A school for teachers. Don Teodomiro Manzano’s legacy

Abstract

The aim of the present article is the reconstruction of the establishment of pedagogical training in Hidalgo following the foundation of the “Benito Juárez” Normal school in 1913. At that time, the most reputable state institution was the Instituto Científico y Literario (Scientific and Literary Institute) which, by governmental decree, was the only one, as far as it concerned, related to teacher training in particular; it was a context where changes related to stability and location of Escuela Normal took place. The role played by Professor Teodomiro Manzano, from Hidalgo, is emphasized in the development of the State’s educational system, as well as the work he did in order to consider the need for an appropriate space for elementary teachers’ training, because when Hidalgo emerged as a federative entity, teachers only had evening classes to learn the main principles of Pedagogy. At those schools, they learned only what other professors could communicate from their practical experience itself, since they had never pursued formal studies in order to acquire pedagogical skills. The other way by which teachers certificated was offered by the Instituto Científico y Literario, where they could request a test and be able to open a school if they passed it; yet, they never went through a formal scholarship process. Professor Manzano was aware of the State’s academic context, and his concerns about teachers in different levels prompted him to do the necessary arrangements to open a Normal school, with which the education of teachers in Hidalgo would begin. In order to reconstruct this process, the judiciary archives and the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo files were reviewed as primarily source material; moreover, related literature was examined and a multiple timeline aiming to locate events and relations was made.