Formal Search for

Knowledge at
Ateneo Municipal
De Roxas, Rey Alen C.
Cantero, Jerwin M.
  Ateneo Municipal (Ateneo de Manila University)

 Rizal when he entered Ateneo in 1872

• Rizal entered Ateneo when he was barely 11 years old, four
months after the execution of GomBurZa.
• His father decided not to send him at the Colegio de San Jose
because of unhappy experience his brother Paciano had in the
said school.
• His father wanted to send Rizal to Letran but later on decided to
have him enrolled at Ateneo Municipal, formerly known as
Escuela Pia. Besides, Ateneo at that time was the most
prestigious college for boys owing to its great teachers.
Enrollment at Ateneo
• Rizal took the entrance examination at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran on June 10, 1872.
• Paciano accompanied Rizal, when he took the said exam, which covered reading, arithmetic,
and Catholic Doctrine. It is worth mentioning at the juncture that exams for incoming
freshmen in different colleges for boys were administered at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran
since the Dominican exercised the power of inspection and regulation over Ateneo that time.
• After passing the qualifying examination, Rizal sought admission at the Ateneo Municipal.
• At the outset, Rizal was refused entry into the institution for two reasons. Aside from being late
registrant, he was very frail and undersized for his age. Father Magin Fernando, the college
registrar, was at first very firm in denying Rizal admission. Nonetheless, due to the
intervention of Manuel Burgos, the college registrar finally admitted the young Jose.
• Jose did not use the surname Mercado when he enrolled at Ateneo. He registered as Jose Rizal
because his original surname had rung a bell to the ears of the authorities then due to Paciano’s
association with one of the leaders of the secularization movement, Father Burgos.
The Atenean System of Education
• Ateneo at that time offered a six-year program that entitled a student to academic title, Bachiller en
Artes. Thus academic program exposed students to five learning areas, namely:
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.

• Ateneo also offered the following vocational courses: agriculture, commerce, mechanics, and
surveying.
• Compared with the other colleges, Ateneo prided itself in offering the best secondary education for
boys. This was because it trained the character of every student through rigid discipline and religious
instruction. Students were required to hear masses in the morning before the start of the classes.
Classes were usually began and ended with prayers.
The Atenean System of Education
• To stimulate the spirit of competition among the students for excellence
in academics, Atenean teachers enforced a program of dividing a class
into two competing empires: Romans and Carthaginians. Students
who belonged to the Roman Empire were the boarding students at
Ateneo, while those at the Carthaginian Empire were non-boarding
students.
• Both empires has ranks and dignitaries namely: Emperor (the best
scholar), followed by Tribune, Decurion, Centurion and the standard
bearer.
• These two empires competed as teams through question and answers.
The Atenean System of Education
• Rizal understood the seriousness and severity of his studies. In order to
excel, he made himself follow a daily timetable, which he rigidly
observed.
• At the start, Rizal lagged behind his classmates. But in a months time, he
emerged as the emperor in his class, a title give to the brightest in the
class.
• The method of instruction Rizal was subjected to at Ateneo was the ratio
studiorum, a system of indoctrination under tight and constant
discipline, with every incentive of comoensation and reward. (method of
indoctrination – combined memory and understanding).
The Atenean System of Education
• Atenean education at that time pursued one aim – ad majorem
Dei glorian or For the greater glory of God. Thus, the ultimate
task of Jesuit teachers was to make lifelong Catholics.
• The climax of the secondary course centered on the philosophy
of a man as a creature of God. Students’ life was, therefore,
centered on the chapel, with membership in religious
confraternities as the highest level of extracurricular activities.
Academic Performance at Ateneo
• Rizal studied at Ateneo from 1872 to 1877. his scholastic records
reveal his commendable academic performance as a secondary
student.
1872-1873 (1st Year)
Latin…………………………...……. Excellent
Spanish……………………............. Excellent
Greek…………………………......... Excellent

1873-1874 (2nd Year)

Spanish…………………................. Excellent
Greek……………………………….. Excellent
World Geography…………………. Excellent
Academic Performance at Ateneo
1874-1875 (3st Year)
Latin……………………………….... Excellent
Spanish………...…………………... Excellent
World History………...…………..… Excellent
History of Spain & Philippines……. Excellent
Arithmetic & Algebra………………. Excellent
Greek……………………………….. Excellent

1875-1876 (4th Year)

