going to
formal school. You will also discover that Rizal had is formal schooling at the house of
his teacher. Lastly, in this lesson, you will learn some information about how Jose Rizal
was admitted at the Ateneo and why he did not used the last name Mercado.

Hidden Word Brain Teaser Puzzles!

Direction: Spell a hidden word by choosing the right letter for each clue. The hidden
word is related to one of the clues. Write your answer on the space provided.

Hidden word number 1

• The first letter is in TABLE but not CABLE
• The second letter is in CABINET and in CLOTHES
• The third letter is not in NET but in FAN
• The fourth letter is in ACTION but not MOVING
• The fifth letter is in HOUSE and in HOME
• The six letter is not in BIG but in BEG
• The last letter is in FROM but not COME
Answer ______________________
Hidden word number 2
• The first letter is in PENCIL and in CASE
• The second letter is not in CLEAR but in FADE
• The third letter is not in FAT but in CUT
• The fourth letter is in FICTION but not STORY
• The fifth letter is not in SHOPPING but in BAG
• The sixth letter is not in CHANCE but in FATE
• The seventh letter is in TIRE but not CAR
• The eighth letter is in BONE but not JAW
• The last letter is in BANE and in BOON
Answer ________________________

Hidden word number 3

• The first and third letter is in ATTITUDE but not MANNER
• The second letter is not in LOCK but in LUCK
• The last letter is in RAVEN and in PARROT
Answer ____________________

ANSWER IT!

Were you able to answer all the hidden words above? All answers are in relation to
how a person could learn a knowledge. Do the analysis below for the continuation on
the activity above.
Direction: Please read the questions below and write your answer in the spaces
provided. Your answers must be in a minimum of 3 sentences.
1. Based on your answers on the activity above how those terms can contribute to
the upbringing of a child in learning things?
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2. What do you think is the exact age of a child to start learning (reading, writing
and arithmetic) and why?
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3. Did you learn things at a very young age (3- 5 years old)? Is it an advantage or
a disadvantage? Explain your answer.
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LET’S SHAPE IT!

FIRST TEACHER

Rizal was first schooled in their home by his mother, Doña Teodora, a
remarkably good and educated woman herself. She was Rizal's first teacher as a loving
mother and tutor, she would sit the three-year-old Pepe on her lap and devotedly taught
him the alphabet and the prayers. He also taught Pepe to read the Holy Bible. In their
moments together, Doña Teodora would tell him many stories which later fueled his
strong interest in poetry. But of all the stories that his mother told him, the Story of the
Moth touched him so deeply that he recorded it in his diary.
Pepe and The Story of the Moth

One night, all the family, except my mother and myself, went to
bed early. Why, I do not Know, but we two remained sitting alone. The
candles had already been put out. They had been blown out in their globes
by means of a curve tube of tin. That tube seemed to me the finest and
most wonderful plaything in the world. The room was dimly lighted by a
single light of coconut oil. In all Filipino homes such a light burns through
the night. It goes out just at daybreak to awaken people by its spluttering.

My mother was teaching me to read in a Spanish reader called

"The Children's Friend" (El Amigo de los Niño’s). This was quite a rare
book and an old copy. It had lost its cover and my sister had cleverly made
a new one. She had fastened a sheet of thick blue paper over the back and
then covered it with a piece of cloth.

This night my mother became impatient with hearing me read so

poorly. I did not understand Spanish and so I could not read with
expression. She took the book from me. First, she scolded me for drawing
tunny pictures on its pages. Then, she told me to listen and she began to
read. When her sight was good, she read very well. She could recite well,
and she understood verse-making, too. Many times, during Christmas
vacations, my mother corrected my poetical compositions, and she always
made valuable criticisms.

I listened to her, full of childish enthusiasm. I marveled at the nice-

sounding phrases which she read from those same pages. The phrases she
read so easily stopped me at every breath. Perhaps I grew tired of listening
to sounds that had no meaning to me. Perhaps l lacked self-control.
Anyway, I paid little attention to the reading. I was watching the cheerful
flame. About it, some little moths were circling in playful flights. By
chance, too, I yawned. My mother soon noticed that I was not interested.
She stopped reading. Then she said to me: "I am going to read you a very
pretty story. Now, pay attention."

On hearing the word 'story' I once opened my eyes wide. The word
'story' promised something new and wonderful. I watched my mother
while she turned the leaves of the book, as if she were looking for
something. Then I settled down to listen. I was full of curiosity and
wonder. I had never even dreamed that there were stories in the old book
which I read without understanding. My mother began to read me the
fable of the young moth and the old one. She translated it into Tagalog a
little at a time.

My attention increased from the first sentence. I looked toward the

light and fixed my gaze on the moths which were circling around it. The
story could not have been better timed. My mother repeated the warning
of the old moth. She dwelt upon it and directed it to me. I heard her, but
it is a curious thing that the light seemed to me each time more beautiful,
the flame more attractive. I really envied the fortune of the insects. They
frolicked so Joyously in in its enchanting splendor that the ones which had
fallen and been drowned in the oil did not cause me any dread.

