LOGARTA
Rizal had been a teacher. That makes him the perfect inspiration for both students and teachers. First of all, he diligently loved our country. Imagine, how he copied by hand Morga’s book because it showed that we had our own rich culture before the coming of Spain. Then there are all his works in defense of the Filipino like the “The Indolence of the Filipino.” Of course, there are the novels revealing his sensitivity towards the realities of the country, hence its being provocative then and now.
If you have not been to Dapitan, it would be very educational for you to visit the complex. It is not only a home and clinic. But it includes a water system. That reveals that this brilliant man was practical enough to provide so basic a need.
He accepted teenage students including a Cebuano. He taught them English, a very forward-looking to do. He let them assist him and engaged in the sensitive process of healing. They were blessed to be exposed and absorb his know-how, accompanied by compassion.
He brought them out to the community to help farmers and workers. That suggests that part of being educated is understanding the world of blue collar workers and their condition.
He also educated them emotionally. He brought them to the forest to let them confront their fears of the darkness, weird sounds, and others. How many of us actually remember the education of the heart?
I find it sad that Rizal died, before he had and nurtured children. Because of a wonderful mother and a warm family, he most probably would have been a wonderful father. First, his writings show that he valued education; even viewing this as a major solution to the problem of oppression. In his
“Letter to the Women of Malolos” he declared that women should be educated. He recognized the power of the “hands that racked the cradle”. He would have had a gender fair household.
He is an ideal role model because he developed the many dimensions of his person. We are all familiar with his excellent performance in school, in spite of the fact that he was critical of their system. Filipinos are blessed by the literary heritage for us to cherish. But he also explored, the visual arts.
We also know that he went into fencing!
He loved the young. He took the trouble of sharing Hans Christian Anderson with his nieces and nephews. His belief in education stresses his concern for the youth. Many contemporary young radicals do not find him radical enough. We somehow need to remember that he did inspire Bonifacio, who originally joined the La Liga Filipina.
He considered the youth the hope of the motherland because in his “My Last Farewell” he declared:
My dreams, when scarcely a lad adolescent,
My dreams when already a youth, full of vigor to attain,
Were to see you, gem of the sea of the Orient,
Your dark eyes dry, smooth brow held to a high plane
Without frown, without wrinkles and of shame without stain.