Life and Works of Rizal

The mandatory Rizal subject in the Philippines was the upshot of this bill which later became a law in 1956. This bill mandates the education institution in our country to teach the life and works of Rizal especially the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. According to Hernan Abaya, 1984, the nationalist reawakening began on the UP campus, sparked by the teaching of Rizal's life and his writings made compulsory by the Noli-Fili law. This is a statement from a person who was able to witness the condition of the country before and after the Rizal law was implemented.

He saw the change and the positive effect of the law to our country back then. So far, no student has yet officially applied for exemption from reading Rizal's novels.

The academic subject on the life, works, and writings of Jose Rizal was not mandated by law for nothing. Far from being impractical, the course interestingly offers many benefits that some contemporary academicians declare that the subject, especially when taught properly, is more beneficial than many subjects in various curricula.

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Through this subject the students of today know how to deal with their current problems, the Rizal's course as a history subject is full of information and lessons on how to deal with our decisions in life.

It helps the students to understand themselves as a Filipino. "We cannot know who we are today if we don't know who we are from the past. The past is our anchor to know and be successful in the future".

It teaches nationalism and patriotism, to be free with other countries colonization but most importantly, not to be colonized by our own countrymen. Through this law the youths of today become more aware of the contributions, principle and sacrifices of our heroes just to take back the freedom of our country, the freedom that we are experiencing even now a days. It has been implied through this act that national identity is a very important legacy that our heroes have achieved through sacrificing their own lives. They have passed it on to us, and it is our role to nurture and protect it.

The subject Rizal did not mainly focus on understanding our country and know the history but also it develops our logical and critical thinking because Jose Rizal as a philosophy major demonstrated his critical thinking skills in his works. The subject is also a rich source of entertaining narratives. People love fictions and are even willing to spend for books or movie tickets just to be entertained by made-up tales. But only a few perhaps know that Rizal's life is full of fascinating non-fictional accounts.

For instance, it is rarely known that (1) Rizal was involved in a love triangle with Antonio Luna as also part of the romantic equation; (2) Rizal was a model in some of Juan Luna's paintings; (3) Rizal's common-law wife Josephine Bracken was 'remarried' to a man from Cebu and had tutored former President Sergio Osmeña and many more.

However if there is a positive effect there is also a negative effect .The RA. 1425 just caused havoc within educational institutions. The UP Student Catholic Action and numerous publications and students were pushed to go against their President, Dr. Singco because they feel that the University is starting to become godless. It has just caused a mass confusion between faith and nationalism.

The faith of the people is being compromised. This law is endangering the Christian growth of the students who are still in their formative years. This can drive the youth to question the credibility of the church and its teachings and traditions.

According to a survey, the Rizal course is not actually significant for the students. It has just been a laborious subject that adds unnecessary work load to students, and it sometimes drives the students to lose focus on their majors.

J, M. (2013). The Importance of Rizal's Subject.