My mother kept on reading and I listened breathlessly. The fate of

the two insects interested me greatly the flame rolled its golden tongue to
one side and a moth which this movement had singed fell into the oil,
fluttered for a time and then became quiet. That became for me a great
event. A Curious change came over me which I have always noticed in
myself whenever anything has stirred my feelings. The flame and the
moth seemed to go further away and my mother's words sounded strange
and uncanny. I did not notice when she ended the fable. All my attention
was fixed on the fate of the insect. I watched it with my whole soul. It had
died a martyr to its illusions.

As she put me to bed, my mother said: "See that you do not behave
like the young moth. Don't be disobedient, or you may get burnt as it did."
I do not know whether I answered or not.

It was a long time before I fell asleep. The story revealed to me

things until then unknown. Moths no longer were, for me, insignificant
insects. Moths talked; they knew how to warn. They advised, just like my
mother. The light seemed to me more beautiful, more dazzling, and more
attractive. I now knew why the moths circled the flame.
PRIVATE TUTOR

Rizal's parents were very passionate of their child's education, as they

themselves also received good education. Private tutors were employed to give Jose
lessons at home. His first tutor was Maestro Celestino and second was Maestro Lucas
Padua. Later, Don Francisco hired his former classmate named Leon Monroy, who was
quite advanced in years, to teach Jose in Spanish and Latin. He was a stay-in tutor at
the Rizal's home but not for long because he died five months later.

The death of Leon Monroy caused Jose's parents to send their nine- year-old
Jose to a private school in Biñan.

FIRST FORMAL SCHOOLING BINAN, LAGUNA (1870-1871)

It was a Sunday afternoon in June 1870, when Jose, after kissing the hands of
his parents and a tearful parting from his sisters left Calamba for Biñan. Accompanied
by his brother Paciano, who acted as his second father, they rode in a "Carromata"
headed for their aunt’s house where Jose was to stay. Their travel lasted for one and a
half hours so that it was almost dark when they arrived. That very night, Jose and his
cousin, Leandro, went Sightseeing around the town but he did not enjoy because he got
homesick. He remembered his parents and sisters back in Calamba.

On Monday morning following their arrival, Paciano brought Jose to Maestro

Justiniano Aquino Cruz's schoolhouse located about 30 meters away from their aunt's
house where Jose will be staying. The school was a small nipa hut. Paciano, who had
been a pupil of Maestro Cruz, introduced Jose to him, after which he left for Calamba.

Jose was assigned a seat. Then the teacher asked him if he knew Spanish and
Latin to which he answered "a little, sir". He was laughed at by his classmates especially
Pedro, who was the son of his teacher. The teacher stopped them Sharply and begun
the lessons of the day.

Later during the day, Jose met Pedro, who bullied him earlier and challenged
him into a fight. Thinking that he would defeat Jose because of the latter's young age
and small physique, Pedro readily accepted the challenge. The two boys wrestled
furiously amidst their classmates' boisterous laughter. Having learned the art of
wrestling from his uncle Manuel, he defeated the bigger boy. Since that time, he became
popular among his classmates.
The days that followed, Jose was drawn into other fights with the Biñan boys.
Though thin and not so sturdy in strength, Jose's courage and spirt were so strong that
he never ran from a fight. And in those fights he lost some, and won some.

Jose's life in Biñan was also marked by happiness. It was here that his love for
painting was revived and nurtured. Near the school, lived an old painter whose name
was Juancho, He was the father-in-law of his teacher, Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz.
Jose loved to paint, so that he spent most of his free time at old man's studio. Impressed
by the lad's artistic talent, the old Juancho gave him lessons in drawing and painting.
One of his classmates, Jose Guevarra who also loved painting joined him. They both
became apprentices of old Juancho. Expectedly, they improved their art and then
became "favorite painters of the class."

His education in Biñan was concentrated on learning the four R's- Reading
Writing, Arithmetic, and Religion. The Instruction was more of religion; it was rigid
and his teacher was overly strict. Pupils were forced to memorize their lessons and
discipline was imposed with a whip.

ln school, Jose Rizal surpassed all his classmates in Spanish, Latin, and other
subjects. He was the best student in class. His intellectual superiority made some of his
classmates jealous. They would tell lies to their teacher about Jose which caused him
to be punished with five to six blows as he was laid out on a school bench.

Picture Summary
Direction: Present a short summary of the education of Jose Rizal starting from
their house up to the village school. Use pictures or symbols with description that would
present the educational timeline of Rizal. Use another sheet of paper for this task.

Great! You have completed the task and activities of Lesson 1. More likely you
have gained knowledge and meaningful experience, and you are now ready to turn
pages for Lesson 2 of this module. Keep reading for wonderful learning!