As a brief contribution to this blog, I’ve decided to tell in brief the biography of Joaquín V. González, a teacher that made the difference in our country education. He was a prominent politician, historian, philosopher and educator.
Joaquín Víctor González was born in La Rioja on March 6th, 1863. He was Governor of his province and minister several times; he also founded the University of La Plata and the most prestigious Teachers’ Training College in Buenos Aires, which today bears his name. He was member of the Royal Spanish Academy and the Permanent Court of International Arbitration at La Haya. He died a Senator in Buenos Aires on December 21st, 1923.
In 1887, being one of the most prominent jurists from Argentina, Joaquín V. Gonzalez was appointed member of the Constitutional Reform Commission and was in charge of drafting the constitution for his province. That same year he published his first work of historiography: Revolución de la Independencia Argentina and he also started working in La Prensa de Buenos Aires newspaper and was appointed the first professor in Derechos de Minas at the University and in 1894 he was appointed head of department of Leyes de Mina. In 1896 he became a member of the National Council of Education and academic head of the Arts College at the University of Buenos Aires.
The president Manuel Quintana appointed him new Minister of Justice and Public Instruction in the Pedagogical Seminary, later called Instituto Nacional del Profesorado Secundario in Buenos Aires, which had a large staff of foreign professors. The following year he created the modern University of La Plata, according to the scientific progress of the time. After the death of Quintana, President Figueroa Alcorta gave him the position of head of the University, which was later known as Rector (a position that still remains in today’s Universities). I hope you’ve found this educator’s life as interesting as I’ve found it. To me, he is a great example of a political change that started in the classrooms. And that was, is and will be my motif to try everyday to become the best teacher I can.
Reference
- Biblioteca Pública Digital (educ.ar)
- La “Universidad Nueva” de Joaquín V. González y el proyecto de 1905; Crispiani, Alejandro; editorial Universidad Nacional de La Plata, ISBN/ISSN:950-34-0130-5.
- Wikisource