Rhetoric…………………………….. Excellent
French….…………………............. Excellent
Geometry & Trigonometry............. Excellent
Academic Performance at Ateneo
1876-1877 (5th Year)
Philosophy 1………………………. Excellent
Philosophy 2..……………………... Excellent
Mineralogy & Chemistry………..… Excellent
Physics…………………….……….. Excellent
Botany & Zoology.………………… Excellent
Academic Performance at Ateneo
• Rizal passed the oral examination on March 14, 1877. He graduated with the degree,
Bachiller en Artes, with the highest academic honors.
• According to Guerrero (1998), Rizal’s academic triumph at Ateneo can be attributted to
three factors:
1. Racial pride
2. Monastic discipline
3. Seclusion of boarding school life
o Owing to racial jealousy, he exerted extraordinary efforts to prove to his Spanish classmates
that the Filipino student can compete with them academically (racial pride).
o His monastic discipline of competition inside the classroom triggered in him the motivation
to outdo his classmates in the daily learning activities designed to test student’s memory and
understanding of their lessons.
o Owing to the seclusion of his boarding school life, he was able to devote more time to his
studies.
Extra-curricular Activities at Ateneo

• Rizal did not only devote his time to academic

excellence, he became actively involeved in extra-
curricular activities. He became a member and
eventually an officer in the religious confraternities at
Ateneo which are Sodality of Our Lady and
Apostleship of Prayer.
• He also joined the Academy of Spanish Literature and
the Academy of Natural Sciences.
Extra-curricular Activities at Ateneo
• Rizal also honed his talent in literature.
• Through the guidance of Father Francisco Paula de Sanchez, he
succeeded in developing his skills in poetry writing.
• To develop his proficiency in Spanish, Rizal took special lessons
at the Convent School of Santa Isabel.
• His study of poetry resulted not only in the production of poems
on religion, education, and childhood experiences. It also elevated
his feeling, patriotic sentiments, and exquisite sensitivity.
Extra-curricular Activities at Ateneo
• He also took time to sharpen his skills in painting and sculpture.
During his free time Rizal took painting lessons under Agustin
Saez and sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus.
• Rizal was able to carve the image of the Virgin Mary and the
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Extra-curricular Activities at Ateneo
• He also sustained the physical fitness training he started under his
Tio Manuel.
• It was thru his uncle that rizal was able to learn gymnastics and
fencing, which greatly helped him develop his weak and frail
body.
Literary Works at Ateneo
• Rizal was able to produce a number of poems:

o “Mi Primera Inspiracion” or “My First Inspiration”

- is the first poem he wrote as a student. This poem was dedicated by Rizal
to his mother on the occasion of the latter’s natal day, which according to some was
allegedly written by his cousin.

o “Un Recuerdo de Mi Pueblo” or “In Memory of My

Town”
- he wrote this poem as a way paying homage to his birthplace, Calamba.
He noted that he could never forget the beauty and tranquility of his hometown,
which in effect had inspired him to love nature and to have trust and confidence in
the Almighty God.
Literary Works at Ateneo
o “Al Ñino Jesus” or “To the Child Jesus”
- the poem “To the Child Jesus” was an ode written by Rizal during his
student days, when he was 14 years old. This poem was his expression of his devotion
to Catholicism, which his mother implanted in his heart and strenghten by his
schooling at Ateneo.

o “La Alianza Intima Entre Religion y La Buena

Educacion” or “The Intimate Alliance Between Good
Education and Religion”
- in his poem, Rizal compared education to a lighthouse, considering that
it can guide people in their behaviors and actions. From the poem, Rizal singled out
the benefits that a country and its people can reap from a wise or prudent education.
He believed that through education the country could have pool of educated youth
who can steer it to progress.
Literary Works at Ateneo
o “Por La Educacion Recibe Lustre la Patria” or
“Through Education The Country Receives Light”
- in his poem, Rizal compared education to a lighthouse, considering that
it can guide people in their behaviors and actions. From the poem, Rizal singled out
the benefits that a country and its people can reap from a wise or prudent education.
He believed that through education the country could have pool of educated youth
who can steer it to progress. Moreover, through education the youth of the country
can be directed towards the path of virtue and rectitude.
- his message in this poem was very clear that the people have to seek
knowledge. They need knowledge in order to become enlightened individuals, who
could be instrumental in elevating the country into a position of prestige and honor
Literary Works at Ateneo
o “La Alianza Intima Entre Religion y La Buena
Educacion” or “The Intimate Alliance Between Good
Education and Religion”
- From this poem, it can be gleaned the influence of the Catholic education
Rizal had at Ateneo. Here Rizal stressed the importance of religion to education. For
Rizal, education not centered on God cannot be considered as true education. As
implied from the poem, religion serves as a guide and nourishment to true education.
Influences of Schooling at Ateneo on Rizal
• Rizal was conferred the degree of Bachiller en Artes on March 23, 1867. from being a boy, Rizal was
transformed into a mature individual – an individual basically Jesuit in form and orientation.
• For five years, Rizal was able to imbibe the Jesuit values of fairness, justice, and reason. As a
consequence his internalization of the aforementioned values of the Jesuit school, the quest of justice,
equality, and dignity became his lifetime work.
 ¡Gracias!
Adios...

Preperedo por:
Cantero, Jerwin M.
De Roxas, Rey Alen C.