“How Valid Are Rizal’s Political, Educational and Socio-Economic Reforms Today?”

I think that Rizal’s reforms are still valid today. A great man he is, surely his philosophies involved something that of future because great figures always think ahead of time. Moreover, one can hail Rizal as a teacher and so the influence of his teachings is unimaginable. As Henry Adams said, "A teacher affects eternity; no one can tell where his influence stops." Indeed, no one can tell, since we are still influenced by his teachings- the idea that the youth is the hope of our nation is still instilled in our minds.

In politics, he believed the extension of human rights, the training for self-government and the arousing of spirit of discontent over oppression, brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self-love. These reforms signify the rights of the people. Surely, these rights should be implemented not only in his time but for all seasons, be it now or in the future. In his reforms regarding education, Rizal focuses on the improvement in schools and methods of teaching. This is surely applicable today since we have been aiming to be globally competent and many Filipinos have become aware of the importance of education. It seems like it has even become a prerequisite of life.

Lastly, his idea about socio-economic prospect involves that of nation building and not individual social problems. The main point of his philosophy covers the problems of the whole race, with every problem having a distinct solution to bolster the people’s social knowledge.

Though people now have becoming less patriotic and have been neglecting the freedom that has been given to them, Rizal’s teachings are still great reminder that we’ve been really lucky to have our own nation and so we must work together in order to build a better nation for the future generation. They have done theirs by giving us freedom, thus, we must also do so.

Fortunately, these reforms of Rizal about politics, education, and socio-economic are little by little taking into effect for this generation. Citizens have been aware of their rights and their practicing it now. They also learned the value of education and the advantage they’ll acquire if they practice a healthy economic and social life with other people.