Chapter 19 of Noli Me Tangere

One of the momentous event in this chapter was the time when Father Damaso had expressed his interventions to the teacher's way of bringing up the class. The teacher was prohibited to teach Spanish language to his pupils because it doesn't fit for them, that they only need to learn tagalog language and not Sapanish. On the other hand, he was compared to another character known as Maestro Circuela, a teacher who doesn't know how to read and yet founded his own school and thought a lot of children how to read. The teacher was insulted by such comparison. However, he pursue studying Spanish, just for his own sake. The situation looks like a hindrance towards the poor pupils of him to learn more things they wanted to.
This story that was written in Rizal's novel is still relevant in todays situation. Like in the past, there are still people who used to restrict teachers to do their own way of teaching the students and prohibit them to discover more beyond what they've learned. To go down deeper, education before was being oppressed. Oppressed in the way that it cutails the rigth of the person to be aware and get proper education. However, as of now, it goes beyond oppression. Education is now commercialized by the present wild Damaso's of our nation. It gives boundaries to the poor to attain such knowledge that can only be gained inside the colleges and universities. It is no longer a right but a previlege. The reality shows no more fairness and a total discrimination to the poor. Sad to say but we need to accept the fact that several children can no longer be seen inside the schools. They are present in the markets and in the fields; doing works that are not suited for their age. Teachers earn low sallaries despite of their noble profession. If this commercialization of education will continue to propagate and kill the dreams and future of the many, without considering the fact that we're facing a serious economic crisis would definitely bring detriments -not only in our country but even in the whole humanity.

Pilosopo Tasyo

The character in Noli Me Tangere named Mang Pilosopo Tasyo was the old Don Anastacio of his home town. He is the man who used to wander around the streets and who doesn't know where to go and doesn't care where to live or stay. He was tagged as stupid and weird old man in their place. As a matter of fact, a lot of people have been calling him as crazy. A man with a touched of benign lunacy. In the novel, he has brought various of significance. In fact, he serves as the man who has the knowledge which is capable of changing the worst into better. He looks like the rejected key for a success. A metaphor of how should a man think in that very moment of colonization. He symbolizes desprate culture: the East and the West which can be seen and felt how he viewed the people and their situations.
In my part, I am stun by his characteristic, by his principles in life, and through his perspectives towards the things that were happening around him. He has this thoughts that others don't have. The power of solving schemes that have been planted by the enemies. If I'll reflect and interpret his being. Tasyo's character attempts to show us that reciprocal inhibition resorting to other activities to forget unpleasant experiences is the common refuge of a person like him. Repressing his personal problems through learning was the way to preserve the appearance of sanity and blend in with the "normal" world. The irony is, the more learned he was, the farther he moved away from what is perceived to be sane. It somehow shows the idealism beyond of his idleness, that through such insights and critical ideas, he became deviant to the eyes of the public and considered him as mentally-illed. That his attitude in seeking solace through learning had change him and made him the way others don't want to perceived. However, he is an inspiration for me in the manner that we must balance our priorities and think critically but not in a weird way like Tasyo does.
If we have Pilosopo Tasyo in this present time, that would be Sen. Meriam Defensor Santiago -Tasyo's woman counterpart. She is a great legislator, she had passed laws that provided fairness and benefits to us Filipinos. She had manifested capabilities in unleashing fresh ideas and giving end that justifies the means that are really new to us. Though sometimes, like Tasyo, she's tagged as weird professor of UP and kind a crazy woman because of her guts and knowledge. A lot of her opponents in politics have been laughing at her, similarly to the San Diego's people who make fun of Anastacio's odd ideas, such as his theories on the doctrine of Purgatory and that there is method to his madness. Indeed, they have a lot of resemblances in terms of their perspectives and principles in life -that a Tasyo in the novel has its benefit towards our community.