Rizal's Life and Work

1. SCHOOL DAYS IN BIÑAN

2. “This is the town where my father first saw the light of
day, and where he sent me to continue studying the
rudiments of Latin, which I had started to learn.”
-Jose Rizal

3. Early Schooling
• First teacher – his mother
• Private tutors – Maestro Celestino and Maestro Lucas Padua
• Leon Monroy – gave Rizal his first lessons in Latin
• Rizal was nine (9) years old when he was sent to Biñan to continue his studies in
Latin when his first teacher in Latin died.

4. Jose Goes to Biñan
• One Sunday afternoon in June, 1870, Jose, after kissing the hands of his parents and a
tearful parting from his sisters, left Calamba for Biñan. He was accompanied by Paciano,
who acted as his second father.
• The two brother rode in a carromata, reaching their destination after one and one-half
hours’ drive.
• They proceeded to their aunt’s house, where Jose was to lodge
• That same night Jose, with his cousin named Leandro, went sightseeing in the town.
• “By the light of the moon… I remembered my native town, and I thought with tears in my
eyes of my beloved father, my idolized mother and my solicitous sisters. How sweet to
me was Kalamba, my own town, even if it was so rich as Binyang!”

5. First Day in Biñan School
• School of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz
• School was in the house of the teacher, which was a small nipa hut about 30 meters
form the home of Jose’s aunt.
• He was asked by the teacher in class if he knows Spanish or Latin and he all answered
them with “a little” which was laughed at by Rizal’s classmates especially Pedro.
• Jose described his teacher as follows: “He was a tall, thin, long-necked man, with a
sharp nose and a body bent slightly forward. He usually wore a sinamay shirt woven
by the skillful hands of the Batangueñas. He knew by heart the grammars of Nebrija
and Gainza. Add to this a severity which, to my mind, was excessive, and you have the
picture I have of him.”

6. First School Brawl
• In the afternoon of his first day in school, when the teacher was having his siesta, Jose meet
the bully Pedro. He was angry for making fun of him during his conversation with the
teacher in the morning
• Jose challenged Pedro to a fight. The two boys wrestled furiously in the classroom. Jose,
having learned the arts of wrestling from his athletic Uncle Manuel, defeated the bigger boy
which made him popular among his classmates
• After the class in the afternoon, a classmate named Andres Lakundanan challenged him to
an arm-wrestling match. Jose lost.
• In the succeeding days, he had other fights with the boys of Biñan. He was not quarrelsome
by nature, but he never run away from a fight.

7. Painting Lessons in Biñan
• Juancho, an old painter whose house was near at school (father-in-law of the
school teacher)
• Jose spent many leisure hours at the painter’s studio
• Old Juancho freely gave him lessons in drawing and painting. He was impressed
by the artistic talent of the Calamba lad.
• Jose and his classmate Jose Guevarra, who also loved painting became
apprentices of the old painter. They improved their art, so that in due time they
became “the favorite painters of the class”.

8. Daily Life in Biñan
• Jose led a methodical life in Biñan, almost Spartan in simplicity. It strengthened his body
and soul.
• “I heard the four o’clock mass (in the morning), if there was one; or I studied my lessons at the
same hour and heard Mass afterward. Upon returning, I looked for mabolo fruit in the grove and
I ate it. Afterward I took my breakfast, which consisted usually of a plate of boiled rice, and two
fried sardines. Then I went to class, which was over at ten. I went home immediately.
• If there was a particularly appetizing fist, Leandro and I were told to take it to the house of my
aunt’s sons (a thing which I never did at home, and would never have done). I returned without
saying a word, ate with them, and then applied myself to my studies.
• I went back to school at two, and was out at five. I played for a while with some good cousins
before going home. There I studied my lessons, doodled a little, afterward taking my supper of
one or two plates of boiled rice and an ayungin. We said our prayers and then, if there was a
moon, my friends would call me out to play in the street in company with others. Thanks to
God, I never fell sick when away from my parents.”

9. Best Student in School
• In school studies, Jose beat all Biñan boys.
• He surpassed them all in Spanish, Latin, and other subjects
• Some classmates were jealous so they wickedly squealed to the teacher whenever
Jose had a fight outside the school which resulted to Jose being punished.
• “in spite of the reputation I had of being a good boy, the day was unusual when I
wan not laid out on a bench and given five or six blows”.

10. End of Biñan Schooling
• In December 1871, Jose received a letter from his sister Saturnina, informing him
of the arrival of the steamer Talim which would take him from Biñan to Calamba.
He left Biñan on Saturday afternoon, December 17, 1871
• He had premonition that he would not return to Biñan, so that he became sad.
He prayed in the town church, collected pebbles in the river for souvenirs, and
regretfully bade farewell to his teacher and classmates.

11. Injustice to Hero’s Mother
• Doña Teodora was arrested on malicious charge that she aided her brother, Jose
Alberto, in trying to poison Alberto’s wife
• Jose Alberto had gone to Europe on a business trip. During his absence his
abandoned their home and children. When he returned to Biñan, he found her
living with another man. Enraged by her infidelity, he planned to divorce her.
Doña Tedora persuaded him to forgive his erring wife. The family couple amicably
settled, and Jose Alberto lived again with his wife. However, the unfaithful wife
connived with the lieutenant of the Guardia Civil to fabricate evidence that her
husband attempted to poison her, with Doña Teodora as an accomplice.

12. Injustice to Hero’s Mother
• The lieutenant avenge Don Francisco because at one time Rizal’s father refused to
give him fodder for his horse
• Also, the judge nursed a grudge against the Rizal family because he imagined
that he was not accorded greater respect than the Filipino guests in the Rizal
home.
• Instead of confiding Doña Teodora in the Calamba jail, she was forced to walk
barefooted to the Santa Cruz jail which is more than 50 kilometers in distance

13. The Martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za
• January 20, 1872 – The Cavity Mutiny flared up
• February 17, 1872 – the execution of Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora
• Jose’s older brother, Paciano, then a student in the College of San Jose, was boarding with Father Burgos, his beloved
professor and friend
• Paciano was a trusted assistant of Burgos in the fight for the Filipinization of the parishes
• Paciano quit college after the execution of the priests
• Years later, Dr. Jose Rizal wrote of Burgos: “He awakened by intellect and made me understand goodness and
injustice. His farewell words I shall always remember – “I have tried to pass on to you what I received form my
teachers. Do the same for those who come after you.”
• Jose Rizal was nearly eleven years old when the tragic martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za took place
• Another injustice like that done to his own mother
• It further buttressed his determination to consecrate his life to combat the evil forces of his times.

14. Reference:
• Jose Rizal Life, Works and Writings by Gregorio F. Zaide